Charging your EV at Home

This guide offers insights into what you can anticipate when utilising your home EV charger, providing helpful information for a seamless charging experience.

In this guide, we will cover:

  • How long does it takes to charge an electric vehicle at home
  • Costs of charging your EV at home
  • Tips for keeping your battery healthy

How long does it take to charge my electric vehicle at home?

A single-phase home charger – 7.4kW

Each Electric Vehicle (EV) will charge at different speeds according to its onboard charger, while the amount of charging time depends on the battery size and the charging speed. For example, an electric car with a larger 64 kWh battery will normally take longer to charge from zero to full compared to a 32 kWh battery simply because it is bigger.

A 7.4 kW charger can charge a medium-sized EV to 80 percent in less than 8 hours. Of course, actual charging times can be impacted by the size/model of the car, as well as other factors such as temperature and the efficiency of the charging system.

Three-Pin Plug - 3kW 
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It is possible to charge an EV with a three-pin plug, but we wouldn’t recommend it. Typically, it can take over 24 hours to get to 80%, compared to six to eight hours with a 7kW home charger.

Charging with a domestic plug also potentially means having to trail cables to the EV through open windows, which can be hazardous. You also don’t get any smart connectivity features or the ability to use electric car specific home energy tariffs. Domestic sockets also don’t feature the same safety and security measures that come as standard with aa smart home charger.

charging-ev

What are the costs of charging your EV at home?

Charging an electric car at home can be highly cost-effective. For instance, using an EV – specific off-peak tariff like Intelligent Octopus Go, you can pay as little as 7.5p/kWh. 

However, the cost varies depending on your electric car’s battery size and your home energy tariff. Let’s break this down with an example using the Hyundai Kona Electric.

Example: Hyundai Kona Electric

Batter Size: 64 kWh

Off-Peak Tariff: 7.5p/kWh with Intelligent Octopus Go

Home Charging Cost:

Charging a Hyundai Kona Electric from 0% to 100% would cost approximately £4.80 for 64 kWh during off-peak hours.

Comparing Home and Public Charging Costs:

Rapid Charger Network: Approximately 63p/kWh during off peak hours. Charging the same Hyundai Kona Electric could cost around £40 for a full charge.

Off-Peak Destination Charge: Approximately 39p/kWh. This would bring the cost to about £25 for a full charge.

Charging on the road at standard pricing times could be even more expensive, making home charging the most economical option.

Benefits of Home Charging

  • Cost Savings: Charging at home is significantly cheaper than using public charging stations, particularly when using off-peak tariffs.
  • Convenience: Charging your car overnight ensures you start each day with a full battery.

Tips to Keeping your Batter Healthy

The 80/20 Rule

If you’re an EV driver or planning on becoming one in the near future, you may have have heard about the ’80/20′ or ‘80%’ rule. But what is it and how can it help your EV’s battery performance?

EV batteries, just like all batteries, don’t really like to be charged to 100%. When a battery is consistently charged to 100% you will notice a loss of capacity over an extended period of time. An everyday example is iPhone batteries which you probably would have noticed hold a lot less charge than when you bought it brand new.

This is in down part to leaving your phone on charge as you sleep, as it will continue to ‘charge’ even when the battery reaches 100%. Fortunately with EV’s, there is technology in both the vehicles battery and the EV Charger that prevent charging continuing past 100%. 

The 80/20 Rule

This rule in simple terms means that EV drivers should keep their battery charged to between 20 – 80% whenever possible. When a battery reaches capacity it’s overall lifespan reduces as it is it put under an increased amount of strain.

Batteries should be kept above 20% firstly to maintain the batteries health, but also to keep as a back up to reduce range anxiety. We know the UK’s charging network isn’t perfect, so it’s a good habit to get into to charge once your EV reaches 20% instead of near empty.

As a side note, it is strongly encouraged to never leave an EV at below 20% charge for an extended period. Energy will discharge from the battery over time, leaving it low puts the EV at risk of reaching dangerously low levels of charge or even running out completely.

This shouldn’t be thought about as a rule specific to an EV’s battery however. For example, you wouldn’t consistently use 100% of your brakes capacity, or always floor your accelerator every time you come out of a corner. Excessive use will always lead to additional wear and tear so it is best to always keep all parts of your EV working well within their capacity.

Home Charging

 It is best to charge your EV with slower ‘fast’ Home EV Chargers for the majority of the time. Fast charging is okay occasionally, but studies show that EV’s charged continuously using rapid chargers lose 10% performance over 8 years. 

 

charging-ev

Avoid Extreme Temperatures

 Batteries also don’t like extreme weather, so driving should be limited in these scenarios – especially during heatwaves as this comes with a heightened risk of overheating which would cause long-term battery damage.

As mentioned above, charging with Home EV Chargers instead of relying on rapid public EV Charge Points, will do you battery good in the long run. If you are thinking of having a Home EV Charger installed, click the link below to see how our fantastic range of EV Chargers – all available on 0% Finance!

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