What are the best home chargers for electric cars?
- Can you have an electric car charger at home?
- What is the fastest electric car charger for home?
- How much is a home charger for an electric car?
- What are the best home chargers for electric cars?
- Does an electric car come with a home charger?
Perhaps you have secured your first electric car, and need an easy list of the best home chargers for electric cars. Or do you want to understand the whole process of owning an electric vehicle before you dip your toes in the water? Maybe you simply want to know, “Does an electric car come with a home charger?”.
Whatever your reason, with the approach of the 2030 ban on the sale of new internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles, it is ideal for getting ahead of the game and gaining the best understanding you can of what is included with owning an electric car.
Often a problem people raise is that there is a lack of EV charging points available, and you have to ‘fill’ your car more often than an ICE vehicle. However, people often forget that you have the opportunity to continually top up your EV at home overnight, when you park your car, at the supermarket, and at motorways when you are travelling long distances.
If we are to truly move forward with electric vehicles, we should remove the expectation for EVs to completely replace ICE cars, and expect all features and characteristics to be the same.
Imagine if you had the option to fill up your petrol or diesel car at home for less money, you may barely have to ever visit a public fuel station unless on long journeys. And how much easier would this be? To arrive home on an empty tank, and leave the next morning full of fuel and ready to go!
That’s less time spent at petrol stations and more money in your pocket.
Seems like a no-brainer, right?
If we also take into consideration that there are more places to charge your electric car than petrol stations in the whole of the UK!
Guess by how much…
There are more than 42,000 charge point connectors across the UK in over 15,500 locations – that’s more public places to charge than petrol stations!
Now, let’s get equipped with the best knowledge of the best home chargers for electric cars on the market, and answer the question, “Does an electric car come with a home charger?” …
Can you have an electric car charger at home?
So, can you have an electric car charger at home? The answer to this is, yes you can.
There are a wide range of dedicated home chargers on the market to choose from. Whether or not your electric car has a type 1 or type 2 connector will depend on which home charger is compatible with it.
You can use a standard 3 pin plug socket with an Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment (EVSE) cable to charge your car, however this is recommended only as a last resort.
Once you have purchased your home charger you should contact a professional installer to install the charger safely in your home. Then you can begin to enjoy all the benefits of filling up your car from home – saving time and money!
What is the fastest electric car charger for home?
Generally, the typical UK home will house a 7.4kW wall charger. The lower the power rate the more money you save on your charger.
It’s worth noting that it does take longer to charge your car with a lower power rate. However, since the majority take advantage of lower prices by charging their car overnight, this usually isn’t something you need to worry about.
So, what is the fastest electric car charger for home charging?
The fastest home charging option for an electric car is a 22kW powered device. Very few vehicles can receive this much power from an AC source such as a domestic wall charger.
How much is a home charger for an electric car?
You’ve decided electric is the way to go for you. Now you need to budget for filling the vehicle up with energy.
How much is a home charger for an electric car?
As you can guess, this will completely depend on the type of charging compatibility your electric vehicle requires, and the charger you install in your home.
Overall, home chargers can cost over £800 without a grant. Whether or not you buy a 3kW or 7kW will also determine the cost.
The average cost of home charger installation is around £1,000.
Although this sounds like a lot to pay upfront, once you have it installed, you only really have the cost of charging your car – which will be miles cheaper.
What are the best home chargers for electric cars?
So, what are the best home chargers for electric cars? The best home charger will differ between each individual. It’s important to understand this before you begin the buying process of your home charger.
Looking to power your car with your solar panels? You’ll need a home charger that is compatible with solar panels.
Do you have a small tight space in your garage or outdoor area? A small and compact charger will be ideal for you.
Is your style and aesthetics important to you? A charger that is available in a range of colours and finishes is most likely your perfect match.
Priorities differ between people. Where can you find any of these types of chargers? Luckily for you, you’re in the right place…
Project EV Fast AC
Project EV as a charging company has a dedicated mission in working towards offering the most advanced smart solution for all customers. There is no official price listed on their site, so you must get a personal quotation for home installation with the charger. So, does it deliver? Let’s find out…
The Project EV Fast AC charger range offers a wide choice from the standard EVA-07S-SE-RFID – a single-phase fast AC charger, to the top of the range EVA-07S-PE-RFID single-phase fast AC charger, with:
- 5-year warranty
- Solar compatibility
- Time-shifting capabilities saving you money
- Cable locking feature ensuring total protection
The Fast AC Charger is ideal for home charging, and is available for type 2 sockets or as a tethered charger.
