I've just purchased a BYD Dolphin Surf with 38kWh battery.

It came with a plethora of charging goodness ranging from 7kW wall charger, 3kW plug in mobile charger, EV to load cable and an EV to EV cable.

Currently I've just plugged the mobile charger in and seems to charge decently well, enough that should be able to charge from 10% to 100% in around 12 hours.

While the mobile charger should be fine, I would like to install the wall charger though, and initially I thought this would be straight forward, but pretty much everything I have read seems to indicate requiring municipal permits. Is this really the case or will a CoC on completion suffice (I am no electrician, but am friendly with one who is happy to validate anything I do.)

Anyway, municipal permits aside, I wouldn't easily be able to add a dedicated 40A circuit to the main DB, however there is an external board where power enters the property into a breaker and then to the main DB.
Would I be able to feed from this point into the garage (literally through the wall) where I could install a small DB dedicated to the charger with the required RCD, main breaker, surge protector etc?

Thanks

Unfortunately can't give advice on either ... I installed my wallbox without municipal permit - never even heard that this is required, surely that's just for a commercial install?

From a safety perspective it should be fine to feed directly from municipal supply (after the municipal breaker and meter), but not sure what the by-laws say... following...

@viceroy ,

Maybe Municipal Permit = an updated COC, as you are modifying the electrical installation of your house.

And while you at it, better double up on your complete Solar installation, you are going to need it!

8 minutes ago, Sidewinder said:

@viceroy ,

And while you at it, better double up on your complete Solar installation, you are going to need it!

LOL, so blimmin true!!!

Unbelievable how much juice these things chow, has given me a whole new understanding of just how much energy a drop of petrol / diesel contains!

10 minutes ago, Sidewinder said:

@viceroy ,

And while you at it, better double up on your complete Solar installation, you are going to need it!

Nah, the solar feeds the house loads only.
The EV charger will be separate.

I can't see any need for municipal permission. Installer did not mention anything when they installed mine.

Only requirement is for an updated CoC, and the only catch to the installation, is that some wallboxes require an external Type B RCD (check the manual), which can be quite expensive.

Also - one thing I wish I had done at the time was to run the fixed wire to a 32A industrial socket, and fit a 32A plug to the charger. This way the charger can be moved if required (without affecting CoC), and you have an industrial outlet handy, if you ever need one.

Not sure how good an idea this would be, but I thought it would be nice when I rented an industrial mulcher...

7 hours ago, viceroy said:

I've just purchased a BYD Dolphin Surf with 38kWh battery.

I would like to install the wall charger though, and initially I thought this would be straight forward, but pretty much everything I have read seems to indicate requiring municipal permits. Is this really the case or will a CoC on completion suffice (I am no electrician, but am friendly with one who is happy to validate anything I do.)

Anyway, municipal permits aside, I wouldn't easily be able to add a dedicated 40A circuit to the main DB, however there is an external board where power enters the property into a breaker and then to the main DB.
Would I be able to feed from this point into the garage (literally through the wall) where I could install a small DB dedicated to the charger with the required RCD, main breaker, surge protector etc?

Thanks

Lets wait for our trusted member @TaliaB to comment on tapping from the point where power enters the building from the utility.

5 hours ago, Scorp007 said:

Lets wait for our trusted member @TaliaB to comment on tapping from the point where power enters the building from the utility.

All circuits must originate from and be protected within the "MAIN" distribution board that complies with SANS 10142-1.

The EV charger circuit requires its own dedicated circuit breaker and appropriate earth leakage protection (Type B), which must be installed in the "MAIN" distribution board. The main or first distribution board must have a main switch disconnector that can cut off the entire supply, and this switch should be mounted in or next to the DB.

The "point of control" is defined as the point at which the consumer has access to a device (the main switch) to switch off all electrical installation from the electricity supplied by the point of supply. 

13 hours ago, viceroy said:

however there is an external board where power enters the property into a breaker and then to the main DB.
Would I be able to feed from this point into the garage (literally through the wall) where I could install a small DB dedicated to the charger with the required RCD, main breaker, surge protector etc?

You are not allowed to connect any curcuit before the main switch in the main or first db board( supply cable point of control). The budgie box against the wall is mainly for isolation purposes should an electrician need to change the main switch.

Thanks @TaliaB , makes sense about not being allowed to connect prior to main DB.

If I may hijack with a further question - you say the EV Charger protection (CB & earth leakage) must be installed in the main DB.

