Kew kept its big houses. Victorian Places notes that, compared with suburbs such as Hawthorn and Caulfield, fewer of Kew’s fine house allotments were redeveloped into flats or row houses, and the 2021 Census still counted half of its dwellings as separate houses. Add the 14.9% of households with three or more vehicles and a typical EV charger installation Kew project is less about whether a charger fits and more about how much load the house can carry.
The nearest DUKE base to Kew is our South Yarra premises at 128 Toorak Rd, roughly 5 km from the middle of the suburb. DUKE EV holds Victorian registration as REC 35838, and our A-grade electricians handle supply and switchboard work as well as the charger itself.
EV charger installation Kew homes: sizing for big houses
The car habit runs deep here. Victorian Places observes that distance from public transport made much of Kew unattractive for flats, which helped the large allotments survive. The 2021 Census found an average of 1.7 vehicles and 3.1 bedrooms per dwelling, and only 6.1% of households without a car. North-east of Kew Junction, Nicholas Fenwick’s early estate gave the area streets named after English statesmen, such as Walpole Street, and big houses on generous blocks still define much of the suburb.
A large Kew house rarely has one heavy load. Think about the list on a winter evening: ducted heating or heat pumps, an induction cooktop, a pool pump, perhaps a spa, and now one or two cars plugged in. The Victorian Service and Installation Rules, which apply across the state’s distribution networks, name EV chargers, air conditioning and induction cooktops together as the kind of new equipment that can trigger a supply capacity upgrade.
So our first visit is a load assessment rather than a charger sale. We calculate maximum demand under the Wiring Rules and look at what the main switch, the consumer mains and the board can take. The Service and Installation Rules then require limiting devices where that calculated demand exceeds 100 amps per phase, or where the distributor specifies it. In a big house with a long list of appliances, that calculation sometimes surprises people.
The options usually come down to three:
- Load management. A smart charger reads the household load and slows the car down when the house is busy, then speeds back up overnight.
- A switchboard rebuild. An older board may simply have no room for another circuit and modern safety switches.
- A supply upgrade. Moving to three-phase power gives more headroom for the house as a whole.
When three-phase is worth it in Kew
CitiPower’s electric vehicle page says 22 kW home chargers need three-phase power and are not suitable for every customer. Just as important, the car decides how fast it will take AC power. The Vehicle Emissions Star Rating site, a government initiative endorsed by every state and territory, puts it plainly: you can safely charge with higher-powered equipment, but the vehicle will still only charge at the level it can handle.
Our honest view is that in Kew, three-phase earns its keep when the house has other big loads, not for the car alone. If the pool, the heating and two EVs are all competing, a three-phase supply makes sense. If it is one car and a modest house, a 7 kW single-phase charger with load management usually does the job, because a car that sleeps in the garage every night has hours in which to refill.
When an upgrade is the right call, the process runs through CitiPower. Its page on changing your existing power supply lists equipment such as EV chargers as a reason to modify a supply, says alteration applications can only be lodged by a REC through its eConnect portal, and says most works take between 3 and 8 weeks depending on complexity. Where the local network cannot support a change, such as a high-capacity charging installation, CitiPower runs a separate network upgrade process.
Our page on three-phase power upgrades for EV charging covers the steps in more detail.
Studley Park, Barrington Avenue and Kew’s heritage precincts
Roughly 27% of Kew’s land area falls inside a Heritage Overlay, going by our own sampling of Vicmap, the state’s mapping data. The precincts include the Glenferrie Road Precinct (HO150), Barrington Avenue (HO142) with its stretch of Cotham Road, Barry Street (HO143), Sackville Street (HO162), the Yarra Boulevard Precinct (HO530), High Street South (HO527) and Walmer Street (HO158), which takes in part of Studley Park Road.
For a charger, the test is visibility. If the charging station would be visible from a street (other than a lane) or a public park, it needs a planning permit; tucked inside a garage or out of sight behind the house, it does not. Boroondara’s schedule also applies solar energy system controls to each of those precincts, so if panels and a charger are planned together, check both at once.
