Home Charging
Electric charging at home
The most convenient and cost-effective way to charge an electric car is from the comfort of your home. In fact, approximately 80-90% of charging will take place at home.
If you have access to off-street parking (driveway, garage, car port etc…) at home, there’s a high probability you will be able to install a dedicated EV charge point to support your day-to-day charging and it’s highly recommended to fit one of these chargers to ensure your EV ownership is hassle-free and convenient.
Most domestic properties in the UK have a single-phase power supply and the maximum power an EV home charge point can draw on this supply is 7.4 kilowatts (kW). In essence, this means an EV can add approximately 15-20 miles of range for every hour it is charging.
Whilst that doesn’t sound like a lot of miles, if you charge your car overnight while you sleep, as you would do with a mobile phone, the following morning you will wake up to a fully charged battery.
Some domestic properties in the UK have a 3-phase power supply and this means the maximum charging speed achievable at home is 22kW*. In turn, this reduces charging times significantly and you can add approximately 45-60 miles of range per hour.
Most vehicle manufacturers provide a “granny” cable with their electric vehicles which can be plugged in to a standard 3-pin household plug. A granny cable can only draw around 2.3kW when used so it’s not recommended for day-to-day charging, however, it’s useful to keep stored in the car for emergencies or if you’re travelling away from home and won’t have access to a charger at your end destination.