Electric Car Charging Points Cost
The cost of your charging unit will depend on many factors, including brand, power output, smart features, weatherproofing and durability, etc. Budget models that are a relatively simple “plug and play” style with no fancy added features start at £250-300 before adding installation fees. The power output of such a unit could be as low as 3 or 4 kW, thus only adding 12-20 miles per hour of charging.
To get a more sophisticated model with a stronger output and more innovative features you inevitably have to spend more, from £500 to £800 to be more precise. These wall boxes typically feature LED displays showing power output and/or Wi-Fi function with a paired smartphone or tablet app. Using the app, you can have total control over charging times, so you can set your car to only charge during off-peak electricity hours. This means you could plug your car in when you get home, but it won’t start charging until a pre-set time, say midnight. It will come on automatically when the time comes.
The most advanced chargers can even go over £1,000, especially those with a 22 kW output for those homes and buildings where that kind of power rating can be accepted. Please note that these costs are all pre-installation costs, IE just the cost of the unit and the power cable. There are, broadly speaking, 2 types of charging station you might buy: tethered and socket-only. The former is convenient because it comes with a charging cable and plug all attached as one to the charging station. The latter allows you to make use of your own charging cable, perhaps the one issued by the OEM.
Most vehicles benefit from a tethered charging station because they are geared for greater power output. Those who are driving plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), on the other hand, with a much smaller battery capacity, needn’t shell out so much money for a more powerful unit and can plug in their factory-issued cable to the charging point for easy charging.