Full EV granny charger or wall charger
Discussion
Advice required again please.
Still thinking of getting an EV4 Kia.
I was going to just buy a wall charger, but I’m now wondering if it’s necessary.
If I go on an Ev tariff I get cheap electric for 6 hours a night, but the rest of the time the rate is a bit more expensive so it’s not clear cut how much you would save.
In terms of convenience, I understand the granny charger will charge at 2kwh the wall box at 7kwh. That means it probably wouldn’t be to much of an inconvenience as in 12 hours it would put 80 miles in. If I keep it topped up, then it would only really be an issue if I had to do two long journeys on consecutive days and that really doesn’t happen.
Any thoughts or am I missing something obvious?
Still thinking of getting an EV4 Kia.
I was going to just buy a wall charger, but I’m now wondering if it’s necessary.
If I go on an Ev tariff I get cheap electric for 6 hours a night, but the rest of the time the rate is a bit more expensive so it’s not clear cut how much you would save.
In terms of convenience, I understand the granny charger will charge at 2kwh the wall box at 7kwh. That means it probably wouldn’t be to much of an inconvenience as in 12 hours it would put 80 miles in. If I keep it topped up, then it would only really be an issue if I had to do two long journeys on consecutive days and that really doesn’t happen.
Any thoughts or am I missing something obvious?
I only did 5k miles in my EV in the last 12 months, 90% of it charging at night via a 3 pin plug on an EV tariff. I still used more electricity on EV charging than the rest of the house (I do washing at night too using the machine timer 
). It isn't my only car so I can cope with the slow charging.
The day time rate is 4p more than EON's 'normal' fixed tariffs but is still below the price cap. Like the OP, I wondered if it was worth it but it definitely is, being 1/4 the daytime rate!
). It isn't my only car so I can cope with the slow charging.The day time rate is 4p more than EON's 'normal' fixed tariffs but is still below the price cap. Like the OP, I wondered if it was worth it but it definitely is, being 1/4 the daytime rate!
With a granny charger, you will be charging at about 2kW, for 6 hours. So 12kWh.
That's good for about 36 miles.
Which could be 36 x 365 = 13,000 miles a year, if you are very fixed in your habits.
IF you often do more than 36 miles in a day, you will want a proper charger.
You can 'borrow' from one day the next, but you need to be ahead of the game over a week.
IF you charge at daytime rate, it's about 7p extra per mile, so divide the cost of the charger by .07 and that's the number of daytime charging miles for a charger to pay for itself. E.g £500 for a charger, 7,143 miles to pay for itself, on top of the miles you get from cheap rate.
IF you have a load of solar and some of the daytime charging is 'lost exports' you can make the sums more complicated!
Quite a lot of people do 8k or 10k miles a year on granny charging and using public chargers on the odd long trip.
A mate of mine did loads in his old leaf, but I think he got a bit of charging at work.
But I think we are moving into a world where you might not get offered the best tariffs if you don't have a smart charger that your electricity retailer can control.
And a proper charger is more convenient?
That's good for about 36 miles.
Which could be 36 x 365 = 13,000 miles a year, if you are very fixed in your habits.
IF you often do more than 36 miles in a day, you will want a proper charger.
You can 'borrow' from one day the next, but you need to be ahead of the game over a week.
IF you charge at daytime rate, it's about 7p extra per mile, so divide the cost of the charger by .07 and that's the number of daytime charging miles for a charger to pay for itself. E.g £500 for a charger, 7,143 miles to pay for itself, on top of the miles you get from cheap rate.
IF you have a load of solar and some of the daytime charging is 'lost exports' you can make the sums more complicated!
Quite a lot of people do 8k or 10k miles a year on granny charging and using public chargers on the odd long trip.
A mate of mine did loads in his old leaf, but I think he got a bit of charging at work.
But I think we are moving into a world where you might not get offered the best tariffs if you don't have a smart charger that your electricity retailer can control.
And a proper charger is more convenient?
My 'granny charger' comes with a choice of cables: one with a 3 pin plug, and the other with a Commando connector.
When using the Commando lead, it charges at 7kW.
