The Ultimate Guide To Home Charging Your EV

Are you tired of being unsure about how to charge your electric vehicle (EV) at home? Look no further! In this ultimate guide, we'll take you through the process of setting up a home charger for your EV, covering everything from the basics of EV charging to the different types of home charging solutions available. We'll discuss the importance of using a dedicated 13a socket and the benefits of installing a Type 2 socket for faster and more efficient charging. With this comprehensive EV guide, you'll be able to confidently charge your EV from the comfort of your own home. Whether you're a seasoned EV owner or just starting out, this video is perfect for anyone looking to learn more about EV home setup and home charging. So sit back, relax, and let's dive into the world of EV charging!

// Chapters
00:23 Disclaimer
02:11 Do you need an expensive home charger?
03:28 Opening the charger flap
03:45 Which socket to use?
04:39 Charging speeds revealed
06:22 Speed and cost in detail
09:29 Secret to home charging
10:59 Cost compared to ICE vehicles
14:39 Is a 3-pin plug really viable?
14:56 All about the cables
15:55 Tesla Model S transforms into 7-seat mode

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Dave Takes It On is presented by Dave and produced by his son Jonas.

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[Paul-mhpp]

For someone who is looking at a small ev in new year and is new to this game. This is excellent, thank you.

[mawi]

You summed a lot up very well, however there is some stuff I want to add/answer:
1. inclusion of EVSES
The adapter used to charge is NOT the charger, but instead the EVSE. The charger is built into the car. EVSEs are commonly not included anymore, however any manufacturer does it different. Here the Tesla UMC1 is shown. Newer Tesla Models don't include the UMC anymore. UMC2 can be bought separately. With many manufacturers you are able to add one in the configurator. If you're planning on using one daily, you can buy something more expensive like a juice booster, which has a thermal sensor in the plug to prevent melting.
2. Amperage
Your UMC detects that the adapter for a 13 amp Wall-Plug is connected, and therefore limits it to 10 Amps, since the maximum long-duration rating is 10 Amps. If you connect an adapter for a different plug, for example the blue CEE16, it will enable more power, in that case 16 Amps.
3. calculation
The calculations regarding the charge price, that you've done are roughly correct. There are some aspects that you haven't taken into account! The charging losses differ from the charging method. Charging with a lower amperage will result in higher losses, which weren't accounted in any of the calculations. The charging-loss for a Tesla Model 3 is on average 15.2% on 2.6kW AC (plug) and 7.7% on 11kW AC (wallbox). This shows, how large the impact is.
I hope that I could clarify some things.

[MikeGleesonazelectrics]

In my experience as an electrician the weak point in 3 pin plug charging is often the switch on the domestic socket. I would suggest using an unswitched socket if possible, just remember to stop the charge before unplugging it, or if it is switched dont use the switch to stop the charge. Dont use an extension lead if the granny lead wont reach the socket, get a spur installed off the ring main, or a specific radial circuit solely for charging to reach the car. For waterproof sockets you should be able to replace a switched socket fascia with a non switched one eg the BG storm model.

[TheMrMarkW]

All home EV 'Granny' chargers that connect to a domestic 3 Pin Plug are rated for 10A. This is because, whilst a 3 Pin Socket may well be rated for 13A, that isn't 13A continuous current. If you boil your kettle it'll take 10-13A for a short period of time. But plugging in an EV will mean the car will take 10A / 13A continuously for many hours - maybe 20 hours or more in some cases (my 78kW Polestar 2 LR takes 40 hours to charge to 100% from 0% on a Granny cable but realistically the most I've done is 30% to 90% which took 24 hours.)

This continuous load creates a problem as if the home wiring is old and isn't up to standard, people may have loose connections in the back of the socket or other issues such as poorly installed junction boxes, it can stress existing weaknesses in a home's installation & presents a fire risk - this is why they picked 10A rather than 13A for the granny cables. They do warm up quite a bit (my Granny EV charger (Masterplug - I have a Volvo one for the Polestar but I keep a masterplug one in the garage) shows it's current temperature and when charging it pretty much always 45C), and I've seen cheap extension leads that have melted due to someone keeping an EV plugged in for hours on end. So - the 10A limit is for safety reasons. Whilst I'm not as extreme as the eFIXX guys who are very anti 3-Pin plug and clearly wanting to sell a home charger, I have taken all precations possible such as making sure I have a Dedicated EV-Rated charging socket like yourself, with an RCD on the socket and an RCBO on the main fuse for the circuit in the garage where I connect up to. Never use an extension lead (unless you get a specific EV charging rated one from a reputable supplier, which are quite expensive but are available).

