Everything you Need to Know About Home Electric Vehicle Chargers
Recently, there has been a sharp rise in ownership of electric vehicles, which means there is also a higher demand for at home electric vehicle chargers. Here is everything you need to know about at home electric car charging and whether it is right for you.
Does Every Owner of an Electric Vehicle have an EV Charger at Home?
Whilst having an electric vehicle charging system at home is very handy and it definitely makes the ownership of an electric vehicle easier, not every EV owner has an EV charger at home, because some people do not have their own driveway and their car is parked on a public highway, which means they cannot charge their car at home.
However, further research into this situation showed that EV owners without their own driveways have found a way to legally charge their cars whilst their car is parked outside their home whilst being parked on the road.
On Channel 5’s documentary “Should I Buy an Electric Car?” It showed the diverse living situations of EV owners and some EV owners without a driveway who reside in central London have found a clever solution to charging their cars at home without owning a driveway.
The way in which the residents are able to charge their car is to install a EV charger into the exterior wall of their home and create a slight vent in the surface of the pavement nearest to their car parking space to place the wire in, so pedestrians can safely walk on the pavement without the charging lead being an obstruction.
It is fair to say that the majority of electric car owners do in fact have a car charging facility at their home and on their driveway.
Can a Tesla EV Charger be Used Universally?
Currently, Tesla EV chargers can only be used on Tesla vehicles. So, if your friends or family have a Tesla charger, you cannot use it on an electric vehicle of another brand.
However, most EV chargers are universal, so for Instance, if you own a fully electric Vauxhall Mokka you can use the same charger to charge a Peugeot e-208.
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Can any House Have an Electric Car Charger?
Whether you can have an electric car charger installed in your home depends on whether you can independently make changes to your home. For instance, if you live in a council house or flat you might need permission from the council to make changes to your home, so you’d need to consult them about adding an electric car charging point to your home. The same rules apply if you privately rent your home, with major changes to your exterior or interior of your home, you would need to seek the permission of your landlord first.
Does Charging an Electric Vehicle at Home Make a Huge Difference to the Price of your Electric Bill?
According to U-Switch, Zap Map calculated one of the most popular electric cars, the Tesla Model 3, would cost £9.60 to fully charge, working on an electricity rate of 16p/kWh. However, the cheaper your energy tariff, the cheaper it will be to charge your electric vehicle. For instance, electric cars with smaller sized batteries, like the popular Nissan LEAF, could cost around £3 less per charge, compared to the Tesla Model 3.
So, whether charging electricity at home will make a huge difference to your electricity bill, really does depend on the type of electric car you purchase as the bigger the battery the more charge the vehicle will need and you also need to take into consideration the rate of your energy tariff and whether this can be reduced, so you can charge your EV at a cheaper rate.
The Best EV Chargers for at Home Charging
Pod Point Solo 3
The Pod Point Solo 3 is a particular charging point that can be used universally by electric vehicles. It is a 7kW domestic EV charger, meaning it is compatible with most home electrical systems. The charger on average charges a car 30 miles per hour, so it makes the charger the type of charger you’d use to charge your EV overnight.
EO Mini Pro v2
The Eo Mini Pro v2 is a sleek and sophisticated EV charger that can discreetly sit on the surface of your exterior wall. Like the Pod Point Solo 3, you can use the 7kW version of the charger, but you also have the option of purchasing the 3.6kW version, so it really depends on the type of charger your car needs.
Myenergi Zappi 2.0
This is a clever electric car charger that integrates the use of the usual method of charging a car and the use of solar power. So, this is ideal for those who like the idea of using solar power (which is free) to partly charge their vehicle. This is something that could change the future of at-home electric charging and it may even make owning an EV more appealing to some car buyers.
Final Thoughts
We hope you have enjoyed our article on everything you need to know about at home Electric Vehicle chargers. It is important to research the most suitable chargers for your home and for the type of electric vehicle you own. If you are in doubt you should also check with the person or organisation you purchase your EV from, to see what type of charger is used to charge the car, this way if you stick with the same charger there should be no issues with the vehicle charging at home.
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Discover how much your car is worth! Get the instant offer by entering just two details about your car. You will be instantly matched with the right car buyer ready to pay cash for your car.