What else comes with a Project EV Fast AC charger as standard?
- RFID Mode Charging – allows you to easily stop and start the EV charging cycle with the swipe of the Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) Card
- Free Project EV App – lets you customise charging rates, prioritise off-peak charging so you can enjoy the best savings possible, create charging records allowing you to see and control your data
- Plug & Play Mode – ensures no extra software or applications are needed to charge your car – easy and stress-free!
Ohme Home Pro
The Ohme Home Pro charger is known as one of the top chargers on the market today, and is available from £949 with installation. But is it the ideal home charger for you?
What does Ohme provide?
It ensures optimal safety thanks to its built-in PEN fault detection.
What is PEN?
This stands for Protective Earthed Neutral, and relates to wiring safety. So, in technical terms, it is a single conductor that provides both a neutral and protective earth conductor.
What does this mean in relation to EV charging equipment?
A built-in PEN can detect faults and will disconnect the live, neutral and earth supplies accordingly. This eliminates any risk of electric shock by disconnecting the electric vehicle from the charger.
What about different types of cables available?
Although there is only a tethered version of the charger, it does offer a 5-metre cable which allows flexible charging in terms of positioning your car.
Ohme offers the most advanced app on the market which allows you to save money with minimal work.
How does this work?
The app features a unique software which integrates your energy tariff to automatically charge your electric car at the best (cheapest) times.
If you are someone who dislikes having countless apps on your phone and just wants a simple EV home charger, the Ohme charger features a screen you can use instead, so everything is all in one place. The screen shows information about your vehicle’s battery level and current charging rate.
Sync EV
Sync EV claims to be the smallest car charger in the world. What does this mean for you? Not much really. Regardless of its size, you get to enjoy a charger packed with fun features, available with installation from £945.
What do you get from Sync EV?
- Tethered and untethered charging
- Various cable lengths including 5M, 7.5M or 10M
- Compatible with Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, solar and 3G/4G connection
- Available in a range of shades including black, white and grey
- A reassuring 3-year warranty included as standard
- Load balancing as standard
What is load balancing?
Load balancing is a technique engineered to instruct the charger to deliver the correct amount energy across charge points and onsite storage systems.
Easee One
Easee One is one of the most flexible home charging options on the market, and there is no estimated cost as you must get a personal quotation for home installation with the charger. It works as either an untethered or tethered device simply by the press of a button.
On top of this, this charger can charge all electric vehicles – all you need is the correct charging cable.
Additionally, it has a built-in PEN fault detection, saving any nasty electric sparks.
For those who appreciate simplicity will enjoy using the app. It sports a pleasurable modern design and allows you to control the charger’s cable lock feature.
Simply put, this lets you unlock the charger if you need to remove the cable, and lock the charger if you want to keep the charging cable in place.
You can also set up start and stop charging times from the comfort of your sofa. If your car is plugged in, and you have a Wi-Fi connection; all you have to do is schedule the charge from the home screen of the app.
Zappi Charger
Zappi is best known for its fantastic solar charging capabilities, and is available from £779 with a separate quote for home installation. Although it is an expensive option, and likely not worth buying unless you have solar panels.
What does the Zappi charger offer?
Solar functionality is the main feature of this charger, providing an app so you can track and control solar and energy usage in your home.
You can also set charging schedules and take advantage of using off-peak times overnight.
Offers more compatibility with its tethered and untethered options, plus its cable is built-in so appears nice and tidy.
This charger also has a built-in PEN fault detection, reducing harmful risk of electrocution.
One aspect to consider with the solar charging, is when solar matching. The charger reads your home’s solar output and then charges your vehicle with the same amount of power. This means you cannot control whether or not your solar panels output will go directly to your car, as it could take power from the grid instead.
Wallbox Pulsar Max
The Wallbox Pulsar Max is a compact, compatible and fun home charger, and is up for grabs at £639 without installation. Available with 6 colours to choose from, buyers can customise it to coordinate with their home. This award-winning charger also works with hands-free devices including Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant devices.
What does Wallbox Pulsar Plus offer?
- Tethered and untethered charging
- 5 or 7 metre cable available
- Compatible with Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and solar
- Range of colours to choose from including black, white, green, yellow, blue and grey
- A reassuring 3-year warranty included as standard
- Optional extra: Load balancing
Simpsons & Partners Home Series
Simpsons & Partners is the Harrods of the EV charger world. With over 126 colour and finish combinations on offer, it is – without a doubt – the most customisable charger on the market. It is available to buy from £649 without installation.
