Electrics and gas
An EV charger is supplied from the garage consumer unit and that unit was not opened. What capacity and what test are both outside the visual note?
Both the capacity and the test sit outside the visual note. The EV charger is supplied from the garage consumer unit, and that unit was not opened. The survey has seen a charger fed from that board. It has not assessed whether the board has spare capacity, has not named the protective device, and has not tested the circuit. An unopened garage unit cannot carry those two answers. The note stops at the supply route that was visible.
Last reviewed 24 October 2026. Written for buyers in England and Wales unless this answer says otherwise. No named surveyor has signed this page. It is general guidance, not a report on your house, and not legal advice.
What is the fuller explanation?
An EV charger is a large, long-running load. Whether a garage consumer unit can carry it depends on the device that feeds it, the cable, and the rest of the demand, none of which is settled by seeing a cable leave a closed box. The surveyor did not remove the cover and did not use test instruments. Capacity is an electrical judgement. A test is an electrician's inspection. Neither is hiding inside a visual note that the charger is supplied from a unit nobody opened.
Ask an electrician to open the garage consumer unit, identify the charger's protective device, and say what capacity and test are still required. Tell the solicitor the survey did not open that unit and did not test the charger circuit. Do not treat a lit charger as proof of spare capacity. Keep any installation certificate for the charger separate from this closed board.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- Which garage consumer unit supplies the EV charger?
- Why was that unit left unopened?
- What capacity judgement and what test sit outside this visual note?
What are the typical next steps?
- Ask an electrician to open the garage unit and identify the charger's device.
- Tell the solicitor the survey did not test the charger circuit.
- Keep any charger certificate separate from the closed board.
Costs vary with the building and with who you instruct. Where this page does not cite a published figure, ask the surveyor, a relevant specialist, or your solicitor for a written quote. Do not treat a forum average as the price.
Also asked about this
If the charger lamp is on, was capacity still outside the visual note?
No. A light on the charger shows it has power, or that a lamp is on. It does not put capacity or a test inside the visual note. The garage consumer unit was not opened, and the survey did not test the circuit. A lamp is not spare capacity.
Is the charger's sticker the electrical test the survey did not do?
No. A manufacturer's sticker identifies a product. It is not the test the survey did not do, and it does not state the capacity of the garage board that was left shut. The visual note is only that the charger is supplied from that unit. The sticker does not open it.