I do wish I could have a 7kW charger fitted, but my house is rented, I'd need the DNO to move me from a looped supply to a dedicated supply, I'd need an upgraded main fuse (currently 60A) and where my car is parked is ~30m away from my CU which is at the front of the house and my driveway is behind a garage which is behind the back of my house, so I'd need to run a complete new cable in the foundations of the property, across a hard standing yard, and then into the garage. So I'm currently stuck with a 2.3kW Granny cable for the foreseeable future (which doesn't bother me tbh).

[doombee]

I’m a very low mileage user so I charge my car from the 3pin plug all the time without any problems. I work shift’s and have solar panels so for most of the year it’s free. When the sun is not giving enough power I just turn the charge down to 5 amp. I know it’s not for most people but for someone like myself who does less than 3000 miles per year it’s perfect 👌

[plasteredparrot]

the maximum rated CONTINUOUS draw from a BS1363 socket is 10A, not 13A. Hence UK EVSE equipment is usually limited to 10A, and should not be increased beyond that. If you are plugging it into a ring main as opposed to a spur (as you're doing in the kitchen there presumably) preferably you would reduce it to something like 6A to avoid overheating.

[sedumjp]

OK, model 3 owner here, LOLing at your litle skits on opening your charge port on the S compared to 3s and later. But the big rear seat reveal genuinely floored me. I had no idea the S had this trick up its sleeve.

[dazzassti]

Got a new M3LR 3 months ago, first EV. 6000 miles so far all on the granny charger, no issues 10A and works absolutely fine.
I was going to get a 7kw, but after 1600 miles a months I’ve never even used a supercharger. Plug never gets warm, even after 8 hours it’s not even warm to the touch.
Can’t see me ever needing to spend money on 7kw. And the 1500 miles a month costs me £22 😀👌

[Donncada]

Way to go Dave. I drive 63 miles a day (usually) and charge 8 hours a night on my granny charger, no problems, IF I need more once a month maybe I call into my local. tesla open to all chargers!

[no-oneman.]

Happy to be corrected. Do your maths, if you go for a cheap overnight tariff see if the daytime rate goes up, if you're a low mileage EV driver what you gain on those swings you'll lose on the roundabouts.

[renaulttraficconversion]

Thanks for a sensible video, Dave. It is the best one on home charging I have seen so far. We live in Australia and are waiting for an electric car without a sunroof to become available. I had a Landrover Discovery with several windows and a sunroof, which nearly cooked my brain in our summers. The windows were useless to us, so I insulated them all. It is crazy in hot countries to have all that glass.

[DoodOverThere]

I do 70 miles round trip 3 days a week so this might just be the ticket! Thank you!

[michaelggriffiths]

Really well explained!
I have a Kia E Niro 64Kwh, and I only have a 3 pin charger (sadly I can't get a 7Kw charger installed) and I have never had an issue as I drive less than 30 miles per day and my 3 pin charger gets me 35 mines range per night on my Octopus Go tariff!

[mikemahan]

Thanks, Dave. I'm always interested on how things are on the other side of the Pond. L1 (granny) chargers in the US are 110-120V and 12A max (on a 15A circuit). Now that's slow! 240V makes a big difference and most reasonable EV owners put in a L2 220-240V outlet to charge their EVs. Often times an electric dryer outlet is repurposed for this duty, especially if one runs their dryer on natural gas as we do (it's common here). However, while we can sometimes opt for different rate plans from our utility, we can't choose another provider. We pay $0.60/kWh on peak here (4pm-9pm) and $0.24/kWh off peak (rest of the time) with our provider (SoCal Edison). And I do wish our outlets had on/off switches sometimes!

[ISuperTed]

18 months with my EV, public charged 4 times, 95% overnight by granny cable at cheap rate. No issues.

[philipgrice]

It's worth mentioning up front for US viewers that Dave is in the UK, where the standard power is 240 volts. It does make a difference.

[philtebble]

It charges at 10 amps to prevent overheating of plug, socket, and wire mate 👍

[martinostlund]

Living in Sweden, we have been using the Nissan 10A charger in a 16A outlet for 3 years by now, works just fine.

[chrisw]

Good video as always. Don't forget the issue of off peak rates are now dependent on the make of charger or car. Several chargers aren't compatible or makes of car. You end up not being able to use off peak & changing your charger is a nightmare, I've spent 6 months trying to get a company to come & replace a charger rather than do a new install.

[Jawlf]

Great one Dave, the figures are a great idea to show how it can work. It is nice to know that we have an option to fall back on if we ever need to add a bit of charge away from home and no EV chargers are nearby.