Charging at home: socket, wallbox and what the installation needs

Charging at home is the cheapest and most convenient way to run an electric car. You have, broadly, two options: a regular socket with the cable supplied with the car, or a wall-mounted station called a wallbox.

A regular socket (Mode 2)

The portable cable with a control box plugs into a regular socket and usually charges at about 2.3 kW. That is enough for a plug-in hybrid or for a few dozen kilometres a night on an EV. The socket must be on a circuit in good condition, because it carries a heavy load for hours.

A wallbox (Mode 3)

A wall station has a dedicated circuit and a Type 2 connector, the European standard for AC charging, and charges much faster:

• Single-phase, 32 A: up to about 7.4 kW.
• Three-phase, 16 A: up to about 11 kW.
• Three-phase, 32 A: up to 22 kW, but few cars accept that much on AC.

The real power is the lowest of three: the station’s power, your supply’s power and the car’s on-board charger. A car with a 7.4 kW charger will not charge any faster on an 11 kW wallbox. More on the on-board charger under DC-DC converter and on-board charger.

What the installation needs

• It should be installed by an ANRE-authorised electrician, on a separate circuit sized for the station’s current.
• Each charging point needs 30 mA residual current protection. For DC fault currents, the standard requires either a Type B RCD or a Type A combined with 6 mA DC detection. Many stations have this detection built in.
• Check your home’s approved supply capacity. If it is close to the limit, you may need to increase it with the distributor or choose a station that throttles when the house draws a lot.
• In a block of flats, you need the owners’ association’s agreement for the cable route and parking space.

Is a “smart” station worth it?

The useful features are scheduling charging at night, limiting power based on household consumption and, if you have solar panels, charging from the surplus. The rest is mostly convenience.

How long a charge takes with each option is in how long it takes to charge an EV.