Wickes has added a fully installed option to its EV charging offer, letting customers buy a Hypervolt home charger and its installation in one transaction. Hypervolt announced the change on 19 March 2024, describing it as a "full turnkey installation service (Do it For Me)" available as a £410 add on1.
Wickes began selling Hypervolt chargers as its exclusive domestic EV charger in spring 2023, and Hypervolt says hundreds of Wickes customers have had Home 3.0 and Home 3 Pro units fitted since May 20231. The retailer has more than 230 stores across the UK1. Under the new arrangement, a customer selects the "fully installed" option at Wickes checkout, then completes a virtual installation survey that Hypervolt says takes an average of 10 minutes. A team member then makes contact to book the installation, which Hypervolt says is ordinarily a 2 to 3 week wait for standard installations, with the visit itself typically taking 2 to 3 hours1.
Installation is carried out through Hypervolt's network of vetted Trusted Installers alongside ProEV, a Bedfordshire based installation firm1. Hypervolt lists an IK10/IP66 rating for the unit and 365 days a year customer support1. The company's Head of Partnerships, David Woodford, said of the tie-up:
"Almost every town and city in the UK has a Wickes store, but not every street has a Hypervolt yet, together we're going to change that."
The £410 figure covers the installation service as an add on; the source does not state the price of the charger itself, nor whether the installation cost varies with cable run, fuse board work or other site conditions. No eligibility criteria, warranty terms or grant position are given in the announcement. Hypervolt has not reported how many installations the service has carried out since launch.
Why it matters for households
Charging at home is the point at which a household's motoring energy stops coming from a forecourt and starts coming from its own electricity supply, which is why the practicalities of getting a unit fitted matter as much as the hardware. Buying a charger and then finding an installer separately is the step where many purchases stall, and folding installation into the checkout removes one decision from the process. The stated 2 to 3 week wait and 2 to 3 hour visit give a rough sense of the disruption involved, though both are described as typical rather than guaranteed.
For a home's energy independence, the charger is only part of the picture. Whether the installation can be paired with solar generation, a home battery or a time of use tariff determines how much of the car's charging can be met from a household's own generation or from cheaper overnight electricity, and none of that is addressed in the announcement. Households comparing units may find the Zappi vs Hypervolt comparison useful for the hardware differences, while the wider EV charging at home guide covers the installation and electrical considerations that apply whichever brand is chosen.
What happens next
No further dates are given. The service is described as available now, with installation scheduled after the customer completes the survey and is contacted by the installation team1.
Sources1 cited
- Wickes Launch Fully Installed Hypervolt Service | Hypervolt, blog.hypervolt.co.uk