Charging your EV
Charging at Home
We Are EV are the only independent EV dealer in the UK authorised and registered to install charging points in-house. We are approved installers for the following charging points:
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We have specifically selected these charging point manufacturers as they all offer a safe, reliable and good quality product. They also utilise the latest technology to offer a range of useful features.
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We are an OZEV Approved EV Chargepoint grant installer. If you are a tenant rather than a home owner you we can claim the government grant on your behalf, (subject to eligibility). The grant currently contributes £350.00 towards a home charging point installation and OZEV guidance for eligibility can be found here.
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We are also an NICEIC Approved Contractor and Domestic Installer. Upon completion of the installation, we will provide you with an Electrical Installation Certificate for your new charging point.
We can help you decide which charging point works best for you. Our in house team has installed hundreds of charging points in all types of properties. We are qualified and experienced to advise you on the best solution for you and your vehicle.
We offer a free charging point installation assessment. We can do a desktop survey of your property via photos and/or video. Our qualified electricians assess your electrical system, recommend any preparation that may be required, and run through in detail what will happen on the day of your installation. Please contact us if you would like to arrange an assessment.
Once you have taken delivery of your car and your charging point has been installed, you will be all set up and ready to enjoy your new EV!
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Call, Email or fill in our Contact Form to get your charging point installation assessment.
Charging at Work
We are an OZEV Workplace Charging Scheme approved installer. If you have parking at your business and are interested in installing charging points for your staff please contact us. We can install the charging points and claim the government grant on your behalf. The grant currently contributes £350.00 per socket towards the installation (terms and conditions apply).
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Call, Email or fill in our Contact Form to get your charging point installation assessment.
Charging using Solar PV
If you have Solar PV installed at home, charging your EV is great way to use electricity that the solar panels produce. Many household Solar PV systems generate more power than the house needs for long periods of the day. Usually this extra power is exported back into the national grid for someone else to use! Charging your EV at home with a dedicated Electric Vehicle Charging Point during daylight hours will use any excess power that is being generated to charge the car.
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Some charging points allow you to charge the car using only the excess electricity generated from your Solar PV. For instance the MyEnergi Zappi offers this feature.
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See our Solar PV page for more details.
Charging Out and About
There are thousands of public charging points available now, with more being installed every day. Also many workplaces have charging points or are installing them soon so check with where you work as there might some you can use there.
Zap-Map is a UK-wide map of charging points and aims to help EV drivers locate charging points and plan their journeys. It shows where the location, what type of charging point they are they are, and the network that operates them.
How much does it cost to charge an electric car?
The size of the battery pack in an electric car is given in kWh (kilowatt hours). This is the amount of electricity it can store. A kWh is the same unit as on your electricity meter at home. Here’s a few examples of how to work out the approximate cost:
Nissan Leaf - Battery Size: 24kWh.
Electricity cost per kWh: 41p
24kWh x £0.41 = £9.84
Renault Zoe 22kWh.
Electricity cost per kWh: 10p (available on some tariffs such as Octopus Intelligent for a period of 6 hours overnight).
22kWh x £0.10 = £2.20
BMW i3 94Ah (33kWh).
Electricity cost per kWh: 75p (service station rapid charger price)
33kWh x £0.75 = £24.75
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How long does it take to charge an electric car?
The time it takes to charge depends on a coupe of things. The type of charging point you are using and what car you are charging. There are a few different ways to charge an electric car and not all cars charge up at the same rate.
The three types of charging you will come across are:
Slow (Mode 2) - Charging using a standard 13A socket. The charging rate is limited to 2.3kW. This kind of charging will typically give you around 10 miles of range for every hour charging.
Fast (Mode 3) - Charging using a dedicated EV Charging Point. The charging rate is either 3.7kW or 7.4kW. This kind of charging will give you around 15 miles of range per hour (3.7kW) or 30 miles of range per hour (7.4kW).
Some cars are also able to charge at 11kW and 22kW with a suitable charging point. These charging rates give around 45 miles of range per hour (11kW) and 90 miles of range per hour (22kW).
Rapid - Charging using a Rapid Charging Point. The charging rate is either 43kW AC or 50kW DC (or more - 120kW and 150kW+ rapid chargers are becoming more prolific).
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This kind of charging will give you around 90+ miles of range in half an hour.
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