Buying a new EV is an exciting experience. However, it doesn’t come without its stresses. With all the different options on the market, it’s no wonder that you’re left thinking, ‘which EV home charger is right for me?’. Don’t worry though, because you’re not alone. This is probably the question we get asked most by our customers, so we’ve put together a comprehensive EV home charger buyer’s guide. By the end of this post, you will be confident in deciding which EV home charger is right for you. If you have any more questions, please do get in touch and we’ll be happy to help you in any way we can.
Before going through what you do need to consider when you choose your charger, there are a couple of things you don’t need to consider.
The first is the home chargers’ rate of charging. It’s important to remember that all home chargers will charge your car at the same rate. While there are one or two exceptions to this, over 95% of our installations are for 7kW chargers using 32amps of current. This equates to roughly 30 miles of charge added to your car’s battery for each hour of charge. This will comfortably give you a full battery in the morning if you’re charging overnight. You might see some chargers advertised as 3.6kW or 22kW, but these are very rarely installed. In fact, less than 1% of domestic properties in the UK can support 22kW chargers.
The second thing to remember is that almost all home chargers work for almost all makes and models of electric vehicles. Except for the pre-2018 Nissan Leaf, every widely available EV uses a Type 2 charging cable. Every EV home charger either has a Type 2 charging cable permanently attached (‘tethered’) or has a Type 2 socket which your vehicle’s charging cable plugs into (‘untethered’).
So, there’s no need to worry about the charging rates or the cable types of your EV home charger. That makes life easier! But what do you need to consider? Our customers focus on six main factors:
Let’s take a look at each of these, in turn, to help you decide which EV home charger is right for you.
The price of the charger can make or break your decision. That’s why we are as transparent as possible with our pricing and will match equivalent quotes on any of our chargers. Take a look at the starting prices for each of the chargers we stock, from least to most expensive:
OHME Intelligent Wall Charger (Tethered) - £590.00
EO Mini-Pro v2 (Untethered) - £645.00
MyEnergi Zappi v2 (Untethered) - £790.00
Andersen A2 (Untethered) - £1045.00
This is a simple overview to give you an idea of the price points for each charger. It should be kept in mind that extra expenses will arise whether you decide to upgrade to a tethered version of the charger or remain with the untethered version. The prices above (for all except the OHME) refer to the untethered versions of the charger. If you want to upgrade to a tethered version, it will cost between £40 and £80 more depending on the charger. While the untethered option might seem more attractive because of its lower starting price, it’s important to remember that you will need to buy a separate cable to attach to your untethered charger. These usually cost around £120, making the tethered chargers the more economical choice in most cases. Keep this in mind when making your decision. For a more comprehensive breakdown of what each charger can cost, click here.
When choosing your charger, you’ll (obviously) want to make sure that the cable can reach your car. It’s important to think about where you want your charger to live and how far away your car’s charging port will be from that location. Take a look at the lengths of each charger’s cable to get an idea of what will work for you.
OHME Intelligent Wall Charger – 5.5m
EO Mini-Pro v2 – 5.5m
MyEnergi Zappi v2 – 6.5m
Andersen A2 – 6.5m-8.5mIf at closest, your car’s charging port will be 6m away from the charger, then you might struggle with the OHME or EO’s shorter cable lengths. The Andersen offers the flexibility of different cable lengths and an impressive 8.5m reach, which might seal the deal for some people.
Most properties in the UK have either a 60 Amp or 100 Amp main fuse. When having a new EV home charger fitted, the maximum amount of electricity that the property is likely to use at once (the ‘Maximum Demand’), increases by 32 Amps. We, therefore, recommend that customers who have a 60 Amp main fuse have this upgraded before getting their charger installed. This is usually done free of charge by your electricity network operator. If you don’t want to/can’t upgrade your main fuse before getting your charger installed, then don’t fret! You’re not all out of options. All chargers now have the ability to limit the load capacity, albeit this will cost you extra on the EO Mini and the Andersen. This will ensure that your charging rate slows down to below the Amp threshold when it needs to. To find out more about the suitability of your property, get in touch today.
When considering which charger is right for you, you’ll also want to pay attention to compatible electricity tariffs. Every EV home charger that we install comes with the ability to schedule charging to suit your needs. This is usually done through an iOS or Android App. This means that if you’re on a tariff that gives you better rates at certain times, then you can schedule your charging to coincide with this.
The exception to this is if you wanted to move to the Octopus Agile tariff. This tariff requires your charger to be able to choose the cheapest 30-minute segments that are available for charging. Needless to say, having this smart ability will save you money in the long run while still leaving you with a full charge the next morning. If you’re after one of these tariffs, then the OHME Intelligent Wall charger is for you.
If you’re lucky enough to have a Solar PV on your roof, then you’ll be wanting to use this to charge up your car. It’s a great feeling driving around on free power! Technically, all chargers will run off a solar PV system (just like your kettle), but the myenergi Zappi is definitely the best charger for solar integration. It will let you prioritise solar charging when the sun is shining and will let you ‘trickle’ charge when it’s a little more overcast. If solar charging is high on your list of priorities, the Zappi might be the charger for you.
With all the technical aspects and special features offered by these chargers, it’s easy to forget to consider their looks! Are you looking for a small, neat, and unobtrusive charger? If so, then the EO Mini-Pro might be right for you. It’s the smallest charger available, at 17cm x 13cm x10cm (about the size of a bag of pasta). Or are you looking for a sleek, aesthetically pleasing charger? The Andersen A2 (we think) is the best-looking charger on the market, coming in several different finishes to match your property. To find which charger is right for you, take a look at the pictures on our charger pages here. Alternatively, check out our Instagram here where we post pictures of our latest installs regularly. Also having an app to help maange the charging of your EV when it comes to last minute EV preconditioning or a quick top-up - from the comfort of your own home.
So, how do you choose an EV home charger? Which charger is right for you? First, you need to ask yourself what your priorities are. If price is your main concern, or you’re set on having an intelligent charger, the OHME might your best bet. If you have a larger budget and want a charger with a beautiful design, the Andersen A2 will stand on top. In practice, no one charger will be right for everyone. If you understand your priorities and use the information provided in this post, we are confident that you will find the charger that is right for you. If there’s anything else you’re concerned about, or if you have questions about our charging solutions, don’t hesitate to get in touch.
