A home charge point for a villa driveway, a garage, or a parking space in an apartment building, installed on its own circuit with protection suited to charging rather than plugged into whatever socket is nearest. Send a photo of your consumer unit and of where the car parks, and you get a free quote.
EV charger installation puts a fixed charge point on its own circuit from the consumer unit, with the correct residual current protection, cable sized for the run, and load management where the house cannot supply full output alongside everything else. Handyman Algarve quotes EV charger installation in the Algarve for free, in English or Portuguese, with the cable route and the price agreed before any work starts.
What the installation actually involves
Checking the supply first. Single or three phase, contracted power, and what else runs at night, because that decides the charger output before any model is chosen.
A dedicated circuit from the consumer unit, with its own breaker and residual current protection suited to the direct current leakage an electric vehicle can produce.
The cable route. The part that varies most: surface trunking along a garage wall is quick, a chased run across a rendered facade is not, and a trench across a driveway is another job again.
Mounting and commissioning. Charge point fitted, earthing verified, output configured, and a live charge tested with the car rather than assumed.
Load management where the supply is tight, so the charger reduces its draw instead of tripping the main breaker when the oven goes on.
What is different about doing this in the Algarve
Two things come up constantly. The first is outdoor mounting: a charge point on an exterior wall within reach of sea air lives a harder life than one in a garage, so enclosure rating, cable entry from below and a position out of direct afternoon sun stop being details. The second is the contracted power on older properties. A village house or a 1980s villa was connected for a fridge, a television and a water heater; adding a car that wants 7 kW for six hours is a bigger change than adding an air conditioner, and it is far better to discover that when the quote is written than the first night the main breaker goes.
Where a charger should not go
Not on an existing socket circuit, not fed by an extension of any kind, and not on a supply whose earthing has not been checked. Charging is an unusual electrical load: it draws close to its maximum for hours, night after night, and it will find any joint, undersized cable or corroded connection in the path. If a quote you have been given anywhere does not mention a dedicated circuit and its protection, that is the question to ask before comparing prices.
What determines the price?
As of 2026, an installation quote is made of the cable run, the board work and the charger. Distance from the consumer unit to the parking space is the single biggest factor, followed by how that cable is routed and what has to be made good afterwards, whether the board has space for a new circuit or needs extending, whether the earthing arrangement needs improving, and whether the contracted power is increased. In an apartment building, the route through common areas and the choice of meter change the picture again.
Three photographs make the quote firm: the consumer unit with its cover off, the wall where the charger would go, and the path between them. See how it works for the process from request to finished job.
We reply within one business day, usually much faster.
Frequently asked questions
How much does it cost to have an EV charger installed?
The charger itself is the predictable part; the installation is what varies. The cost is driven by the cable run from the consumer unit to the parking space, whether that run is surface mounted or chased into masonry, whether the board has room for a dedicated circuit with the right protection, and whether the contracted power needs increasing. As of 2026, Handyman Algarve quotes EV charger installation free, with the cable route agreed before the work.
Can I install an EV charger at home myself?
No. A home charger is a fixed appliance on its own dedicated circuit, with residual current protection suited to the direct current leakage an electric vehicle can produce, and with earthing that has to be verified rather than assumed. It also draws its rated current for hours at a time, which is exactly the condition that finds every weakness in an installation. This is fixed wiring work for a qualified electrician.
Can a normal electrician install an EV charger?
A qualified electrician can, provided they treat it as a dedicated circuit rather than a socket. What has to be right is the protective device, the cable size for the run length, the earthing arrangement, and load management if the house cannot supply the charger at full output alongside everything else. Ask how those four are being handled: the answer separates a proper installation from an extension cord with a box on the end.
Can I just charge from a normal socket?
You can, with the cable that came with the car, and it is fine occasionally. It is not fine as a daily habit: a domestic Schuko socket and its wiring were never designed to carry their maximum current for eight hours a night, and the failure mode is a hot socket behind a plug nobody is watching. If the car is charged at home regularly, a dedicated charge point is a safety decision before it is a convenience one.
What size charger do I need?
For most homes on a single phase supply, a 7.4 kW charge point is the practical maximum and is enough to refill a normal day of driving overnight. Anything higher needs a three phase supply, which many Algarve villas have and most apartments do not. The real limit is often the contracted power on the meter rather than the charger, which is why the supply is checked before a model is recommended.
Can a charger be installed in an apartment garage?
Usually, and it is increasingly common in the Algarve. The process starts with a written request to the building administration describing the installation and the cable route, because the cable has to cross common areas to reach your space. The second question is which meter feeds it: your own apartment supply, or a separate meter for the parking space. Both work, and each means a different cable run and a different cost.
