Choosing a home EV charger: power, tethered or untethered, and the features that matter

Most home chargers look alike, but a few choices are hard to undo once the unit is on the wall: how much power it can deliver, whether it has its own cable, and how well it works with your tariff, solar panels and grant paperwork. The figures on what is available come from our database of 67 home chargers from 18 brands, which you can browse on the EV charger overview.

Start with your supply

Most British homes have a single-phase supply. On single phase, a home charger normally runs at up to 32 A, which is about 7 kW; the Energy Networks Association uses exactly that as its example of a standard domestic charger ¹. Three-phase supplies exist but are uncommon in houses.

In our database, 13 models are single-phase 7.4 kW units, 12 are 11 kW and 42 are rated at 22 kW. Many three-phase units can also be wired single-phase and then run at up to 7.4 kW; check the installation manual before buying.

Is 7 kW enough?

For almost everyone. A car plugged in from evening to morning for 8 hours at 7 kW takes on around 56 kWh – more than most drivers use in several days of commuting. Faster AC charging only helps if your car’s on-board charger accepts more than 7 kW and you have a three-phase supply.

Tethered or untethered?

Of the 58 chargers where we know the connector, 26 are socket-only, 10 are tethered-only and 22 are sold in both versions. For a tethered unit, measure from the wall to your car’s charge port and add a metre.

Smart is not optional

Home and workplace charge points sold in Great Britain must meet the Electric Vehicles (Smart Charge Points) Regulations 2021 ². In practice that means every new charger:

• can connect to the internet and respond to signals, so it can take part in smart tariffs and demand-side response;
• is set by default to charge outside peak hours, with a randomised start delay (both of which you can override);
• meets security requirements such as encrypted communication and no default passwords;
• measures the energy it delivers.

What differs between products is how useful that smartness is: whether the app works with your energy supplier’s tariff, whether it can charge from solar, and whether you are tied to the manufacturer’s cloud. Our guide to smart charging and EV tariffs covers this in detail.

Features worth checking

• Load management. If your house already draws a lot of power (electric shower, heat pump), the charger should throttle back automatically. 60 of the 67 models in our data list load management, but it usually needs a current clamp or meter at the fuse board.
• Solar charging. 30 models list charging from solar surplus: see EV chargers that charge on solar surplus. On a three-phase supply, phase switching lets the charger drop to single phase when the sun is weak.
• DC fault protection. A charger needs protection that also detects DC leakage: an RCD Type B, or a Type A with 6 mA DC detection built into the unit. 48 models in our database have that detection built in.
• Open protocol (OCPP). Lets you change app, tariff provider or employer back office without replacing the hardware.
• Metering. If an employer reimburses your charging, a charger that logs every session – ideally with a MID-certified meter – makes the claim simple. See EV chargers with a MID-certified meter.

Grants and the OZEV list

If you rent or own a flat with private off-street parking, the EV chargepoint grant can cover 75% of the installation cost, up to £500, when you use an OZEV-authorised installer and an eligible charger model ³. The government keeps an authorised chargepoint model list ⁴; 21 of the chargers in our database appear on it. Details are in our installation guide.

In short

1. Single-phase home: a 7 kW charger – the most common and sensible choice.
2. Three-phase home and a car with a larger on-board charger: 11 or 22 kW.
3. Choose tethered or socket for convenience, and check solar, load management and OCPP before price.

Compare shortlisted models side by side in the comparison tool.