Guide to electric car charging
This is your ultimate guide to charging your EV at home, work or on the go. At The Electric Car Scheme, we have partnered with market leading providers to make the EV charging process simple and hassle-free.
How to charge an electric car
There are several ways to charge your electric car and these are different from filling up a petrol or diesel car with fuel.
Charging an electric car differs from filling a petrol or diesel car with fuel. It is important to consider how you use and where you park your car regularly to plan how you'll charge it in your daily life. Charging points can be at home, work or on the go.
If you don’t have access to charge your EV at home, there are plenty of other options. Some streets have on-street parking, you can plug your car in at the supermarket or a service station. There are even some schemes where you can rent someone’s home charger.
Charging your electric car at home
Charging your EV at home is very convenient and is the most cost effective way to charge your electric car as you can benefit from off-peak charging. Plus, if you opt for a home charge point through The Electric Car Scheme, you can save 30-60% on it along with your new car using salary sacrifice.
We've teamed up with Smart Home Charge, endorsed by Which? Trusted Traders, to make it happen.
Public electric car charging network
With the UK's public electric vehicle charging network expanding rapidly, there are quite a number of EV charging networks across the country. Some are brand new and others well established, with some networks offering national coverage while others provide charging in a specific region.
Zap-Map is a UK-wide map that helps electric car drivers find and navigate to their nearest charging points, offering convenient search, filtering, and route planning features. This app simplifies EV journeys and addresses range anxiety for new EV drivers.
Charging your electric car at work
Office charging involves installing electric car chargers at workplaces like offices, car parks, factories, or warehouses. If you want to support your employees' switch to electric cars, it is important to consider setting up office charging.
We partnered with EVC and Connected Kerb to streamline setting up workplace charging stations for businesses. They offer support with advice, design, installation, funding, and even operation and maintenance of workplace chargers, tailored to your needs.
Alternative base charging
Alternative Base Charging, or ‘ABC’ options, are everywhere. Every month, thousands of people who cannot have home chargers buy EVs anyway because they know they will find ABC options to suit them.
We have partnered with Co Charger, the UK’s #1 community charging app, to streamline EV charger sharing among neighbours, handling communication, booking, and payments.
Learn more on The Electric Car Scheme blog
Our blog offers detailed information about switching to electric cars, including how to charge them, the latest models, and technological advancements, all aimed at achieving Net Zero. We discuss everything from how electric cars work to the different types available on the market. Whether you're already an electric car owner or just beginning to explore this exciting technology, our blog is an excellent resource for you.
Frequently asked questions
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Yes, you can charge your electric car with a three-pin plug, using an EVSE cable. This method of charging can take a very long time and using a domestic 2.4kW socket can take over 24 hours to charge your EV battery.
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You shouldn’t charge your EV to 100% every night because charging cycles can degrade your battery. Most electric cars have a range of more than 100 miles per charge, so unless you are driving long distances every day you will not need to do so. You can learn more about battery degradation by reading our blog.
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Charging your car at home and overnight is usually the cheapest time to charge your EV.
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If your employees want a home charger, we can assist them with that. Even better, we can help them save between 30-60% on the cost by using salary sacrifice to finance their new charger installation. Find more information about home charging here.
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