How do EV charge points work?

Chargepoints can be installed at homes with a garage or driveway, at workplaces, on residential streets, in town centres, public car parks and ‘destinations’, such as shopping centres or motorway service stations.

Chargepoints vary as to how quickly they can charge an electric vehicle.

Rapid chargepoints are the quickest way to recharge a vehicle, typically recharging to 80% in around 30 minutes. However, rapid chargepoints are the most expensive to use (like expensive petrol or diesel fuel at motorway services), and they cannot be installed at home.

Slow chargepoints are often the cheapest to use and are suitable when vehicles are parked for several hours, such as during working hours or overnight.

Fast chargepoints are a happy medium and ideal when vehicles are parked for a few hours.

The speed your vehicle recharges will be affected by the chargepoint speed available and how fast the vehicle itself can recharge. When buying or leasing an electric car, especially older EVs and some plug-in hybrids, you should find out its maximum charging speed. Depending on the vehicle and its connector types, you may be able to top-up at fast at rapid chargepoints but not take full advantage of their maximum charging speed.