3kW, 7kW, 22kW? How to choose the right power rating for your home charger.
Which charging rate you opt for depends on a few variables, but we typically recommend a 7kW charger is more than sufficient to meet the needs of most drivers.
Charging rates comparison
A 7kW Pod Point Solo home charger charges 3x faster than a standard 3-pin plug, providing up to 30 miles of range per hour (RPH). This is enough to fill an EV with a 200 mile battery range from empty to full in around 7 hours*, which you can do overnight - giving you a full battery when you wake up.
Even if your car’s battery has more range than this, the ~200 miles you’ll wake up with is likely more than enough to cover any journeys you’ll be making that day.
By comparison, a 3.6kW Solo provides 15 miles of RPH, so you won’t be able to fill your electric car’s battery to full overnight.
22kW Solos are the fastest option, charging 10x faster than a 3-pin plug. But whilst this does provide up to 90 miles of RPH, this is often wasted as not every EV can accept a 22kW charging rate.
Also, 22kW Solos require three-phase power which is rare and very expensive to upgrade to, whereas 7kW chargers require single-phase power which is the standard for homes in the UK.
*Based on Pod Point estimates - charging times can differ based on ambient temperatures, the state of battery (e.g. empty or half full) and variations in the charging rate.
Top up charing
Rapid chargers (22kW+) are useful for when your battery is nearly empty and you need to add more miles quickly. But thanks to our national rollout of public fast and rapid chargers at Tesco and Lidl stores, it’s becoming easier than ever to find somewhere to quickly charge your battery.
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Outside of longer journeys, most EV drivers don’t let their car’s battery run to empty before they charge.
Instead, they make use of the time their car is parked (which is about 95% of the time) by plugging it in to charge wherever they park - e.g. at home, when shopping, or at their workplace - which we call top up charging.
By keeping your car regularly topped up at home and using public chargepoints at your destinations where possible, your EV’s battery will seldom dip below 50%. In this case, a 7kW home charger is more than sufficient; a faster rate of 22kW is simply overkill.
Maximum charging rates
All electric cars can charge on compatible chargepoints with a higher maximum charge rate than they can handle; they will just charge at the maximum rate that they can accept.
This means if you have a 3.6kW charger, your EV won’t be able to charge any faster no matter what its maximum charging speed is. Most modern electric vehicles are able to charge at 7kW, but on a 3.6Kw charger they will take twice as long to charge.
Also, not every EV can accept a 22kW charging rate, so you won’t get the benefits of a faster chargepoint if you opt for a 22kW Solo. You can find your vehicle’s charging rate by finding it in our vehicle guides.
For further support about ordering and installing the right charger for your vehicle, take a look at the guides on our help centre.??