As we move towards the 2030 sales ban of new pure internal combustion vehicles, more people are investing in their own personal chargers for their homes.
According to the Energy Saving Trust, 80% of electric vehicle charging now takes place at home. For most people, plugging in at their house is the easiest and most convenient option - assuming they have access to a driveway or garage.
This is because electricity is much cheaper on a domestic energy tariff - and even more so overnight - and batteries can be charged while the car is not in use.
You can also charge while you sleep, waking up each day effectively with a ‘full tank’, meaning you're less likely to require a street-side charger on your way to work.
But there are many that are raised when it comes to charging at home, from picking the right type of charger to discovering what kind of financial incentives are available.
Read our guide below for all the advice you need for charging your EV at home.
How do I charge my electric car at home?
There are a couple of options when home charging. Most drivers use a wallbox installed at their home, but some plug their car directly into a three-pin socket (known as trickle charging).
While trickle charging seems most straightforward, it’s a slow process, charging at a maximum rate of 3kW. That means a car with an average 64kWh battery, such as the Kia Niro EV, can take almost 24 hours to fully charge. Even bigger lithium ion packs seen in models such as the Tesla Model S or Mercedes EQS can take days.
For most, a wallbox unit will be a far better bet, with charging speeds almost twice as fast as a three-pin socket and the convenience of mounting it directly onto the wall of your house or garage. Cables also don’t need to be run into the house through open doors or windows.
What is a wallbox charger?
A wallbox charger is a stand-alone unit which is wired directly into your domestic electricity supply. It’s mounted to the external wall of your property and allows you to quickly and easily plug your car in to charge.
You can buy fast charging units that will reduce the time it takes to replenish the battery, as well as ‘smart’ units that you can programme remotely to only charge at certain times (such as when your electricity tariff is cheapest) and that can condition the battery to increase its lifespan. Other chargers can be linked to solar panels, helping reduce your bills and carbon footprint.
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The advantages and disadvantages of electric vehicles are very obvious, suitable for their own needs to choose. With electric vehicles, outdoor public charging piles for charging needs are popular, and household or portable chargers are indispensable. The choice of charger is also very important.
Dear AutiCar, do you know what would be a really useful article for millions of motorists? How someone who doesn't have a house with a driveway can get on with charging an electric car. I'm in Edinburgh, and the average home here is a 2 bedroom flat, which means very little chance to have a wall mounted box. All these sorts of articles, and electric car reviews, focus on being able to charge at home, when a large portion of the driving population do not have this facility.
Also, it could look at which cities (outside of London and the south east) do well with public chargers. Edinburgh is dreadful, with very few.
"For even faster charging you’ll need to upgrade your wiring to a three-phase system (domestic wiring is usually single-phase), which will allow 22kW charging. At this rate a Nissan Leaf with a 40kWh battery can be fully charged in as little as two hours."
Autocar, this is not true! Nissan Leaf can AC charge only at 7 kW. You can take full advantage of the 22 kW wall charger only if the car supports charging at that rate and very few cars do. Most EVs are limited either to 7 kW (single-phase) or 11 kW (three-phase) charging. Only a handful of EVs, such as Renault Zoe can charge at 22 kW (three-phase).
Especially the 7 kW (single-phase) charging sucks. Outside UK, most European countries have three-phase domestic network connections, the main fuses are typically 3x25 A (most common) or 3x35 A. The 7.4 kW single-phase charger draws 32 Amps of current, and as you can see this is too much for the typical three-phase domestic network connection. 11 kW three-phase charger is better because it draws 16 Amps of current from all three phases and can be used in all houses with three-phase connection (if there is not too much other load). This is the reason I will never buy an EV with 7.4 kW single-phase charger, because with that I would be stuck charging at a measly rate of about 3 kW (I don't live in UK).