How to charge an EV in the UK

EV adoption is growing pretty rapidly, meaning more and more people are needing to charge their cars. Even plug in hybrid owners need to charge up, so in this video I’m going to walk through how to charge your EV here in the UK. That includes the types of chargers, the connectors and cables, and where to find chargers too, so lets get started!

There are two main types of charge, AC and DC and if you want to know the difference and how they work, check out the video over on my tech channel TechteamGB which explains all that. Now AC chargers are pretty common and relatively simple. At most, AC chargers offer up to 43kWh of power although it’ll depend on what your car can handle. This Renault Zoe tops out at 22kWh on AC charging, whereas using DC fast charging, it’ll hit 50kWh instead. Currently, with DC fast chargers, they can peak at a whopping 350kWh.

In terms of types of chargers, the most basic is the 3 pin wall plug. The Zoe comes with this cable in the boot, which allows you to plug in anywhere and, admittedly slowly, top up the car. This peaks at the maximum of 3kW as UK plugs max out at 13A at 230V. The next step up is a home wall box. These are directly wired into your home’s junction box offering, as standard, 7kW of power to charge your car. Renault actually offers a free home charger with all their plug in vehicles. This halves the time required to fill up your car, making it much more convenient, while still being able to benefit from home electricity rates.

If you are out and about, public chargers are incredibly popular and growing. There are over 40,000 across the the UK according to Zap Map. The sorts of ones you’ll find in your local area will be ones like the Pod Points in Tesco car parks, which offer 7kWh of charging for free while you shop. There are also a number of higher power options like these Insta Volt ones which offer 50kWh charging. Down south, you might find higher power DC fast chargers, especially in and around London, but the highest concentration of ultra rapid chargers is along motorways. That’s where you’ll often pay the most, much like petrol stations, but offers fast charging while you use the services and have a bite to eat.

If you own a Tesla, you’ll also get access to Tesla’s supercharger network. That allows you to charge at between 120kWh and 250kWh, with the latter being available at their newer V3 superchargers that are rolling out across the country. Interestingly, Tesla’s V2 superchargers are connected in pairs, so it’s best practice to not charge directly next to someone else unless you have to as you will both charge at a slower rate (although the person who starts charging first gets priority and a faster rate).

When it comes to the connectors, in general, the Type 2 port is most common in the UK. That’s what’s used for AC charging, including up to 43kWh. It’s a pretty simple port, it just slots in and the car locks it in place so it can’t be removed by accident while it’s still charging. Cars that support DC fast charging, like this Zoe, can also use two extra pins at the bottom to turn it into a CCS connector that’s capable of up to 350kWh with supported vehicles.

On many Japanese vehicles like the Nissan leaf, you’ll find a different connector for DC fast charging. That’s called CHAdeMO, and currently only supports up to 50kWh, although even Nissan is moving away from it towards CCS making that the default standard. Even Tesla, who used to use their own connector, now sells the Model 3 with a CCS plug instead so in general it looks like Type 2 and CCS will be the standard moving forward.

When it comes to cables, there are generally three you’ll interact with. The 3 pin wall plug I mentioned – that may be your primary at-home charging solution, or as a backup you keep in the car so if you run out of juice while out you can plug in anywhere. Then there is the Type 2 cable that also comes with the car. That’s a male to female cable that you’ll need to bring with you to many public chargers. Tesco’s Pod Point units just have Type 2 sockets on the sides, so you plug your own cable into the charger and the car and get charging. Finally, there are the cables that come on the chargers. DC fast chargers will have the cable permanently attached, often for both CCS and CHAdeMO. Those just plug into the car without much issue.

When it comes to finding chargers, you have quite a few options. Apps like Plugshare work with Android Auto so you can use that to find nearby chargers in your car, or if you are planning a route an app like Zap Map can be a good alternative. Many chargers either require, or offer benefits for using their own apps. BP’s Pulse/Polar network offers 15p per kWh on their 50kW DC charger if you pay for their month subscription, 25p if you just use their app for free, or 30p if you pay via contactless instead. There can be benefits to using charger-specific apps, like Pod Point where they require you ‘confirm the charge’ within 15 minutes via their app to continue free charging at their Tesco stations. Using their app you can see which chargers are available, something that can be a problem if you turn up to a station with only one or two connectors, and they are all in use.

Lastly for this video, I want to cover the actual process of charging at a standard public charger. First, you’ll need to pull into the charging bay. Make sure to park so your charging port is close to the charger, so in the Zoe’s case that means front in. Then, press the charge door unlock button in the car, tap your contactless card on the charger, then open the covers on the charging port. Make sure the car stays unlocked, then plug in the charging cable. And that’s it. It’ll start charging, and you can either stay with the vehicle, or lock it and leave it to charge. As I mentioned, some chargers like the Pod Points require you to confirm the charge via their app instead of paying directly, but overall it’s pretty simple.