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Specialist Electric Car Chargers

Electric Car Chargers

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We are Electric Car Charger installers who have installed thousands of electric car chargers throughout the UK.

With installers based throughout the UK we can offer competitive prices and in December 2024  are able to get costs to you very quickly.

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Electric cars are great. They are energy-efficient, environmentally friendly, and often a much more practical option than a traditional petrol-driven vehicle, particularly with new UK government regulations coming in in the next few years to block the construction of new petrol vehicles.

These low-emission vehicles can even be surprisingly affordable! But, if you are wondering about electric cars, you are going to need to know how to charge an electric car. After all, there is no use having an electric car if you can’t charge it!

Below, we are going to look into how to set up charger-like pod point boxes for plug-in cars so you can charge them from the comfort of your own home or business. The world of electric car chargers can be confusing, but we are here to help you make sense of it. 

We will walk you through all of the things you need to know about pod point chargers or any other models below – you can’t just assume that you can plug your electric car into a standard mains socket to charge!

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We offer a number of great Electric Car Charger installation services and are more than happy in assisting you on anything from price, to dimensions, to specification.

Table of Contents

What is an Electric Car Charger?

A charging station, often known as an EV charger, electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE), or simply charger, is a piece of equipment that provides electrical power to plug-in electric vehicles such as hybrids, and neighbourhood electric vehicles, trucks, buses, and other vehicles.

Despite the fact that batteries can only be charged with DC power, most electric vehicles contain an inbuilt AC-to-DC converter that allows them to be plugged into a typical household AC outlet. Low-cost public charging stations, dubbed “AC charging stations,” will also deliver AC power.

To allow for higher power charging, which necessitates considerably larger AC-to-DC converters, the converter is incorporated into the charging station rather than the car, and the station delivers already-converted DC power to the vehicle directly, bypassing the vehicle’s onboard converter.

“DC charging stations” are what they’re called. The majority of completely electric vehicles can run on both AC and DC electricity.

Connectors for charging stations are available in a range of standards. Multiple connectors are typically seen on DC charging stations, allowing them to power a wide range of automobiles.

Typically, public charging stations can be found on the street or in retail shopping complexes, government buildings, and other parking locations.

How does an Electric Car Charger Work?

The process of getting an electric car charger installed in your home is a relatively straightforward one, with only a few simple steps involved before you can get power to your electric car. For a wall box charger, the first step will be choosing the charger you need. 

Select the right charger for EV charging your particular model of car, and add that to your cart along with an installation package.

Once you have chosen and purchased the power charger you need, the wall box team should contact you within the next 48 hours to arrange an installation visit. Once that has been sorted out, a professional, certified installer can visit at a time convenient for you, and connect up your pod point network charger for easy, safe access.

There is no single best electric car charging point out there for all vehicles, as there are a lot of variables to bear in mind. In general, you are looking for a home charging point that mounts to your wall, otherwise known as a “wall box.” Within that, though, there are several different things you will need to consider in order to make a decision.

Tethered or Untethered 

There are two main types of wall box chargers: tethered and untethered. An untethered unit has no integrated cable, which means you will need to plug in a cable every time you want to use it. However, the advantage of this type is that it lets you easily switch between type 1 and type 2 leads.

Tethered wall box charger units have a power lead attached to the charging unit, which means that you can just plug your car straight in without having to deal with the hassle of finding cables. However, the integrated cable means that you can’t easily switch between type 1 and type 2 leads (although this is unlikely to be that much of an issue for most EV drivers).

Power level

This is a difficult question, as there can be a big difference in power level between different EV chargers. In general, you can choose anywhere up to 7.4kW for a standard UK home or business, but the levels below that maximum threshold vary a lot in terms of price and charge speed.

You can go for a cheaper charger with a lower power level, such as chargers of around 3.6kW, but this will take a long time to charge your car. Higher power levels will lead to many times faster charging but come with a price tag to match!

It is possible to buy a premium charger with rates of up to 22kW, but very few customers will ever get a charging rate worth those costs from a home charge system. A domestic wall charger connected to the UK grid just can’t put out all that much power, even if your car is eligible for higher rates of energy transfer. 

At Electric Car Chargers, we can assist you with the best specifications, costs and prices. Make sure you contact us today for a number of great Electric Car Charger installation services.

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Electric Car Charger Costs

A small, simple charger from a reliable company such as Pod Point will usually start at the cost of around £300 to £1000 with the support of the EVHS if it is eligible for that discount. 

