Electric car charging guide

One of the things about electric cars that can seem daunting at first is charging them up. There are so many questions from those used to just pulling up to a fuel station and topping up.

Some examples of these pressing questions could be: Where do I charge my car? How do I charge it? How long will it take? What are the pitfalls?

All are perfectly natural questions and we’ve got all the answers you need in our handy charging guide for electric cars below. Read on for everything you need to know about charging an electric car.

Types of charger: slow, fast and rapid

Electric Vehicle (or EV) charging points come in three types: slow, fast and rapid. The difference is obvious in the name, as they get gradually faster in terms of the time it takes to fill your car’s battery with electricity.

Slow chargers

Slow chargers are able to fill up a battery at a rate of 3kW – a good example is a home charger that uses a household three-pin plug. Even electric cars with relatively small battery packs (like a Nissan Leaf) will take 10-12 hours to charge up, so if you’ve got something like a Tesla Model 3, which has a large battery, it can take around 24 hours to charge up. Some houses are only able to supply electricity at this rate even with a dedicated wallbox, but usually you can improve your home charging with a fast charger (below).

See our pick of the best electric cars

Fast chargers

Fast chargers have a power output of between 7kW and 22kW, so they’re at least twice as fast as a slow charger. Many home wallbox chargers that you can buy and have fitted by an engineer have this kind of output, with up to about 11kW available in British homes – it depends on your home supply rather than which box you buy.

A 7kW connection will charge a Nissan Leaf in about five hours, while a public 22kW connection will do it one or two. Fast chargers make up the bulk of the public charging network, with the most common type currently being a 7kW untethered (you use your own charging cable rather than one attached to the charger itself) with a Type 2 (a type of socket) inlet.

However, fast-charge wallbox chargers can be installed in the home as well, provided the electrics in your house are up to it. You can find out more about connectors in Electric Car Connector Types advice guide.

Rapid chargers

Rapid chargers are the quickest way to top up your battery and can be found at most motorway service stations. The most common ones are AC ones, which deliver 43kW, and DC ones (50kW), and both will fill your Leaf up to 80% capacity in less than an hour.

By the way, ever wondered why manufacturers always talk about charging up to 80%, rather than charging fully? There are two reasons. Firstly, topping up to 80% helps prolong the life of your battery; secondly, the last 20% takes a disproportionately long time. Imagine filling up a bucket of water from a tap and not wanting it to overflow: you turn on the tap at full pelt to begin with and, when the water level gets close to the top of the bucket, you turn the tap down to fill the last bit more slowly. Batteries work in a similar way.

Rapid chargers can be even more prompt, too. Tesla has its own network of 145kW chargers, while DC chargers with speeds of 150kW and more are also springing up here and there. These are becoming more common with every passing month, which is great news for those with cars capable of charging at this speed.

Charging on the go

All the different networks and costs

The charging points that make up the UK’s charging infrastructure are run by a wide range of different bodies, including private companies, Government departments and charities. Some of them will require you to sign up for an account with them before you can use their facilities, but some do work on a just-turn-up-and-charge basis. These tend to use contactless payment, which we reckon will become the dominant method of paying for public charging before long.

Some points will offer subscription and charging for free, while others will make you pay every step of the way, including to subscribe to their service, to obtain an RFID card (Radio Frequency Identity card) or smartphone app to gain access to the facilities, and also for how much power you use when charging.

Many of these networks are interlinked, so membership of one might gain you access to others, and many of the national providers are linked to other, smaller regional services. There are dozens upon dozens of different networks out there but, below, we’ve detailed some of the main ones, along with a little information on how their service works.

• BP Pulse – subscription via RFID card and pay-as-you-go via smartphone app
• ChargePlace Scotland – subscription only, access through RFID card or smartphone app
• Charge your Car – subscription and pay-as-you-go, both available via RFID card or smartphone app
• ecarNI (Northern Ireland only) – free subscription via RFID card and free charging
• Ecotricity – rapid chargers accessed via smartphone app, 22kW fast chargers via RFID cars
• ESB – subscription and pay-as-you-go, access via RFID card or smartphone app
• ESB ecars (Republic of Ireland only) – free subscription, access through RFID card, free charging
• GeniePoint – Pay-as-you-go available via both RFID card and smartphone app
• Instavolt – pay-as-you-go via contactless credit/debit card
• Ionity – Europe-wide rapid chargers, via app or RFID card
• Pod point – free subscription and mostly free charging, access through smartphone app
• Osprey – pay-as-you-go via contactless credit/debit card or Apple Pay
• Source London – subscription via RFID card only
• Shell Recharge – pay-as-you-go, access via smartphone app
• Tesla – subscription, no RFID card or contactless card needed. You do, however, need a Tesla (the charge point communicates directly with the car)
• Ubitricity – Subscription, access via ‘smart cable’, pay-as-you-go available through QR code
• Zero Carbon World – no access system largely free to use at equipped hospitality locations

Charging etiquette

• If you don’t have an EV, don’t park in a charging spot. Ever. (This is known as ICEing)
• Don’t park in a charging space if you’re not charging
• If you have been charging, move your car as soon as it’s charged
• Use the various apps available to alert you when your car’s charged, and don’t wander too far away
• Never unplug other cars to charge your own, unless there’s a note of that car telling you that you can
• Respect the charge cables and connectors provided (don’t leave anything lying around)
• Generally be considerate and help each other out

What happens if you drive an electric car until the batteries run out? Watch our video to find out.

Charging at home

Most electric cars come with a couple of charging cables: a main one and one with a three-pin domestic plug. The latter should only be used as a backup, as domestic sockets aren’t designed for such heavy usage on a regular basis.

Most EV owners will get a home charging point installed, which should give you an output of between 7kW and 22kW, depending on the sturdiness of the electrics in your home. A wallbox can cost anywhere between a couple of hundred to a couple of thousand pounds, depending on what you’re after, and how much you’re prepared to pay. The minimum you’ll pay for a home charge point, fully installed, would be about £300.

However, electric car drivers do get an OLEV (Office for Low Emission Vehicles) grant of £350 towards the cost of purchasing and installing a home charger, so that will cut your outlay. Scottish residents can also claim an additional grant of up to £250.

Charging at work

Charging at work is important because, aside from your home, your workplace is where you spend most of your time. So, if you can charge at work, it might well mean that electric motoring becomes workable for people who don’t have off-street parking. It also means those that do can top-up, giving them a greater range. Even better, charging your electric car at your workplace is not a benefit-in-kind, so it’s not taxable.

Obviously your ability to charge at work will depend on whether your employer has installed charge points or not. If they haven’t, you could inform the business that a government grant is available, through the Workplace Charging Scheme, which reduces the cost of a new workplace charging station by up to 75%. This is capped at £350 per socket, but firms are allowed to claim for up to 40 sockets, effectively saving them up to £14,000. So, charging at work is good for employers as well as employees