村屋安裝電動車充電設施：先睇識你個電錶Village house charging: start by reading your meter

Ask ten people what it costs to install EV charging at a village house and you'll get ten answers. Not because anyone is making numbers up, but because every village house has a different meter — and the meter decides whether you need extra work at all.

The short version: if your meter has enough capacity, fitting a 7kW charger is a half-day job. If it doesn't, you first have to apply to CLP or HK Electric for a larger meter or a three-phase upgrade, which takes anywhere from a few weeks to a couple of months and costs a completely different amount.

1. Go and look at the meter

Standing in front of it, find three things:

Ampere rating. The face usually shows 60A, 80A or 100A. That's the capacity for the whole house. Single-phase 60A is the common case in Hong Kong village houses; older ones can be 30–40A.

Phases. A single-phase meter has one live feed; three-phase has three. Three-phase meters are noticeably larger and marked 3P or 3 Phase. Only three-phase can reach 22kW.

Which utility. Most of the New Territories is CLP; Hong Kong Island and Lamma are HK Electric. The forms, charges and lead times differ.

2. Rough out whether it's enough

A 7kW single-phase charger draws about 32A while running.

Say you're on a single-phase 60A meter:

• Total capacity 60A
• Charger takes 32A
• 28A left for everything else

28A is roughly one air conditioner (~10A) plus an electric water heater (~13A) plus some lights and sockets. On a summer evening with two aircons on, dinner cooking and the car charging, it trips.

So the test isn't "is there 32A spare" — it's "after taking 32A away, is the rest enough for the busiest half-hour in this house".

3. What to do if it isn't

Three routes, cheapest first:

A. Charge slower. Set the charger to 16A (about 3.5kW). Half the speed, but often plenty — parked overnight for ten hours, 3.5kW puts in around 35 kWh, which covers normal daily mileage. No meter work at all.

B. Enlarge the meter. Apply to go from 60A to 80A or 100A. The utility needs a load calculation signed by a registered electrical contractor. Timing depends on your area and whether the supply cable also needs replacing.

C. Go three-phase. The most thorough and the most expensive. It unlocks 22kW and much shorter charging times. Worth it if you have two EVs, or the house is already close to its limit.

4. Two things specific to village houses

Outdoor routing. Most village jobs run along an exterior wall from meter to bay. Use UV-resistant trunking, seal the joints, and specify an IP65 or better body. Given Hong Kong summers and typhoons, this is not the place to save money.

Cable distance. Quotes are normally based on a run of 10m or less. The meter is usually at the front door while the bay is round the side or back, and the real distance is often longer than people expect — measure it on your phone before ordering and you'll save a round trip.

Rather not judge it yourself?

Fastest route: photograph the meter face (so the amps and phases are readable), the bay, and the view from meter towards bay, then WhatsApp them to us. We'll tell you which situation you're in, roughly what it costs and how long it takes. Free, and you're under no obligation.