My setup: Main DB has CB supplying my inverter in the garage. Can I not "tap off" of this circuit in the garage, install a sub DB there (Type B EL plus appropriate CB) to supply the EV charger?

In other words: Main DB main CB supplies a "inverter plus EV Charger" CB.

Sub DB input from above splits: one CB for inverter supply plus one CB and type B EL supplies EV charger. All appropriately labeled ... would this be compliant or do the EV protections have to be in the main DB?

Edited November 15, 2025Nov 15 by markus_m2

If you install a sub-DB in the garage fed from the main DB after the main isolator, the installation is fully compliant. The key requirement is that the feeder cable to the sub-DB must be correctly sized to supply the combined maximum demand of both the inverter and the EV charger. A 10 mm² copper feed from the main DB (taken after the main switch) is generally adequate for this application, provided that: The cable is correctly protected by an MCB sized for the cable’s current-carrying capacity. The sub-DB contains the appropriate switchgear, including separate protection for the inverter and the EV charger. Voltage drop is within acceptable limits for the run length.

Thank you sir, all makes perfect sense...

On 2025/11/15 at 1:10 PM, TaliaB said:

If you install a sub-DB in the garage fed from the main DB after the main isolator, the installation is fully compliant. The key requirement is that the feeder cable to the sub-DB must be correctly sized to supply the combined maximum demand of both the inverter and the EV charger. A 10 mm² copper feed from the main DB (taken after the main switch) is generally adequate for this application, provided that: The cable is correctly protected by an MCB sized for the cable’s current-carrying capacity. The sub-DB contains the appropriate switchgear, including separate protection for the inverter and the EV charger. Voltage drop is within acceptable limits for the run length.

Sorry to resurrect an old post.
Would the following be compliant?

- Dedicated 40A (or would 32A be better?) breaker in main DB.
- 6mm2 cable in trunking from DB to garage. Around 5m in length.
- Industrial plug with disconnect in garage. (no sub-DB)
- 7kW EV charger connected to industrial plug

14 minutes ago, viceroy said:

Sorry to resurrect an old post.
Would the following be compliant?

- Dedicated 40A (or would 32A be better?) breaker in main DB.
- 6mm2 cable in trunking from DB to garage. Around 5m in length.
- Industrial plug with disconnect in garage. (no sub-DB)
- 7kW EV charger connected to industrial plug

If you are planning to use 6mm² Surfix twin and earth in trunking or conduit i would use 32A breaker as the 7kw single phase charger will draw continuous current of 30.4A.

●7kW @ 230V ≈ 31A continuous load

●Use a dedicated 32A breaker

●6mm² cable over 5m is perfectly adequate

●Dedicated 30mA RCD (Type B minimum) required (unless otherwise specified by the charger manual)

●Local isolator in the garage

Industrial plug can work if properly rated 32A, but best practice for EV chargers is hard-wired rather than plug-and-socket, since it’s a high continuous load and a fixed installation.

6 hours ago, TaliaB said:

will draw continuous current of 30.4A.

The charger rating is actually in Amps. A '7kW' charger is actually a 32A charger, and will draw 32A continuously in operation.

3 hours ago, JustinSchoeman said:

The charger rating is actually in Amps. A '7kW' charger is actually a 32A charger, and will draw 32A continuously in operation.

Let me guess, if the charger and the stove is on, you may overload the main breaker? You could put a change over switch to choose between stove and charger.

56 minutes ago, frivan said:

You could put a change over switch to choose between stove and charger.

Or you can do it automatically by using a energy control unit(ECU)

10 hours ago, TaliaB said:

Or you can do it automatically by using a energy control unit(ECU)

Although maximum current is 100A they rate it at 5kW maximum according to their specs.

1 hour ago, Scorp007 said:

Although maximum current is 100A they rate it at 5kW maximum according to their specs.

You are correct actually designed for geyser application. Shed the geyser while Ev charger is running then you should be ok.

15 hours ago, frivan said:

Let me guess, if the charger and the stove is on, you may overload the main breaker? You could put a change over switch to choose between stove and charger.

I just automate mine through Node-Red. If load gets too high, I instruct the charger to reduce the current.

Not all chargers are smart enough for automation. But all do at least have jumpers to set maximum current, so if you really are limited by the infrastructure, you can reduce the charge current (power) to a suitable level, at the expense of charge speed.