More than half of Ashburton’s households had two or more vehicles at the 2021 Census, and three in four homes were separate houses. Put those numbers together and you get a suburb of driveways, garages and carports, which is close to ideal for home charging. Our EV charger installation Ashburton work usually starts with a simple question that has a less simple answer: one car on the charger, or two?
We cover Ashburton from our South Yarra premises at 128 Toorak Rd, about 8 km away. DUKE EV is the EV-charging arm of DUKE Electrical Group, registered in Victoria as REC 35838, and our A-grade electricians handle the whole job, from switchboard to the charger on the wall.
Why home charging suits Ashburton
Ashburton grew up with the car. Victorian Places notes that the area’s housing waited for Melbourne’s post-war expansion and for wider car ownership, and the Census figures still carry that history. The 2021 count found 76.1% of dwellings as separate houses and just 2.2% as flats or apartments. Only 6.6% of households had no vehicle at all.
So a charger in Ashburton usually goes on a private wall rather than in a shared basement, and the questions are about capacity and placement rather than owners corporation approvals. Our Melbourne home charger installation page covers charger choice in general. On the first visit here we look at three things:
- where the switchboard sits and how much spare capacity it has;
- the cable route to the parking spot, including any path or driveway to cross;
- whether the charger position can be seen from the street, in case the house is in one of the suburb’s few heritage pockets.
EV charger installation Ashburton: from Alamein Commission houses to new double-storeys
Ashburton’s housing comes in layers. In 1948 the railway was extended one station to Alamein, and much of the housing around it was built by the Housing Commission, on streets with wartime names such as Victory Boulevard, Benghazi Avenue and Tobruk Road. On the former Alamein primary school site, Victorian Places describes new houses in colonial, federation and modern two-storey styles, a sharp contrast with the functional post-war Commission housing around them.
Each layer brings its own charging job. A typical post-war Commission-built house may still have an older switchboard with little room for a new circuit, so the board is the first thing we open. A two-storey rebuild is different. If the house is still at frame stage, the cheapest moment to run a charger circuit and conduit to the garage is before the plasterboard goes on. We would much rather wire a garage wall during construction than chase cable through a finished one later.
Between those two sit the semi-detached houses and townhouses, about one in five Ashburton dwellings at the last Census. Where each has its own meter and garage, the job stays simple. Where a driveway or car park is shared, we check who owns that common area before we plan the route.
Two EVs on one supply
In a two-car suburb, this is the design question that matters most. Two cars charging at full speed at the same time is a big load for a single-phase house, especially one that also runs a heat pump or a pool.
There are three sensible ways to handle it:
- One charger, shared. CitiPower, the inner-city network, puts a single-phase 7 kW unit at 30 to 40 km of range for every hour it runs. Over a night that covers most suburban driving for one car, so two cars can often take turns.
- Two chargers with load sharing. Smart chargers can split the available current between them and back off when the house is busy.
- A supply upgrade. If the household drives long distances or wants faster charging, our three-phase power upgrades for EV charging page explains what that involves on the United Energy network.
United Energy’s own guidance is a handy yardstick. It suggests a standard power point suits drivers covering up to about 200 km a week, a dedicated charging unit suits 200 to 500 km a week, and anyone driving more than that should look at a higher-output charging point. Add up both cars’ weekly distances and the answer is often obvious.
We would not rush into a second charger. Plenty of two-EV households will be fine with one well-placed unit and a charging roster on the fridge. We say so on site, even when it makes the quote smaller.
The network matters here too. Ashburton is entirely United Energy territory: CitiPower’s postcode tool lists only United Energy for 3147, and the state government’s network boundary data shows no other distributor in the suburb. United Energy’s EV charging page notes that some homes need a power supply upgrade to manage the extra load, and that a REC has to install wall chargers, each of which is registered on myEnergy. Because the Victorian Service and Installation Rules carry advice on big single-phase loads, any 32 amp single-phase unit gets a check against United Energy’s requirements first.
