As you will know your vehicle will need to be kept charged up, and the best way to do that is at home, whilst you’re not using the vehicle. It is estimated that 90% of charging takes place at home.
There are a few options available to you for charging at home, and we supply them all.
Firstly, there is what is called an ‘in line charger’ or ‘portable charger’ sometimes referred to as a ‘granny cable’. This is a cable, typically 5 or 10 meters long, with an electric vehicle service equipment unit (EVSE) attached to the cable. The EVSE works in many ways like our EVO range of wall mountable charge points, though there are pro’s and con’s to only using this cable.
The best feature of these in-line charge cables is that they are portable. So, you can take the cable with you to relatives, friends or on holiday for instance (hence the nickname granny cable) and top up the battery before you set off for home. They plug straight into a normal household socket and are also handy in an emergency when you cant find a working charge point.
The downside is that because they plug into a normal household socket, they are limited to the amount of power they can supply your vehicle. Our in-line charge cables typically supply 10amps of current, or 2.3 kw per hour when used in the UK. To charge an electric vehicle with a 30 kw battery pack from empty to full would take approx. 12 to 13 hours. Many people find that these cables are enough and top up the battery most evenings for a few hours or more so that the battery is always full when needed, a lot of drivers, particularly drivers of PHEV’s, rely on one of these cables for all the charging they do at home.
For everyday use when you get back form work etc, especially if your vehicle is fully electric (BEV), we would also recommend having a charge point installed.
The next step up from an in-line charge cable would be a dedicated charge point fitted at your home. We supply a range of charge points that can be installed inside or outside on any type of property, domestic or commercial, we have them available for installation on a single phase or 3-phase electrical supply.
For instance, If you were to charge a vehicle with a 30kw battery pack from empty to full you could do this in as little as 4 hours with our most popular 7kw models. Many electric vehicles, and especially plug in hybrids have smaller batteries than 30kw so would charge even quicker.
A competent and qualified electrician will be able to install one of the charge points we supply, so we recommend contacting at least a couple of local electricians for an installation quote. Charge points and cables can be purchased from our web shop.
Your vehicle will have a Type 1 or a Type 2 socket for fast and slow charging at home and in public
Your electric or plug in hybrid vehicle will either have a type 1 socket or a type 2 socket.
A type 1 socket is fitted to the Nissan Leaf (pre. 2018), Mitsubishi Outlander, Vauxhall Ampera, among others.
A type 2 socket is the most common and is fitted on Audi, BMW, Mercedes, VW, Volvo, Tesla, Renault, Hyundai, Kia, among others
We can tell you which socket type your vehicle has and which cables are compatible with your vehicle if unsure, we also list vehicle compatibility on each of our product listings on our web shop.
We supply 3-pin chargers, charge points and charging cables for all makes and models of vehicle.
Charge points are available for installation on single phase or three phase circuits. You will need the corresponding cable to link between a socketed charge point and your vehicle, we supply these if one didn’t already come with your vehicle.
Whether you choose to charge your vehicle with a in-line 3-pin cable or a dedicated charge point, all the products we sell come with a 12-month warranty, a 30 day return policy if you change your mind (if the item is unused), and full support and backup if you need advice or guidance. We are happy to answer any questions you have.
If you have any question, please contact us by 0330 223 3392telephone or email.
Please visit our web shop to view and order EV charging cables and charge points.