Charging: AKA, simply plugging your car in every few days

Essentially there are three ways to charge your electric vehicle: 

• via a 3-pin household wall socket, which is slow but available widely
• via a wallbox which can be installed at your home if you have e.g. suitable off-street parking available and is substantially faster and more practical than a 3-pin plug 
• via public or on the road charging points, which can be the fastest way to charge, especially where rapid or ultra rapid options are available. Availability of public charging is increasing all the time, for the latest availability check out zapmap

The easiest and quickest way to charge at home is via a wallbox. We have a partnership with award-winning supplier of easy-to-use home chargers, Ohme. Not only do they make the installation and set-up as easy as possible, they also offer low-cost charging options via integration with smart EV energy tariffs (eg. OVO Charge Anytime). You will need to have off-street parking available and permission from the landlord if you rent your property as well as an initial assessment arranged by Ohme to check if you are a standard or non-standard installation.  

Even if you have a home charger fitted, there may be times when you need to charge on-the-go and so it’s good to know public charging has come a long way over the past few years, and continues to improve. 

Rapid chargers (with direct current or DC and speeds from 23 kW) and Ultra rapid (from 100 kW) are generally found on major routes and are essentially the petrol stations of the electric world. All electric cars have a maximum charging speed, and all rapid chargers have a maximum output (both are measured in kilowatts (kW)), so try to find a charger which maximises your car’s charging capacity.