Electric vehicle charging
Types of electric vehicle charger
Electric cars will often require charging at home for convenience. The type of charger needed will vary depending on the individual requirements of those using it. You can click on the following headings to find out more about the types of electric vehicle charger, charger power and the connections, and understand which may apply to you.
Tethered Vs untethered
A tethered charger has its own cable permanently attached which you can use to charge your car.
An untethered charger requires you to have your own cable, these are often kept in the boot of an electric car and are attached to a socket.
Untethered chargers offer more flexibility and improved future proofing; however, a tethered charger offers convenience and theft protection.
Charger power (kW)
The power of the charger will change how quickly your car is able to reach full capacity. In general, the higher wattage, the more expensive the charging point will be.
Using a regular three-pin power socket is not recommended for charging an electric car due to safety issues and slow charging speed. Regular three-pin sockets are not designed to charge high loads for long time periods of time, which can cause overheating. In addition, the low power output means it can take over 30 hours to reach full charge. More information around charging your electric vehicle safely is available on the Electrical Safety First website1.
If you choose to use a regular three-pin plug it is recommended that you complete circuit checks first to reduce the safety risks.
The smallest power of home charger is 3.6kW. If your milage is low and you do not use your car often then this is a suitable option.
The most common power of home charger is 7kW which provides the ability to charge a car twice as quickly as a normal three-pin plug.
The most powerful home charger is the 22kW charger. A lot of electric vehicles do not currently have the capability to charge at this capacity. They also require a three-phase electricity supply which is very uncommon in UK households.
EV home chargers may be “smart”, to enable best use of cheaper time-of-use energy tariffs, and benefit from demand side energy management.
Single-phase and three-phase connections
A single-phase connection means there is only one connection to the grid, while a three-phase connection has three.
Due to the restrictions of single-phase networks, many UK households will be restricted to 7kW charge points. You may be able to upgrade to a three-phase network, to do so it is recommended that you talk to your energy supplier. This will allow for faster charging if you get a 22kW charge point.
Type 1 and 2 connectors
Depending on your car you may require either a ‘type 1’ or ‘type 2’ plug. ‘Type 2’ chargers are more modern and more common. They allow for much faster charging than type 1. It is easy to tell the difference between the two, as ‘type 1’ has a fivepin design, while ‘type 2’ has seven pins.
Vehicle to Grid (V2G), integrated solar PV and energy storage
EV home chargers may be integrated into wider energy efficiency, generation and storage provisions. Information can be found readily online. Some newer electric cars can be used to store and distribute energy.
Vehicle to Grid (V2G) chargers allow usage of the vehicle battery as household energy storage. While not yet widely deployed, usage may grow over time.
Solar PV can be used to charge electric cars providing the home has the required equipment. More information around solar PV is available on the common projects section.2
- https://www.electricalsafetyfirst.org.uk/safety-advice/products-and-appliances/transport/electric-vehicles
- https://www.planningportal.co.uk/permission/common-projects/solar-panels/planning-permission