This EV charging at home UK guide explains how home charging works for drivers with a driveway, a garage or a shared car park: which charger to choose, how long charging takes, what it costs per mile from October 2026, which grants exist and which rules your installer must follow. Every figure can be reworked for your own car and tariff with the linked calculators.
Quick answer: For EV charging at home in the UK, most drivers fit a 7 kW wallbox on its own circuit, installed by a registered electrician to BS 7671. It adds roughly 25 miles of range per hour. A 13 A socket works for occasional top-ups but is about three times slower. Overnight off-peak charging costs least.
What are the ways to charge an electric car at home?
There are three options for EV charging at home: a standard 13 A socket using the portable cable supplied with many cars, a dedicated single-phase wallbox of 3.7 kW or 7.4 kW, or a three-phase wallbox of 11 kW or 22 kW if your property has a three-phase supply. Almost all UK houses are single-phase, so the 7 kW wallbox is the usual choice.
- 13 A socket. Convenient for occasional use or plug-in hybrids with small batteries. The portable cable typically limits the current to protect the socket, often to around 10 A, which is about 2.3 kW. Check the figure printed on your own cable.
- Single-phase wallbox. Fixed to an outside wall with its own circuit from the consumer unit. A 7.4 kW unit draws 32 A at 230 V and refills most cars overnight.
- Three-phase wallbox. Mostly found on larger homes, farms and businesses. The car’s onboard charger sets the real limit, and many cars accept less than 22 kW on AC, so check the vehicle handbook before paying for the faster unit.
Wallboxes come tethered, with a cable permanently attached, or untethered, with a Type 2 socket into which you plug your own cable. Tethered is quicker to use every day; untethered looks tidier and suits households that may change cars.
How long does it take to charge an EV at home?
For EV charging at home, the time it takes is the energy you need in kWh divided by the charger power in kW: 40 kWh at 7.4 kW takes about 5.4 hours, while the same 40 kWh from a 2.3 kW socket takes about 17 hours. Real times run a little longer because of charging losses and because cars slow down as the battery nears full.
The Energy Saving Trust gives a useful reference point: a 50 kWh battery charged from 20% takes about 7 hours 45 minutes on a 7.4 kW charger, 5 hours 15 minutes at 11 kW and 3 hours at 22 kW. The table puts the common options for EV charging at home side by side. The miles column uses an example efficiency of 3.5 miles per kWh; change it to your car’s figure.
| Home charging option | Power | Current drawn | Miles added per hour (example 3.5 mi/kWh) | Hours to add 40 kWh |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13 A socket with portable cable (example 10 A setting) | 2.3 kW | 10 A at 230 V | about 8 | about 17 |
| Single-phase wallbox, 16 A | 3.7 kW | 16 A at 230 V | about 13 | about 11 |
| Single-phase wallbox, 32 A | 7.4 kW | 32 A at 230 V | about 26 | about 5.4 |
| Three-phase wallbox | 11 kW | about 16 A per phase at 400 V | about 38 | about 3.6 |
| Three-phase wallbox (car must accept 22 kW AC) | 22 kW | about 32 A per phase at 400 V | about 77 | about 1.8 |
The current column matters because it decides the cable, the protective device and whether your main fuse has spare capacity. You can check the arithmetic for any rating with the kW to amps converter, which handles both 230 V single-phase and 400 V three-phase supplies.
How much does EV charging at home cost?
At the Ofgem price cap average of 26.32p per kWh, a car doing 3.5 miles per kWh costs about 7.5p per mile to charge at home, and an off-peak EV rate cuts that to a few pence. From 1 October 2026 to 31 March 2027 the government has removed VAT from domestic electricity bills in Great Britain, and the Ofgem price cap for October to December 2026 already reflects this. Public chargers are different: HMRC treats electricity from public charging points as standard rated at 20% VAT, whatever the amount.
Example: a car covering 7,000 miles a year at 3.5 miles per kWh needs 2,000 kWh. The table prices that at three rates. The off-peak and public rates are example values, so change them to the tariff and network you actually use.
| Where you charge | Price per kWh | Cost per mile | Cost for 2,000 kWh a year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Home, price cap average unit rate | 26.32p (Ofgem cap, no VAT until 31 March 2027) | 7.5p | £526 |
| Home, off-peak EV tariff | 8p (example value, change to yours) | 2.3p | £160 |
| Public rapid charger | 70p including 20% VAT (example value, change to yours) | 20p | £1,400 |
The Energy Saving Trust makes the same point with its own figures: 220 miles cost about £17 charged at home against £53 on a public rapid charger. To rerun the numbers with your mileage, unit rate and home solar output, use the solar EV charging calculator, and for a single session or any other appliance the electricity cost calculator works from kWh and unit price.
Off-peak tariffs and smart charging, the main ways to cut the cost of EV charging at home, are covered in depth in our guide to smart EV tariffs.
What rules must a home charger meet in Great Britain?
Any new private chargepoint sold in Great Britain since 30 June 2022 must be a smart charger under the Electric Vehicles (Smart Charge Points) Regulations 2021. The rules apply to domestic and workplace chargers and smart cables, not to rapid or public chargers, and they do not apply in Northern Ireland. The main requirements are:
- Smart functionality: the charger can send and receive information and can still charge if its internet connection drops.
