Charging an electric car at home

If you can park off the street, charging at home overnight is usually the cheapest way to run an electric car.

Chargers

Most home chargers run at up to 7kW on a normal household supply, which adds around 25 miles of range for each hour of charging. A car can also charge from an ordinary three-pin socket, much more slowly, which is fine for occasional top-ups.

New home chargers in Great Britain must be able to schedule charging, so the car can charge when electricity is cheapest.

Tariffs

Some tariffs have several hours of much cheaper electricity overnight. The same tariff can suit a battery and, with care, a heat pump. Check what the cheap hours are and what the rest of the day costs before switching.

Can your home supply cope?

The installer checks your main fuse and consumer unit. A heat pump, induction hob and car charger together can push some homes near the limit of their supply. Chargers with load management slow down when the rest of the house is busy. Occasionally the network operator needs to upgrade the supply; your installer arranges this.

Without a driveway

Running a cable across the pavement needs your council's permission, and many councils are testing cable channels set into the pavement. Otherwise, the options are on-street chargers, chargers at work or at supermarkets, and rapid chargers, which usually cost more.