EV charging at home: costs, tariffs and solar
Charging an electric car at home is where the running-cost savings live. Do it on the right tariff and a mile of driving costs a fraction of petrol; do it on the wrong one, or at a public rapid charger, and a lot of that advantage disappears. This guide covers what a home charger costs to fit, what the electricity actually costs on different tariffs, and how solar panels fit into the picture.
What a home charger costs
A dedicated 7kW home charger costs roughly £800 to £1,200 installed. A 7kW unit adds around 25 to 30 miles of range per hour, so an overnight charge easily covers a normal day's driving. You can charge from a standard three-pin socket, but it's slow, around 2.3kW, and not designed for daily use, so most owners fit a proper wall charger.
Grant help is narrower than it used to be. The original Electric Vehicle Homecharge Scheme closed for most homeowners in March 2022. A grant of £350 remains through the EV chargepoint grant for people who live in flats or rented accommodation, which is worth checking if that's you.
What the electricity costs
This is where the tariff matters more than anything. The same charge can cost three different amounts depending on where and when you plug in.
| Where you charge | Typical unit rate | Cost per mile (approx) |
|---|---|---|
| Home, EV tariff overnight | ~7 to 10p | ~2 to 3p |
| Home, standard tariff | ~24 to 25p | ~7p |
| Public rapid charger | ~50 to 80p | ~15 to 23p |
| Petrol car (for comparison) | n/a | ~14 to 16p |
The figures assume a typical efficiency of around 3.5 miles per kWh. Home overnight charging on a dedicated EV tariff is the cheapest fuel most drivers will ever buy. Public rapid charging, by contrast, can cost as much per mile as petrol, which is why home charging is the heart of the savings.
A worked year
Take 10,000 miles a year at 3.5 miles per kWh, which is about 2,860 kWh of charging.
| Scenario | Annual charging cost |
|---|---|
| Home overnight at 7.5p | ~£215 |
| Home on standard tariff at 25p | ~£715 |
| Petrol equivalent (40 mpg, ~£1.40/litre) | ~£1,590 |
The gap between overnight home charging and petrol is roughly £1,300 a year for an average driver. That's the number that makes the maths on an EV stack up, and it depends almost entirely on charging at home on a smart tariff.
Can you charge an EV from solar panels?
Partly, and it's better than it first looks. A 7kW charger draws more than a typical home array produces at once, so you rarely run a fast charge purely on sunshine. But many chargers and tariffs offer "solar matching" or eco modes that trickle surplus solar into the car instead of exporting it at the lower rate. For a car that's home during the day, that quietly lifts how much of your generation you use yourself, the same lever that drives battery value in are solar batteries worth it.
For most households the bigger win is still overnight charging on a cheap tariff, with solar topping up when the car happens to be home in daylight. The two work together rather than competing.
Getting the tariff right
An EV roughly doubles a typical home's electricity use, so the tariff decision is worth real money. Dedicated EV tariffs give a cheap overnight window, often around 7p for five to six hours, which is plenty to fill most cars. Some go further and schedule charging for you around the cheapest half-hours. The options, including how they suit a home with solar and a battery, are covered in the best smart tariffs for solar, batteries and EVs.
Frequently asked questions
On a dedicated EV tariff, roughly 7 to 10p per kWh, or about 2 to 3p per mile. On a standard tariff it's nearer 7p a mile. An average 10,000-mile year costs around £215 charged overnight.
Much cheaper. Home overnight charging is around 7 to 10p per kWh; public rapid charging is often 50 to 80p, which can cost as much per mile as petrol.
Partly. A fast charger draws more than most home arrays produce at once, but eco or solar-matching modes divert surplus solar into the car, which lifts your self-consumption.
A dedicated 7kW wall charger is recommended for daily use. A three-pin socket works but is slow and not designed for regular charging.
For most homeowners the grant closed in 2022. A £350 grant remains for people in flats or rented homes through the EV chargepoint grant.