Needless to say, you’ll need a Commando socket to plug it into. I had one fitted in my garage for approx £100, (including use of armoured cable) as there was a spare 32A slot on the garage consumer unit. (This was 5 years or so ago, I'm not sure if this set up is recommended anymore).
This is the type of charger.
When using the Commando lead, it charges at 7kW.
Needless to say, you’ll need a Commando socket to plug it into. I had one fitted in my garage for approx £100, (including use of armoured cable) as there was a spare 32A slot on the garage consumer unit. (This was 5 years or so ago, I'm not sure if this set up is recommended anymore).
This is the type of charger.
I agree with many that spending £700+ on a proper install doesn't make much sense if you're doing 5000 miles a year. You could get an okay rate on Octopus GO.
A proper charger does unlock intelligent go, and you can charge cheap in the day and the house gets cheap rate too.
A proper charger does unlock intelligent go, and you can charge cheap in the day and the house gets cheap rate too.
Wilmslowboy said:
My 'granny charger' comes with a choice of cables: one with a 3 pin plug, and the other with a Commando connector.
When using the Commando lead, it charges at 7kW.
Needless to say, you ll need a Commando socket to plug it into. I had one fitted in my garage for approx £100, (including use of armoured cable) as there was a spare 32A slot on the garage consumer unit. (This was 5 years or so ago, I'm not sure if this set up is recommended anymore).
This is the type of charger.
It's not. If it's intended for EV charging it has to have the relevant EV equipment installed z regardless of being a wall socket or a commando or a proper charger. But, that's only if the installer knows your intended usage...When using the Commando lead, it charges at 7kW.
Needless to say, you ll need a Commando socket to plug it into. I had one fitted in my garage for approx £100, (including use of armoured cable) as there was a spare 32A slot on the garage consumer unit. (This was 5 years or so ago, I'm not sure if this set up is recommended anymore).
This is the type of charger.
I will probably do about 250 miles a week. I am thinking if I don’t get a proper charger I can just stay on a standard rate and then I will be able to charge whenever I want. So some days it may well stay charging all day. At a minimum it will be able to charge 14 hours most nights.
The other part of usage will be if I use it to go to Europe, when I will be away for several weeks, and will get an ionity subscription I guess.
The other part of usage will be if I use it to go to Europe, when I will be away for several weeks, and will get an ionity subscription I guess.
Stevemr said:
I will probably do about 250 miles a week. I am thinking if I don t get a proper charger I can just stay on a standard rate and then I will be able to charge whenever I want. So some days it may well stay charging all day. At a minimum it will be able to charge 14 hours most nights.
The other part of usage will be if I use it to go to Europe, when I will be away for several weeks, and will get an ionity subscription I guess.
You can charge whenever you want regardless of the tariff, you'll just pay more if not in the charging window which with your usage shouldn't be an issue anyway.The other part of usage will be if I use it to go to Europe, when I will be away for several weeks, and will get an ionity subscription I guess.
SWoll said:
Stevemr said:
I will probably do about 250 miles a week. I am thinking if I don t get a proper charger I can just stay on a standard rate and then I will be able to charge whenever I want. So some days it may well stay charging all day. At a minimum it will be able to charge 14 hours most nights.
The other part of usage will be if I use it to go to Europe, when I will be away for several weeks, and will get an ionity subscription I guess.
You can charge whenever you want regardless of the tariff, you'll just pay more if not in the charging window which with your usage shouldn't be an issue anyway.The other part of usage will be if I use it to go to Europe, when I will be away for several weeks, and will get an ionity subscription I guess.
My man math was strong but when I firstly looked at a wall connector (charger)it was nearly £2k to install (30m run under paths around garden wall to detached dive and garage).
Secondly I then looked at EV dual fuel rates and realised the increases in gas and day time electricity prices are significantly into any savings meaning I would save under £200 a year at best. Ergo it would take 10 years to recoup my outlay.
The result was I use a 10a granny charger plugged into the exiting garage 16a supply circuit via a 13a plug, works for me.
Here s me plugged in at lunchtime and it ll be at 80% by breakfast time. (I have a 82kwh battery!)
