Most electric car charging happens at home. Whilst it is possible to keep your car charged up with a standard household plug, it is not quick, convenient, or in some cases not as safe. A dedicated electric car charge-point at your house will typically allow you to charge quicker, safer, and easier.
Why Get a Home Charge Point?
Charging your car from a standard household plug can take a long time and can cause some plugs to get quite hot. With a dedicated fast charger at home, you should be able to charge up to 3 times quicker than with a standard household plug.
There are a few reasons to install a dedicated ChargePoint, the key reasons are:
- · To charge quicker
- · To improve safety
- · To reduce clutter and increase convenience
What is a ChargePoint?
A ChargePoint is a dedicated charging unit from which you will charge your EV. All a ChargePoint needs to do is take the 240V electricity supply from your house and make it accessible to your EV through an appropriate connection.
Which One Do I Choose?
There are now an incredible number of options available in the home ChargePoint market. Ultimately, they are all fundamentally very similar devices, and they fulfil the same purpose – being a dedicated socket from which you charge your EV.
The following are a few key brands you may choose to consider.
Tethered or Socket
Most Charge points are available with either a built-in lead (tethered), or with a socket only (no lead).
Both have separate advantages. A tethered unit is cheaper than buying a socketed unit and a separate lead, and often are tidier because the lead is built-in and can be stowed in a holster on the front of the charge point where a socket would otherwise be.
A socketed unit has the advantage of being universal, and therefore if you get a car with a different connection, or someone visits with a car that has a different connection, you can charge using the removable public charging lead that suits the vehicles concerned, assuming you or the visitors have one. With having a removable charging lead, you can also use this for public fast charging also.
Can Drive Green Help?
We can help you arrange your home charge point installation in several ways. We can advise and explain anything you need to know about your charge point. We can arrange your installation on your behalf through our approved installer partners. We can introduce you to installers that will give you a discounted installation through our Drive Green Membership scheme.
As with everything EV related, we are here to help and support you, and make the transition as easy as possible.