Most EV (Electric Vehicle) charging is done at home. After all, it is the most affordable and convenient way to charge an electric car. Find out everything you need to know about charging an electric vehicle at home in this quick guide.
It doesn’t matter if your electric car is small or big, new or used, American, Japanese or South Korean, red, blue or purple. Every EV has a plug that you can use to charge at these locations:
 Home |
 Public |
Workplace |
That being said, electric car owners tend to mostly charge at home. In fact, most plug-in electric vehicle drivers do more than 80% of their charging at home (source: energy.gov). Whether you live in a family home or an apartment, have a garage or private parking, charging your electric car at home is the most affordable and efficient way of charging your EV’s battery.
Learn the simplicity of charging your electric car at home and you’ll learn how to magnify your benefits from driving electric.
Have you ever used a household outlet to keep your gasoline car battery from dying when it’s freezing cold outside?
Yes? Did you know you can also charge your EV battery with the same outlet? In the world of electric vehicles, this type of charging is called level 1 charging. The charging station for this type of charging is usually supplied with the car. Therefore, all-electric vehicle owners have access to level 1 charging.
Now, we know what you’re thinking: “All I need to charge my EV at home is a household outlet? Easy peasy!”
Just a moment! There’s more to know about electric car charging speed and how to use level 1 charging.
Although using a level 1 charging station is the most straightforward way to start charging your EV at home, it’s generally only used to help recharge on the road when we need it. Most of the time, it stays in the trunk of the vehicle. Here’s why:
It can take over 24 hours to deliver an optimal battery charge of 80% at a speed of about 9 km per hour (source: enphase.com).
They can only charge one electric car at a time (the plug cannot be used by other appliances either).
You understand that if you want to take advantage of a faster charging speed at home, you will need to equip yourself with a more efficient charging station.
The fastest way to charge your electric car at home is with a level 2 charging station. It can be installed on the side of your house, in a garage or your private parking lot. Also, it needs to be wired directly into your domestic electricity supply and may require a certified electrician to do so.
It can deliver an optimal battery charge of 80% in 4 to 5 hours at a charging speed of approximately 22.5 km per hour for a plug-in hybrid and up to 45 km per hour for an all-electric vehicle (source: enphase.com).
It’s plugged into a special outlet or connected directly to the electrical panel.
A level 2 charging station is therefore a key element in truly enjoying all the advantages of charging at home: it’s convenient, easy to use, reliable and saves money!
While faster charging stations exist, they cost thousands of dollars and have energy needs that surpass what is available at home. As a result, they are currently only used for public charging. If you’d like to learn more, check out our comprehensive guide to charging an electric car.
Some models are mounted to a wall, others are available as plug-in versions and can be moved. There are “smart” level 2 charging stations that allow you to view your charging history or even schedule charging sessions at specific times of the day. In particular, you should know that certain home charging stations are better adapted to the cold than certain other models on the market.
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