How to charge Electric cars in UK? Unlike petrol stations, there are a vast variety of places to charge an electric car. And it’s a different world, it’s not about how long will I have to stand by the car. You can charge whilst doing something more useful. There’s no need to charge to the max, topping-up is the name of the game.
Key dependencies
Charging is dependent on the Charging rate, the charger plug type and whether an external provider has to be paid.
Charging at Home
The best way and cheapest to charge your Electric car is at home, if that’s possible, preferably using a dedicated Charging point. It is possible to plug into a standard 13 Amp socket, but charging will be very much slower. Of course, if it’s while you’re asleep this may not matter too much.
Cheapest charging
The most convenient charging is at home if you have a driveway. Charging overnight is best for the National grid and hence the cheapest. Some suppliers offer highly tuned tariffs to provide the lowest prices. Octopus is the most adventurous in this regard.
Join Octopus Energy as a new customer and receive a £50 discount for joining any Octopus tariff including the ones designed for Home charging. Also, have them donate £50 to keep this site running, please click through to the Octopus site.
Near Home Charging
Some Councils have started installing Street Charging and there may be a Car park with a Charger installed near your home. Example of On-Street parking.
If you live in an Apartment / Flat
If you live in an Apartment / Flat your Landlord should be able to claim a Goverment grant to install charging points.
Community charging
You may be able to arrange charging at another home in your neighbourhood for a small fee. There are several booking apps available to manage this.
Supermarkets
Supermarkets are starting to install Chargers, so you may be able to Charge whilst shopping, the Charging rate will vary from location to location. They will often be free to use, although the fastest chargers may still require.
During a journey
Motorways and main roads are getting Chargers installed at Service stations and Coffee shops, these will generally require payment, some are very much more expensive than Home charging. However, for most people’s journeys, this en-route charging isn’t needed very frequently in practice.
Charger plug types
Currently, there are several different types of charging Plugs. The official standard is now CCS, with Type 2 and CHAdeMO being phased out in Europe.
