The best home electric car chargers, as voted for by drivers
A home charger is one of the best ways of making electric car ownership easier and cheaper.
Having a charging unit at home not only means you can wake each morning to a fully charged vehicle but you can also benefit from super-cheap energy rates that mean running your car can cost as little as a third of an equivalent petrol car.
But home chargers aren’t particularly cheap. It’s estimated that the average cost to buy and fit a new one is between £1,000 and £1,500. So it’s important to choose one that is well-made, reliable and easy to use, especially with an ever-growing field to choose from.
Thankfully, a new survey of more than 2,000 UK EV owners has identified the chargers and brands that offer the best value and user experience.
The poll, by consumer title WhatCar?, asked 2,176 EV drivers how much they paid to have their wallbox fitted, how satisfied they were with the process and whether they had experienced any faults or issues, as well as how long problems took to put right.
Based on that and testing by the title’s in-house team, it compiled a top 10 of the best home chargers currently on sale.
Norwegian brand Easee came out on top, with its single model – the One – earning an overall rating of five out of five. Owners were pleased with how easy it was to use and with the quality of the installation. They were also mostly happy with reliability and when a problem did arise, it was fixed quickly and for free by Easee – one of only four brands that didn’t charge for repairs. The only area where it was less than top-ranked was on value.
The UK’s Hypervolt also scored five out of five for its Home Pro 3, and was similarly praised for the quality of installation and ease of use. Most buyers were happy with the dependability of the Home Pro, too, but a slightly poorer overall reliability score meant it placed behind the Easee overall. Like Easee, faults were dealt with quickly and for free.
Spain’s Wallbox completed the top three, with its Pulsar Max achieving a four-star rating. Buyers were happy with the ease of use and installation process but longer repair times and charges for some fixes brought down its reliability rating. Owners also only rated the £1,245 unit as average for value.
Elsewhere in the rankings, Andersen topped the table for installation satisfaction, possibly because it uses its own in-house team to fit the A2, rather than outside contractors. The stylish wood and metal device was also praised for its design but, at more than £1,500, it ranked worst for value.
Conversely, Pod Point’s Solo 3S was the value winner but owners were disappointed with the installation service.
What Car?’s consumer editor Claire Evans said: “There’s more to being a great home EV charger provider than offering high-tech units.
“It’s also important to provide ongoing support for customers to ensure any issues are resolved swiftly and with minimal expense.
“After all, a home wallbox is expensive to buy, and consumers don’t want to be left without assistance, or in the worst case scenario having to replace a unit if it suffers a serious fault.”