What else does the Home Series provide?
Buyers are given a 6.5 metre cable and can pick from tethered or untethered charging.
It is compatible with Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and solar power.
A reassuring 3-year warranty is included as standard, along with load balancing.
As standard both load balancing and a 3-year warranty is included, great reassurance in case anything goes wrong!
Hypervolt 2
The Hypervolt 2 offers a smart, plush fast-charging charger, so smart that you don’t have to lift a finger to use it! The integrated Alexa compatibility ensures easy voice control from the comfort of your home. It is available for £630 without installation.
What else does Hypervolt provide?
- Only tethered charging available
- Various cable lengths including 5M, 7.5M or 10M
- Compatible with Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and solar
- Available in a range of shades including black, white and grey
- A reassuring 3-year warranty included as standard
- Optional extra: Load balancing
Badger Amstel
The Badger Amstel has been designed to efficiently and effectively charge your EV. So, what’s on offer?
Both tethered and untethered charging is available with a 6-metre cable.
Choices in shades range from black or grey.
A reassuring 3-year warranty is included as standard with load balancing.
Although it doesn’t offer many customisable features and the cable is on full-view, it does sport a striking industrial look – which some may find stylish.
Anderson
Anderson promises a transformative EV charging experience with its intelligent and stylish charging point. It features sleek looks with a clever design to hide the charging cable and plug when not in use – thanks to its integrated cable.
It is available to buy from £1,499 including installation.
As noted above, tethered charging is available, and it is the only option. You can, however, choose from a 5.5 or 8.5 metre cable depending on your needs.
You also have the freedom of choosing how to power your car thanks to its excellent compatibility with Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and solar power.
Customising your charger to your own style isn’t a problem thanks to its 96 colour and finish combinations.
1-year warranty is included as standard with 3 years covered by the UK Government’s OZEV.
Load balancing comes as standard with the charger.
Pod Point Solo 3
As one of the more well-known EV charger manufacturers, Pod Point with a 4.3 TrustPilot rating is a reliable home charge company. The Pod Point Solo 3 sports an attractive design for an electric car charger, plus it offers many useful features. It is available to buy from £799 with home installation included.
What can you expect from this charger?
It offers both tethered and untethered chargers, although we would recommend going for the untethered version as this has better compatibility with all EVs, and works with type 1 and 2 charging cables.
These charging points have a reduced risk of electric shock thanks to their built-in PEN fault detection, which will fully disconnect the live, neutral and earth conductors when necessary.
The only downside to the Pod Point Solo 3 is the app is limited when compared to what other chargers offer for the same price.
Does an electric car come with a home charger?
So, now we have dug deep into the best home chargers for electric cars on the market, and answered queries around home charging and electric vehicles, it’s time to understand and answer the question, “Does an electric car come with a home charger?”.
Now, it is likely your new electric car will come with a charging cable, and this could be compatible with or a type 1 or 2 connector, and sometimes a domestic 3-pin plug (more often for plug-in hybrids).
You should also check this with your electric vehicle supplier before buying a home charger, to prevent you from purchasing an incompatible charging point.
It is not common for a home charging point to come with your new electric car.
There are, however, some companies who provide a home charger along with your new electric vehicle.
So, which company does an electric car come with a home charger?
- Access to all electric car manufacturers giving you a massive range to choose from
- Offers any choice of charger from Project EV including fast, rapid and ultra-rapid charge points
Octopus EV
- 65 electric models to choose from
- Choice between Ohme Home Pro, Wallbox Pulsar Plus or MyEnergi Zappi 2 chargers
- Offers a standard home charger installation
EDF Energy
- 11 electric cars on offer which are compatible with all plug-in brands
- A Pod Point Solo 3 charger with the choice between a universal socket or a tethered
Now, which from this list of best home chargers for electric cars did you like? It’s important that before you buy the charger with the best online reviews, or select the charger with the snazziest tech features, you should remember your needs first.
Are you someone who needs a simple easy app? Does your electric car require tethered or untethered charging compatibility?
If you have not yet ordered a vehicle, is a charger that works with all types of connectors more important to you?
It’s questions like these that will help you choose from this list of the best home chargers for electric cars, and find the best solution for you.
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