The exact cost depends on various factors such as:

Larger, more complex options, with a monitor or wi-fi app support, will come at higher costs. If you are setting up charge points for your business, then it is worth focusing on more expensive, durable options, as business charge points, will take more wear and tear than home ones.

Speak to one of our team members now to get an estimate on your electric car charger and installation!

Benefits of Electric Car Chargers

While you do not strictly need an electric car charger to charge your electric car, it is highly recommended. Here are some advantages of having an electric car charger:

Get in touch if you’re interested in having your own electric car charger!

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FAQs 

Here are some frequently asked questions about electric car chargers:

Why do you need an electric car charger?

While not all-electric car chargers will help you charge your car while travelling, there are models available with mobile applications too. Public chargers are rare, so it is important to make sure you keep an eye on the accessibility of charge for your car when travelling! 

Many modern chargers now also have app support, so you can simply check the app when out of your home to see how your car charging is going. With an app, you will never be caught short of power in a crisis!

Can you install a DIY electric car charger?

The bad news is that you can’t install a wall charger on your own. Only a qualified technician can install vehicle chargers, and you should not attempt home installation tasks like this as DIY projects, as any errors could lead to invalidating the warranty on your expensive vehicle. 

The good news is that most electric car charger systems come with home installation included in the standard cost of the charge point, so you are not going to have to pay more for the installation. There is no hidden cost here – a professional installation is part of the charger installation package, so you do not need to worry about the cost of power charger installation for your charge point.

Do all electric vehicles use the same charger? 

In short: no. There are two different standard connectors for charging an electric vehicle, or “ev” at home. This can be confusing, as many of them are the same, but unfortunately, not all electric vehicle models use exactly the same type of charger plug. 

Most modern EV models use a “type 2” charger. This is the most common shape by some distance, as it has been mandated by the EU since 2014 that all plug-in car models must use a type 2 charge socket. 

Some older models of EV use the older type 1 socket, but these are increasingly rare, as type 2 has been a requirement on all new cars for several years now. Type 1 to type 2 converters are available, so you should be able to use the same cable for all-electric cars if you have got access to a converter.

If you would like to receive even more information on Electric Car Charger installation services, make sure you get in touch with us today!

Can you charge electric cars from a mains socket?

While you absolutely can plug your EV into a regular mains outlet, you probably do not want to. If you are using a regular 2.4kW three-pin plug wall socket, it might look convenient, but your charging rate is going to be painfully slow. 

Depending on the car, charging with a standard three-pin plug socket rather than dedicated charge points means that it will take 35 to 40 hours to charge your vehicle’s battery for most cars – that is a whole working week’s worth of hours and the associated energy cost!

A proper EV charging home charger will cut down on that charging time massively and comes with a number of other advantages beyond that rapid charge. 

If you are trying to charge from a mains socket, you will need to run a cable out to your car in the street, which is far from ideal – that sort of thing is why EV owners are often seen as a joke! That is less of a problem if you have access to off-street parking for car charging, but it is still worth considering when choosing chargers.

Can you speed up EV charging?

If your car is eligible for a higher AC charge, such as 11 or 22 kW, then you could, in theory, speed up your charging times significantly. This is not a straightforward process, though, no matter what the car manufacturers like to claim. 

The way that this all works is that electricity to your home is supplied through either a single-phase or a three-phase electricity supply. A single-phase network has one live wire through which energy travels, while a three-phase network has three. You could, in theory, connect something to all three live wires for faster charging, but it is not that simple.

You may have heard that most of the UK is hooked up to a three-phase network. That claim is entirely true, but it does not quite tell the whole story. The network might be three-phase, but most homes are actually only connected to one of those three wires. So while the network itself is three-phase, your home connection is only a single phase, no matter how you approach installation methods.

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Summary

With the help of the electric vehicle home charge scheme (EVHS), which all our chargers are eligible for, an EV home charger can be surprisingly affordable. The costs are not tiny, but this is a worthwhile investment, and extras like app support or a monitor can make a big difference.

Electric cars are a great option, or even a plug-in hybrid if you do not want to commit completely. But until the UK charging network is a bit better developed, a home charger that connects to something like the pod point network is an essential accessory for any electric vehicle. It is more convenient and offers much faster charging and better energy efficiency and the installation process is actually very straightforward once you have chosen your charger.

If you have got any questions about EV charging solutions such as pod point, do not hesitate to get in touch – we are always happy to help people get their electric vehicles properly and safely connected!

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Make sure you contact us today for a number of great Electric Car Charger services.

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