Do I need a special charger to be able to charge my EV at home?

Do I need a special charger to be able to charge my EV at home?

The short answer is NO. You can charge any commercially available BEV (battery electric vehicle) or PHEV (plug-in hybrid electric vehicle) from a standard 15A power point.

Whilst most homes do not have 15A power points, it is generally not difficult or expensive to have one installed.

The slightly longer answer is: it depends on how fast you want to charge your EV. To explain this better, table 1 below shows the different EV charging modes:

Table 1: EV charging modes:

Therefore, the longer answer is two part and based on table 2²:

• NO: if an overnight charge at mode 2 will meet your daily travel needs – then a 15A socket outlet is fine and no special charger is needed.
• YES: if you want faster charging speeds and/or want to get enough charge for your daily travel without using any work or public charging. In that case, you will need to install a special charger, called and EVSE. See also FAQ on ‘EV Charging Speeds explained’.

Table 2: EV charging rates:

Notes:

1. Reminder: only BEVs and PHEVs are able to be charged via a lead. (See FAQ on ‘What is an EV’?)
2. Mode 4 is not possible at home and therefore not included in table 2.