You can charge whilst you dine, play, and sleep if you install a residential charging point at your house or apartment. This will ensure that your car is ready to travel in the morning.

In general, there are three main levels of charging for electric cars: Level 1, Level 2, and Level 3. Because Level 2 chargers are substantially faster than Level 1 chargers and typically don't require expensive power supply upgrades like their Level 3 (DC fast charging) counterparts, they are by far the most practical charging points for houses and apartments.

Home charging points are typically Level 2 chargers with a power output range of 3.7 to 22 kW. These electric car charging points operate by connecting to your home's electricity supply via either 1-phase or 3-phase connectors. One hour of charging will give you roughly 75 miles of range with a Level 2 charger operating at maximum power output.*

In comparison, the maximum power of a Level 1 charger, which plugs into the wall socket directly, is 2.3 kW. 12 miles of range may be obtained in one hour of charging using a Level 1 charger at their full power output.*

Home electric car charging points are also more affordable than public charging points since they use less expensive electricity during off-peak hours from the household energy grid or using electricity produced by renewable energy sources (e.g. solar panels).

To find out more on charging your EV at home, read our comprehensive guide on everything you should know about charging an electric car. 

*Calculations are approximations based on the average consumption of 18 kWh per 62 miles. Actual consumption depends on the vehicle, battery size, and driving conditions.

Most drivers will be able to charge their electric car at home overnight so they are ready to go the next day using a Level 2 home charging point.

A Level 2 charger may produce up to 22 kW of power. A Tesla Model 3 can be charged from 0% to 100% using a 22 kW charging point in roughly 6 hours and 15 minutes. Depending on your area, Level 2 charging points are perfect for usage at home because they provide an electric car with the maximum amount of electricity without expensive infrastructure changes.

There are variables, as there is with all hardware, though. The rate of home charging varies based on the type of charger, whether it is a 1-phase or 3-phase charger, whether it delivers 16 A or 32 A, the power output of the residential site, and the type of electric car. Here's a summary of how long it will take to charge a Tesla Model 3 to help you better understand the various charging rates for a Level 2 charging point.

The amount of power you can draw from the grid also determines how quickly your home charging point will charge your electric car, regardless of the type of charger you select. Charging speeds may be impacted by residential homes that are not wired to deliver 22 kWs of AC. It might be required to increase your electrical supply in order to get your desired charging speed. However, it's crucial to know what your car is capable of before you do.

Due to a vehicle's capability of conversion, usually the electric car is the final determining factor in charging speeds. It is necessary to convert the current because an electric car’s battery charges with DC while the power received from the grid is AC. Even with a 22 kW output, an electric car will require twice as long to charge if its AC/DC converter can only convert at 11 kW per hour.

For a Tesla Model 3, a 3-Phase, 16A (11 kW) charging point is best suited due converter's capacity (11 kW) and the size of the vehicle's battery. With its 6.6 kW on-board charger and comparatively smaller battery, a Nissan Leaf driver would be better off choosing for a 1-Phase, 32A (7.4 kW) charging point.

It's important to have an overview of these details—both for your home and your electric car—if you're considering investing in EV charging for your residence. You can find out which charging point is most appropriate for your electric car by checking out our electric car database.

The short answer is yes: home charging points should work with all types of electric passenger vehicles. However, there are a few variables.

The vehicle's socket, the charging cable's connector (CHAdeMO or CCS2), and whether or not the charging point's cable is fixed determine if a certain electric car is compatible with a particular home charging point.

These specifications will be unique to the electric car you drive and may thus restrict the capacity for other vehicles to charge using the same charging point when you are looking to purchase a charger for your home or apartment.

What about charging a Tesla with a home charging point?

Once more, the short answer is yes. You may charge your Tesla with any Level 2 charger as long as you have the correct connection for the charging port. Tesla vehicles are compatible with many other brands on the market using a CC2 or CHAdeMO converter, despite the fact that Tesla has their own configuration for home charging installations, including the Tesla Wall Connector.

Your cost per kilowatt-hour (kWh) of power used will determine how much it costs to charge your electric car at home. At the time of writing, the average cost per kWh in the UK is about £0.28.

What does this mean, though? A Nissan Leaf e+ with a 59 kWh usable battery capacity will cost about £16.52 to completely charge, providing a range of up to 239 miles. The cost to charge a Tesla Model X, which has a larger, 95 kWh usable battery capacity and a range of up to 360 miles, will be closer to £26.60.

You can connect your home electric car charging point to a charging management platform to keep charging costs low. Autostart, which initiates charging during times of lower energy cost, and dynamic load balancing, which safely balances the energy usage between a charging point and other high-power appliances, are two intelligent aspects of charge management platforms.

The overall cost of charging your electric car to full capacity at home will vary depending on a variety of variables. The overall cost is still cheaper than for cars with internal combustion engines, not to mention the lower costs to the environment from CO2 emissions and to our healthcare system from air pollution.

You can visit our blog to find out more about how much it costs to charge an electric car. 

The price of installing a domestic charging point for an electric car can vary significantly, much like the price of any hardware, based on your location, your needs, and whether you need help installing the charging point.

As per the general rule of thumb, a charging point installation will cost more the more power it can output. If you don't need to replace your electrical supply, Level 2 charging points typically cost roughly £800.

Before investing, it’s important to make sure that you ask yourself:

• What's the maximum power output my electric car can charge with?
• What power output is my home capable of providing?

Which home charging point will best meet your demands will be directly influenced by the answers to these two questions. You can utilise either 1-phase power or 3-phase power to install an electric car charging point at your house. The number of conductors that the power goes through determines how the two differ (one or three respectively). Although 3-phase charging provides a higher maximum power output than 1-phase (22 kW against 7.4 kW), installation may be more challenging and expensive.

Whichever charging point you choose, installation must be performed by a certified electrician.

Remember that governments and energy providers may offer incentives to promote electric cars and, in some locations, subsidise the cost of residential electric car charging points.

The characteristics that a charging point offers can make the difference between affordable home charging and home charging that leaves you out of pocket. Here are five aspects to think about:

1. Scheduled charging: scheduling charging allows you to charge your electric car when it is least expensive and protects your grid connection from overload.
2. Charging session monitoring: monitoring your charging sessions can help you understand power consumption and expenses, and you may adjust your charging routine accordingly.
3. Green energy supply: you can generate your own electricity and lessen your reliance on the grid by coupling your charging point to a renewable energy source, such as solar panels (as well as your costs).
4. Load balancing: load balancing maximises the power output when charging several electric cars to make sure that the process is efficient, secure, and uniform.
5. Employee reimbursement: there's a possibility that your employer will help cover your charging expenses if you're an employee. Invoices for an employee's consumption are sent to the fleet manager or employer by the charging service provider, who then automatically reimburses the employee for that amount.

Before investing in a charging point, it's important to look into which of these features suits your needs and whether the charging point you choose provides them.