Edited by HarryW on Sunday 12th April 13:03
Absolutely no reason to get a wall charger fitted if your usage pattern means that a granny charger will do the job. A complete waste of money IMHO.
Worst case is that you suddenly need to go further than you thought, or you forgot to plug in etc... and then you can just use a public charger. Although public charging is expensive, you saved £1000.00 on a charger install.
Worst case is that you suddenly need to go further than you thought, or you forgot to plug in etc... and then you can just use a public charger. Although public charging is expensive, you saved £1000.00 on a charger install.
callahan said:
OutInTheShed said:
E.g £500 for a charger
Can you share where you can get a wall charger installed for £500?Genuine question - I can't find anything under £1000.
However one minute on google tells me that EDF are offering a charger for £499, if you sign up for a dodgy tariff and 10 years in the foreign legion.
OutInTheShed said:
It was a guess, based on what I think my mate paid in a special deal a couple of years ago.
However one minute on google tells me that EDF are offering a charger for £499, if you sign up for a dodgy tariff and 10 years in the foreign legion.
I think it's still £999, you just pay £499 up front and the rest is spread over the 2 year contract. They do hide it well!However one minute on google tells me that EDF are offering a charger for £499, if you sign up for a dodgy tariff and 10 years in the foreign legion.
Russet Grange said:
Absolutely no reason to get a wall charger fitted if your usage pattern means that a granny charger will do the job. A complete waste of money IMHO.
Worst case is that you suddenly need to go further than you thought, or you forgot to plug in etc... and then you can just use a public charger. Although public charging is expensive, you saved £1000.00 on a charger install.
I came to the same conclusion as we only do 5k a year in our EV and use a fair bit of electricity during the day. I’d be much better off using the moment to get a battery installed so I could charge that at the cheaper rate, at which point the cheap overnight tariffs make more sense. Worst case is that you suddenly need to go further than you thought, or you forgot to plug in etc... and then you can just use a public charger. Although public charging is expensive, you saved £1000.00 on a charger install.
HarryW said:
I was in a similar boat last year before I bought my Tesla MY long range, I m retired so no need to sweat on charging slots to get me to work at the crack of snuff.
My man math was strong but when I firstly looked at a wall connector (charger)it was nearly £2k to install (30m run under paths around garden wall to detached dive and garage).
Secondly I then looked at EV dual fuel rates and realised the increases in gas and day time electricity prices are significantly into any savings meaning I would save under £200 a year at best. Ergo it would take 10 years to recoup my outlay.
The result was I use a 10a granny charger plugged into the exiting garage 16a supply circuit via a 13a plug, works for me.
Here s me plugged in at lunchtime and it ll be at 80% by breakfast time. (I have a 82kwh battery!)
Why would it affect your gas price? The days of only getting a good price with dual fuel from the same supplier are over. I pay 5.28p per kW with 28.88p per day standing charge with Octopus for gas. I moved to EON for electricity in May 2025. I'm paying a bizarrely cheap 3.19p per kWh at night since 1st April, but that is due to the quirk of the removal of the ECO form the bills.My man math was strong but when I firstly looked at a wall connector (charger)it was nearly £2k to install (30m run under paths around garden wall to detached dive and garage).
Secondly I then looked at EV dual fuel rates and realised the increases in gas and day time electricity prices are significantly into any savings meaning I would save under £200 a year at best. Ergo it would take 10 years to recoup my outlay.
The result was I use a 10a granny charger plugged into the exiting garage 16a supply circuit via a 13a plug, works for me.
Here s me plugged in at lunchtime and it ll be at 80% by breakfast time. (I have a 82kwh battery!)
From May 15th, I'll be paying 9p per kWh for 6 hrs per night and 28.66p per kWh from 0600 to midnight. I'm surprised you think it's not worth swapping to an EV tariff, unless you use a LOT of electricity in the daytime, it is. I agree with the price of a charger; I will spend under £500 charging my EV over 3 years at home, and when the car goes back in April 2027, I may not have another straight away. You can get even cheaper tariffs with a smart home charger though.
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