- It keeps its smart features if you switch electricity supplier.
- It measures or calculates the electricity it uses.
- Pre-set default charging hours outside peak hours, which the regulations define as 8am to 11am and 4pm to 10pm on weekdays. You can change or override these.
- A randomised delay of up to 600 seconds at the start of charging, so thousands of cars do not switch on at the same second. You can cancel it.
- Security requirements in line with the cyber security standard ETSI EN 303 645, in force since 30 December 2022.
In practice this means EV charging at home on a new charger already avoids the evening peak by default. If you plug in at 6pm and need the car later that night, use the boost or override setting in the app.
How do you get a home charger installed safely?
Safe EV charging at home starts with the installation. A home chargepoint is fixed wiring on a high-current circuit, so it must be installed by a qualified, registered electrician and the work must meet BS 7671, the UK wiring regulations, which include a dedicated section on electric vehicle charging installations. In England and Wales it is also notifiable building work under Part P of the Building Regulations. Do not wire a chargepoint yourself, and do not run a portable charging cable through an extension lead unless the cable maker explicitly allows it.
The usual order of work:
- Check that the car’s onboard charger and your supply suit the charger you want, usually a 7 kW single-phase unit.
- Ask a registered chargepoint installer for a survey. They check the main fuse rating, the consumer unit, the earthing arrangement and the cable route.
- Choose a charger that meets the smart charge point regulations; if you want a grant it must also be an approved model.
- Apply for any grant you are eligible for through the installer.
- Your installer notifies or applies to your Distribution Network Operator, as the Energy Saving Trust advises for every new home chargepoint.
- After installation, keep the electrical installation certificate and the Part P notification (England and Wales) with your house papers.
- Set the charging schedule in the app to match your tariff’s cheap hours.
If the survey shows your main fuse is close to its limit, the installer may fit a charger with load management, which reduces the charging current when the rest of the house is busy, rather than upgrading the supply. Longer cable runs also need larger cable to keep the voltage drop within limits; the voltage drop calculator shows why, but sizing is the electrician’s job.
Are there grants for home EV chargers?
Yes: from 1 April 2026 the Office for Zero Emission Vehicles pays up to £500 per socket under three household schemes, available until 31 March 2027, according to GOV.UK’s guidance on chargepoint grant changes. The previous rate was £350.
- Renters and flat owners: up to £500 for one socket per resident.
- Residential landlords: up to £500 per socket, up to 200 sockets across their properties.
- Households with on-street parking: up to £500 per socket, for approved ways of getting a cable to a car parked on the street.
Grants are claimed by an approved installer on your behalf, and eligibility rules are set out on each scheme page, so check them before you book. Homeowners with their own driveway in a house are not covered by these schemes.
What if you have no driveway?
Without off-street parking, EV charging at home is harder: you cannot simply run a cable across the pavement on your own initiative; the footway belongs to the highway authority, and trailing cables are a trip hazard. Options include a council-approved cross-pavement channel or gully (which may qualify for the on-street parking grant), lamppost or kerbside chargers run by your council, and workplace or public charging. Ask your local council first, because each highway authority sets its own permission process.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I charge my electric car from a normal 13 A socket?
Yes, with the portable cable approved by your car maker, plugged straight into a socket in good condition. It is slow, often about 2.3 kW, so 40 kWh takes around 17 hours. If you rely on it daily, have an electrician check the socket and circuit.
How much does a 7 kW charger add per hour?
A 7.4 kW wallbox delivers 7.4 kWh in an hour before losses. At an example efficiency of 3.5 miles per kWh that is about 26 miles of range per hour. Smaller or less efficient cars add fewer miles; check your car’s own consumption figure.
Do I need permission to install a home EV charger?
The installer must notify your Distribution Network Operator, and in England and Wales the electrical work is notifiable under Part P. Listed buildings, conservation areas and flats may need extra consent from the council or freeholder, so check before you book.
Is there VAT on home EV charging?
From 1 October 2026 to 31 March 2027 VAT is removed from domestic electricity bills in Great Britain, so home charging carries no VAT in that period. Electricity bought from public charging points remains standard rated at 20% VAT.
What hours does a smart charger avoid by default?
New GB chargers come pre-set to charge outside peak hours, defined in the 2021 regulations as 8am to 11am and 4pm to 10pm on weekdays. You can change the schedule or override it whenever you need the car charged sooner.
Can I install an EV charger myself?
No. A chargepoint needs a dedicated high-current circuit, correct earthing and protection, so it must be installed by a qualified electrician working to BS 7671. In England and Wales it is notifiable work under Part P, and grants require an approved installer.
Checked October 2026 by the Solaxyra Editorial Team. Sources: legislation.gov.uk: Smart Charge Points Regulations 2021, regulation 10, regulation 11 (randomised delay), GOV.UK: smart charge point regulations guidance, GOV.UK: chargepoint grant changes from 1 April 2026, Ofgem: price cap October to December 2026, HMRC VAT Notice 701/19, Energy Saving Trust: charging electric vehicles.