How to charge your electric car at home

What is a home charge point?

A home charge point is a wallbox designed specifically for charging electric vehicles. As the name suggests it looks like a simple box usually attached to an outside wall at your property. A home charge point (7.4kW) will give you greater power than a domestic plug socket (2.4kW). If you upgrade to a 3 phase supply, you can get up to 22kW of power decreasing your time to charge significantly.

A home charge point will allow you to charge your car more quickly adding security and peace of mind. They're safe and discreet and they'll make charging your car much easier than a trip to the petrol station.

It's perfectly possible to charge your electric car using a conventional 3-pin plug with an EVSE¹ cable (also called a granny cable) and domestic socket, although this method of charging can be very slow. A domestic 2.4kW socket can take over 24hrs to charge your EV battery. This is ok if you're just topping up your battery, but if you have a fully electric BEV² a dedicated home charge point is most effective.

A dedicated home charger is guaranteed to give you a faster charge than a 3 pin-plug, with the average speed of a smart home charger at 7kW, that's 3 times faster. Home chargers are specifically designed to charge an electric car battery that makes them the safest way to charge at home. They're sleek and discreet and if you buy one from us it'll be installed by one of our EV experts.

Most domestic homes in the UK have a single-phase electricity meter and this works perfectly well with a standard smart home charger giving a 7.4 kW output. With a 3-phase electricity supply, some chargers can deliver power up to 22kW. Put simply a 3-phase supply can transmit 3 times as much electricity as a single-phase meter making it the fastest way to charge at home.

How can I get a home charge point installed?

It's not recommended that you install electric car charge points yourself, but when you get a home charger installed with us, it'll be installed by one of our EV experts. We'll include the cost of installation in the price, so you don't have to worry about arranging it separately.

The installation process usually takes about two hours, in that time our installer will:

Fit the charger in your chosen location
Run any necessary cable to the charger
Connect it to your electricity supply
Make sure it's working for you by checking your connections

It's then ready for use with your electric vehicle. We’ll also sort any paperwork to notify the correct bodies who need to know and issue you with NAPIT approved certificate.

Is it cheaper to charge an electric car at home?

The price for our electric vehicle chargers start at £1,029. If you rent your property you may still be eligible for the OZEV grant, it offers renters and landlords £350 towards the cost of installing a home charger. To qualify for the grant, you need to rent your property, or be the landlord of the property. If you get a home charger from us we'll sort this for you.

The cost savings that come with driving and owning an electric car far outweigh the outset cost. Charging at home is cheaper and easier than filling up at a petrol station. With the average UK electricity cost at 34p per kWh you could fill a Nissan leaf with a 40 kWh battery for as little as £14.⁴ That would give you a range of 151 miles.

How often do I need to charge my electric car?

Whilst you can charge your car every night, it's not always necessary. You can get more out of your battery for longer if you only charge to around 80%, so if your battery is still 60% to 70% full you may not need to fill up. Always judge how much charge you need based on how far you'll need to travel in a day.

Many cars will let you select how much you want to charge so you can still make the most of overnight charging without prematurely damaging your battery. Always refer to the manufacturer's instructions to get the best advice for your electric vehicle.

What's the difference between tethered and untethered chargers?

A tethered charger has a cable attached to it, so you won't need an extra cable, you literally just plug in and go.

An untethered charger doesn’t have a cable, so you'll need to have a charger cable that matches the cable type specific to your car. Our untethered chargers are suitable for a type 2 socket.³

Untethered chargers are more easily adapted if you change your car and have a different plug type. You can change the cable to suit the plug type of your car.

How to charge your electric car at home

Charging at home - the basics

What is a home charge point?

Why should you charge your electric vehicle at home?

Types of charger

Three-pin plug

Smart home charger

3-phase supply

Did you know?

How can I get a home charge point installed?

Is it cheaper to charge an electric car at home?

Get a car charger quote

Did you know?

How often do I need to charge my electric car?

What's the difference between tethered and untethered chargers?

Articles and guides on electric vehicle charging

EV charging for your business

EV help and support

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How to charge your electric car at home

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Is it cheaper to charge an electric car at home?

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How often do I need to charge my electric car?

What's the difference between tethered and untethered chargers?

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