Heritage pockets worth a quick check
Heritage controls are light in Ashburton compared with the older suburbs closer to the city. By our count from the state’s planning maps, only about 6% of the suburb’s land sits inside a Heritage Overlay. Most of it falls in a few precincts:
- the Great Glen Iris Railway Junction Estate and Environs (HO227), covering Highgate Grove, Lexia Street, Ward Street and part of Dent Street;
- the Home Farm Estate and Environs Precinct (HO918), around parts of Albion Road and Dunlop Street;
- the Tower Hill Estate Precinct (HO958), shared with Glen Iris, where Boroondara’s schedule specifically lists contributory fences and garages.
Inside an overlay, the rule for chargers is narrow. A permit is triggered only when the charging station is visible from a street (other than a lane) or a public park. In the Tower Hill Estate, where garages themselves are part of what the schedule protects, we would keep a charger off the street face of an older garage. A side or interior wall normally solves it.
The pole chargers by the pool and on High Street
Ashburton has a piece of state charging history. In October 2025 Boroondara announced Victoria’s first electricity pole-mounted EV chargers: one opposite 13 Warner Street, near the Ashburton Pool and Recreation Centre, and one at the Ashburton Shopping Centre car park at 415 High Street. They run on the pole’s own supply. The council says it chose the sites but does not own or run the chargers, and drivers pay a fee to use them. Council-managed chargers are also listed at the Ashburton Village car park, 2 Marquis Street. Details are on Boroondara’s EV charging stations page.
The mayor described pole chargers as being for residents who can’t add an EV charger to their property, and that is the right way to see them. They are a good backstop for visitors and renters. For a house with its own driveway, a charger at home means the car is full every morning without a trip to High Street.
About a quarter of Ashburton households rent. If that is you, the owner’s written consent comes first, because the work changes the property’s electrical installation. We are happy to give the owner a scope of works and talk them through it. When a tenancy is short, a dedicated 15 amp outlet for the car’s portable charger can be a sensible compromise, and Solar Victoria puts that setup at about 3.6 kW.
Our Ashburton install, step by step
The order of work rarely changes. We confirm the car and its charging limit, inspect the board and the cable route, and give you a written quote that spells out what drives the cost. Then we install a dedicated circuit with the right protection, mount and commission the charger, and test everything, with the United Energy registration lodged when its process calls for it. A Certificate of Electrical Safety is issued once the work is complete. If the board needs attention first, our page on switchboard upgrades for EV chargers explains the options, and households with panels on the roof can read about solar-aware EV charging.
Frequently asked questions from Ashburton households
How do the pole-mounted chargers in Ashburton work?
They are fixed to existing electricity poles and use the pole’s supply. The council supplied the locations for a two-year pilot, the operator runs them, and drivers pay a fee to charge. They suit people who cannot charge at home.
Can two EVs share one charger at home?
Yes, and for many households it works well. A single 7 kW charger can usually refill one car’s daily driving overnight, so two cars can alternate. If both cars need charging every night, we can fit two chargers with load sharing instead.
We are knocking down and rebuilding. When should the charger be planned?
At design stage. Allow for switchboard capacity, a conduit to the garage and a mounting position before the walls are lined. The charger itself can go in at handover.
Will a home charger in Ashburton need a planning permit?
Usually not. Clause 62.02-2 of the planning scheme exempts an electric vehicle charging station from the general permit requirements for buildings and works, unless a permit is specifically required. The Heritage Overlay is the main exception, and only where the charger would be visible from a street or public park.
Which electricity network supplies Ashburton?
United Energy supplies the whole suburb. We register the charger with them on your behalf.
Is there a government rebate for a home EV charger?
Not at the moment. When we checked in October 2026, we found no Victorian Government rebate for home chargers, and the federal DRIVEN charger rebate is aimed at dealerships and EV repairers rather than households.
Whether it is a Commission-era house near Alamein station or a new double-storey off High Street, we are happy to look at photos of your switchboard and parking spot before a visit. Get in touch through our contact page or call 1300 003 853, Monday to Saturday, 7am to 7pm. If you live next door in Glen Iris, see our page on EV charger installation in Glen Iris.