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How Do You Charge an Electric Car at Home?

Home charging is the most convenient way of powering up your electric vehicle (EV). You can just plug it in overnight and have it fully charged when you wake up. No wasted time waiting or queueing which is what happens when you use public charging points.

How Do You Charge an Electric Car at Home?

It is also the most cost-effective method of charging your EV as electricity rates at night are cheaper. Using night rate electricity, it will only cost you around €3 to charge your EV overnight.

There are two ways of charging your electric car at home – using a standard 3-pin sockets or a dedicated EV home charger.

Charging Your EV Using a 3-Pin Socket

Just like mobile devices, you can plug your vehicle into a conventional 3-pin plug using a Granny cable, also referred to as portable or in line charger. Electric cars sold these days come with this kind of cable, but you can also get one from a reputable supplier.

While it is possible to charge your electric vehicle using a standard domestic socket, it should not be your primary charging method. It is not the most convenient way of charging your EV, especially if you do not have a waterproof outdoor socket near your parking space.

A Granny cable also charges much slower, at around 10 Amps, as compared to a dedicated home charging point. For example, for a 40kWh Nissan Leaf, it is going to take around 21 hours to fully charge your EV.

Consequently, your electricity bill will be higher because you need to go beyond the 8-hour electricity night rate to charge your vehicle from zero to 100%.

Furthermore, charging using a Granny cable means running a standard domestic socket at 2.3 kWh or 10 Amps for several hours. Remember, conventional 3-pin sockets are not designed to continuously supply high level of power for several hours each day. Charging your EV every day using the ordinary 3-pin socket can put a strain on the circuit.

Charging Your EV Using a Home Charger

The best way to charge your EV at home is to use a dedicated charging unit. This is the fastest and most efficient way to charge your electric car.

Most EV home chargers have a power rating of 7kW. Using this charger for an EV with a 40kWh battery pack, it can take around 6 hours to fully charge it.

How long it would take to charge your vehicle depends on various factors such as the kind of vehicle you have and the power rating of your charging unit.

A dedicated home charging point can be used daily as it is designed to deliver high level of power over long periods. It has built-in safety features to protect you and your vehicle and the device itself. This is very similar to and as simple as charging your kids electric car.

In addition, since these EV home chargers are installed near your parking slot, you do not have to use an extension cord and as a result, you minimise fire or safety hazards.

There is a wide selection of EV home chargers available in the market today. Some of the factors you need to consider are connector and cable type, charging speed and price.

It is essential that you buy an EV home charger that is manufactured by a trusted brand. This is to ensure that you get a superior quality charger, one that is weatherproof and certified to be safe.

Furthermore, see to it that experts install your EV home charging point. Never go the DIY route or hire amateurs for this job. The charger should be installed the right way for it to function well and last long.

In summary, using a dedicated charger is the normal way of charging your EV at home. Charging using a 3-pin socket should only be a back-up charging method.

Are you looking for an EV home charger? Only trust ePower – Ireland’s leading provider and installer of high quality EV chargers. Call us now on 1800 99 88 77!

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