With an electric vehicle it’s good to get into the habit of topping up its battery every day, to ensure that you always have maximum driving range available to you. This is unlike a fuel-based car, where you would probably wait until the tank was nearly empty before filling it up.
Most electric vehicle drivers charge their cars every night, from home, and with the benefit of a government grant to subside the costs of buying and installing a home charging point, there’s little reason not to install a charging point and adopt overnight charging.
Be assured that the lithium ion battery in your electric vehicle is a highly engineered product and will not suffer any memory effect. Which means that you do not have to wait for it to be depleted or nearly empty before you re-charge it. Also, there is normally a feature built into your car which prevents overcharging and preserves your battery’s life.
Charging is simple – just plug your car into your charging point and leave it to charge. Home charging can also be interactive. Through our partner manufacturer Rolec, we can provide and instal the WallPod:EV HomeSmart. Linked to an app, this unit is designed to provide you a simple, mobile phone interactive EV charging solution for the home. You can control the charging activity of your EV HomeSmart unit using your mobile phone. You can also monitor and record all your charging activity, data and history.
Rolec also have a solar panel product which allows you to charge your car from the output of your solar panels alone (depending on the season and their performance), or from a combination of your solar panels and your mains electricity supply. This charging point also has a smart option allowing you to view its performance on an app.
Whilst home charging points do not provide a ‘rapid charge’ facility, like some public charging points, you will normally have the complete overnight period to charge your car, so time taken to charge should not be an issue.
Home based charging is certainly economic. The cost of charging an electric car is about 2 to 5 pence per mile, compared with petrol or diesel costs of about 15 pence per mile.
And this can be made cheaper if you have overnight rate electricity as part of your tariff with your utility provider. The average UK electricity rate in the UK is around 14p per kWh, while the typical overnight electricity rate in the UK is 8p per kWh.
Finally, please remember that the charging capability of electric vehicles can vary according to the season. Their charging performance is at its better in warmer weather. Which means that you can expect maximum range in the summer months and slightly less in the winter.
25th September 2020