Charging at home
The most convenient and cost-effective way to charge your electric car is at home. You can get one if you have off-street parking, like a driveway or garage.
Get a home chargepoint
You’ll need to have off-street parking next to your home, like a driveway or garage. You’ll also need permission if you do not own your home. Or it’s a freehold flat or a leasehold.
You can make sure your chargepoint is installed somewhere that gives you enough space to move around and plug in. Your chargepoint installer will guide you and answer your questions.
Cannot get a chargepoint?
Learn about bp pulseHow much an installation costs
If this is your first fully electric car on the Motability Scheme, we’ll arrange and cover the cost of a home chargepoint and a standard installation.
You’ll need to pay if you’ve had a fully electric car on the Scheme before, or you need a non-standard installation.
On average, 70% of customers do not need to pay anything extra during their installation
How a home installation works
After we’ve approved your car application, we’ll allocate you to one of our chargepoint providers. They’ll contact you and arrange to send someone out to install a chargepoint.
Generally, the installation can take up to two hours. If it’s more complicated, it could take up to five hours.
What is a non-standard installation?
It’s a home chargepoint installation where more work is needed. You might need a non-standard installation if:
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Your parking space is not directly next to your home
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Your charging unit needs to be mounted on something other than your home, like a post. Your home chargepoint can only be installed on a permanent structure
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The cable route from your meter or unit is longer than 15 metres
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The chargepoint provider needs to drill through more than one wall for the cable route
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Your electrical equipment needs to be upgraded
You'll have to pay extra if you need one of these.
Charging costs
Your tariff will affect how much you pay. We’ve given you a rough idea of what you can expect, depending on your tariff, and how it compares to petrol and diesel.
Standard tariff
Based on electricity price of £0.34 p/kWh:
| Car | Cost to charge | Cost per mile | Cost per mile (Petrol and diesel equivalents) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small electric car (42 kWh battery) | £14.28 | £0.08 | £0.13 |
| Medium electric car (50 kWh battery) | £17.00 | £0.08 | £0.15 |
| Large electric car (65 kWh battery) | £22.10 | £0.10 | £0.17 |
Off-peak tariff
Based on electricity price of £0.10 p/kWh:
| Car | