Electric car charging at home

If you're able to charge an electric car (or plug-in hybrid) at home, you'll benefit from having the most convenient and the cheapest way to charge your vehicle.

It works out much cheaper than filling up a traditional petrol or diesel car, based on our calculations. It's more convenient and usually cheaper (unless you're able to consistently use free charging points) than using public chargers. 

Find out all you need to know, including what type of charger you need, how to speed up charging and how much it costs to install one.

See our pick of the best electric cars for 2023

Can you charge an electric car at home?

You’ll need off-road parking, such as a driveway or garage, and you need to be able to get power to it. You’ll also want to get a wallbox installed – unless you want to spend 30 hours trickle-charging your vehicle via a standard three-pin plug.

With the upcoming 2030 ban on petrol and diesel cars, and depending on where you live, off-road charging could increase the value of your home.

If you can't charge at home, see how to use electric car charging points.

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Can you plug an electric car into a regular outlet?

You can, but you won't want to. A regular 2.4kW three-pin wall socket means extremely long charging times – in excess of 30 hours depending on the car. 

You’ll want to slash those charging times by getting a wallbox charger installed.

You'll also want to avoid running a wire across the street as in the picture, below. While you can buy wire covers, it still creates a trip hazard and some local authorities will take issue.

Get a wallbox charger

Electric vehicle wallboxes (or wall charging units) are available in different forms and powers.

As you can see in the table below, they can drastically reduce charging time compared with a regular three-pin plug.

To get the best wall charging unit for you, you’ll now need to make a number of decisions:

• Tethered or untethered
• Type of plug
• Rate of power
• Smart or not.

Untethered or tethered charger?

• Untethered No attached charging lead. More hassle every time you want to plug in, but allows you to swap out the lead, such as from Type 1 to Type 2 (see below).
• Tethered The charging unit has a power lead attached to it. It’s convenient as you can just pull up and plug in, as opposed to retrieving your car’s charging lead from the boot.

Do all electric cars use the same plug?

These are two different kinds of connectors for charging an electric car at home.

Most likely it will be a Type 2 connector. Most vehicles use this type of plug as it was mandated by the EU that all plug-in cars from 2014 must have a Type 2 socket.

There are some cars that have the older, differently shaped Type 1 socket, such as the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV. But these are rare. Type 1 to Type 2 converters are available.

Looking to get the best deal on an electric car? Read our guide on where to buy

What power wall charger should I buy?

This is perhaps the most crucial bit as there's no single power option. Your typical choice is up to 7.4kW for a typical UK home.

To save money on the charger, you could choose a lower power rate (such as 3.6kW), although it will take longer to charge your car.

It's possible to have an even faster charger, up to 22kW, but very few cars can actually receive a 22kW charge from an AC source like a domestic wall charger.

Even if your car is capable of receiving a rapid charge of 100kW or higher, that’s the special DC charging rate, as opposed to the car’s AC charging rate.

We explain the differences in our guide to using electric car charging points, but it’s likely your car will have a maximum AC charging rate of 7 to 11kW (or less).

Can you speed up charging?

If your car can receive an AC charge of 11 or 22kW, it's possible to speed up charging times. The only problem is that you need a three-phase connection, which your home is unlikely to have.

Electricity is supplied through either single phase or a three-phase supply. The difference between a single phase and a three-phase supply:

• A single phase network, simply put, has one live wire
• A three-phase network has three live wires. You could connect to all three for a faster power supply.

The good news is that the majority of the UK is served by a three-phase network.

The bad news is that most UK dwellings are attached to only one of those three live wires. So, in fact, most homes have a single-phase connection, despite it being a three-phase network.

How to check if you have a three-phase connection

According to UK Power Networks (the organisation that maintains our electricity networks), the way to check the connection is to look at your fuse box.

• One 100 amp fuse means you have a single-phase connection
• Three such fuses means a three-phase connection.

As the three-phase network is widespread across the UK, it does open up the possibility of upgrading your single-phase connection to a three-phase.

If you want a higher rate of power, find out if it’s possible to upgrade by speaking to your energy supplier.

Do I need a smart charger?

All smart chargers sold from 30 June 2022 onwards need to be 'smart'. This means they can be set to charge your car when there is less demand on the grid or when more renewable electricity is available.

Depending on the model, you may be able to access your smart charge point remotely and they will usually work via an app on your phone.

How much does it cost to install an electric car charger

It typically costs between £450 and £1,200 to buy and install a wallbox.

The difference in cost is largely down to the amount of power it can supply. The most affordable are 3.6kW chargers, while 22kW chargers are the most expensive. 22kW chargers will likely be in excess of most people’s needs (and power supply at home), but if you do have a three-phase connection, it might be considered good for future-proofing.

Some wallboxes come with the option of a longer cable, which also adds cost.

For most, we’d recommend 7kW chargers, which cost around £500 to £700 to buy and install.

You will earn this back over time with the money you'll save on fuelling your car. Charging at home is the cheapest way to run a car, so find out more in how much it costs to charge an electric car.

The EVHS wallbox grant has changed

The UK government offers a grant toward buying and installing a wallbox at home through the Electric Vehicle Homecharge Scheme (EVHS), which covers 75% of the cost (capped to a maximum of £350).

However, as of 1 April 2022, the EVHS is no longer open to homeowners (including people with mortgages) who live in single-unit properties such as bungalows and detached, semi-detached or terraced housing – essentially removing the grant from most homeowners. 

It remains open to those who live in flats and those in rental accommodation (flats and single-use properties).

Additionally, in order to get the wallbox grant, the wall charging unit has to be installed by a supplier approved by the Office for Zero Emission Vehicles (OZEV), previously known as the Office for Low Emission Vehicles (OLEV).It will be able to claim for the grant on your behalf. You also have to meet these conditions:

• You're not permitted to claim for a grant if you've previously claimed against the scheme (or its predecessor, the Domestic Recharge Scheme) unless you own two eligible electric vehicles concurrently, in which case a second chargepoint grant can be claimed.
• If you're moving to a new home with an old chargepoint and wish to replace it, you would be eligible for the grant (providing you haven't previously claimed against the scheme and all other requirements are met).
• The grant is only for retrofit (existing) properties; it can't be used for new-builds or properties that aren't occupied.
• As of 1 July 2019, the wallbox charger must have smart functionality. All models can be found on this list on the .gov.uk website.

A list of full criteria can be found on OZEV’s website.

EV grants in Scotland

If you live in Scotland, the Energy Saving Trust will provide up to £300 further funding on top of the EVHS grant. While direct applications for the scheme closed at the end of March 2023, new applications made after this date will be added to a waiting list, subject to further funding becoming available (find out more from the Energy Saving Trust's website).

At the moment, two routes are available for applicants. People who live in rural and island areas of Scotland can apply for funding if they own, lease or use an electric vehicle for work purposes. You’ll have to get a quote for a new charging point before you apply for this funding.

You can also apply for funding if you purchased a used electric vehicle through the Energy Saving Trust’s Used Electric Vehicle Loan scheme. Again, you’ll have to get a quote for a new charging point before you apply for this funding.

Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G)

Vehicle-to-Grid technology is an advanced form of power management and it's a potentially crucial part of the electric car future.

Energy supplier Ovo Energy is currently running a V2G trial. If you're registered, you get to choose a charging schedule via an app on your phone. This sets the minimum state of charge you need your car to be and for what time.

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For example, you’ve come home at 6pm in the evening, plugged your car in and specified that you want it to be at least 80% full by 7am the following morning.

Overnight, your car will be charged when demand on the network is low and when it’s more likely that energy from renewable sources is feeding the grid.

But when demand on the grid is high, the charger can take power from your car, power your home and sell any excess energy back to the grid, helping to manage the UK power network and earning you money.

Your app will tell you how much money you’ve made by doing this. Ovo Energy estimates that people could save up to £800 on energy bills per year.

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