Boiling the kettle and charging your plug-in car could BLOW your home electrics, warns National Grid
Using high-powered home charging points could risk tripping the fuse on your house if you're using other appliances
ELECTRIC car owners may be running the risk of blowing their home electrics by using a rapid charger and making a cup of tea, the National Grid has warned.
Home chargers installed with fast capabilities are likely to trip a main fuse if used at the same time as power-hungry appliances like kettles, ovens and immersion heaters.
The average household has a main fuse of 60 to 80 amps and using a 11kW charger requires 48 amps.
Just a couple of extra 13 amp appliances would run the risk of blowing your electrics, according to the National Grid.
Currently, 3.5kW chargers are used which requires just 16 amps but these take up to 19 hours to replenish a 90KWh battery.
More powerful 7kW chargers are now being installed more readily, halving charge time to 10 hours.
But 11kW chargers would slash this time to just six hours - although owners would run the risk of fusing their houses.
The National Grid report - which looks at the impact of more people buying electric cars - stated houses may have to be fitted with above average 100 amp fuses to cope the increased strain.
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However, the retrofit option would be a huge undertaking costing millions.
Figures show 25,000 plug-in cars have already been sold this year - up 20 per cent on 12 months before and - the National Grid is concerned about the added demand as take-up increases ahead of the 2040 diesel and petrol ban.
And it claimed electricity use is at a "pinch point" and hinted smart chargers may have to be introduced to only charge cars outside of peak hours.
But Erik Fairbairn, founder of charging company Pod Point, told the Financial Times a 32 amp 7kW charger would be powerful enough for most home charging needs because EV drivers rarely drain their battery fully during daily use.
He added only five per cent of UK homes would be able to accommodate a charger more powerful than 7kW.