Two of Kew’s best-known redevelopments sit on the Victorian Heritage Register rather than relying on the overlay alone: the former Willsmere Hospital on Wiltshire Drive, now apartments, and the former Kew Cottages site. Boroondara’s schedule records them as H861 and H2073. For places on the Register, the planning scheme defers to the Heritage Act 2017: permits come from the Executive Director under that Act, and apartments need owners corporation approval as well. We plan that conversation before we plan the cable.
Solar, batteries and daytime charging
A large Kew roof may have room for a decent solar system, and pairing it with a charger changes how the car gets filled. Solar Victoria notes that home solar can reduce or eliminate the cost and emissions of charging, but solar sent to the car is not available for the evening, and a home battery can store daytime solar to charge the car at night. How well it works depends on the size of the system, the size of the car’s battery and the charging equipment.
Our practical take: a smart charger that follows the solar output is the cheapest way to capture most of the benefit, and a battery is a separate decision with its own numbers. If a battery is on the cards, the federal Cheaper Home Batteries Program has applied since 1 July 2025, and from 1 May 2026 its support tapers as capacity rises. The Clean Energy Regulator notes that the rebate is set by the installation date, not the date the contract is signed. Solar Victoria’s guide to getting your home EV-ready is a useful read before you commit. On CitiPower’s network, new or upgraded solar needs pre-approval before the contract is signed, and the network sets any export limit. Our solar EV charger installation page explains how we set up solar-aware charging.
Public charging at Kew Junction
Kew has a public option close to the shops. Boroondara lists two public chargers at Kew Junction, 14 Fenton Way, on its EV charging stations page, and council aims to make charging stations available within a 2 km radius of activity centres by 2030. The bays carry time limits, and council’s inspectors do check them.
The Junction chargers are useful for a top-up while you shop. For a household with a garage, though, the least fussy charging happens at home, overnight or in the sun.
Servicing and repairs for chargers already installed
Older chargers deserve a look, particularly if the house has had other electrical work since. United Energy’s safety advice is sound anywhere in Melbourne: never use household adaptors between the charging equipment and a wall socket, avoid extension leads where possible, check the charging cable for wear and replace it if damage is visible, and never use a charger that has been modified. A safety switch that trips repeatedly is worth investigating. So is an older Type AC safety switch on the charger circuit, because those devices may not detect the pulsating DC leakage that chargers can produce. Fault-finding, replacements and relocations all come under our charger repairs and servicing work.
Frequently asked questions: Kew houses, heritage and power
Is three-phase power worth it for a large Kew house?
It depends on the whole house, not just the car. If you run heating, a pool and two EVs, three-phase gives useful headroom. For one car and moderate loads, a single-phase charger with load management is usually enough. We work it out from a maximum demand calculation.
Where is the nearest public charger in Kew?
Boroondara lists two public chargers at Kew Junction, 14 Fenton Way. Signs at the bays show the time limits and fees.
We own an apartment at Willsmere. What approvals apply?
The former Willsmere Hospital is on the Victorian Heritage Register, so works there fall under the Heritage Act 2017 as well as needing owners corporation approval. We start with the owners corporation and the building’s heritage requirements, then design the installation around them.
Can you relocate an existing charger during a renovation?
Yes. We can disconnect the charger safely, make the circuit safe while the builders work, and reinstall it in its new position with fresh testing and a new Certificate of Electrical Safety. It is worth planning the new location before the walls are lined.
Which electricity network supplies Kew?
CitiPower. Mapping from the state (Vicmap) and from CitiPower itself puts virtually all of Kew on CitiPower’s network, although CitiPower’s postcode lookup also lists Jemena against 3101, so we confirm the network for your address before anything is lodged.
Can a charger work with the solar panels we already have?
Yes. A solar-aware charger can be set to use surplus generation during the day. We check the inverter, the switchboard and your export arrangements before recommending a model.
From a period house near Barrington Avenue to a family home near Studley Park, we are glad to talk through the options. Our guide to home EV charger installation in Melbourne is a good primer. Use our contact page to describe the cars and what else the house runs, or phone 1300 003 853 from 7am to 7pm, Monday to Saturday. Homes north-east of Harp Road have their own guide: EV charger installation in Kew East.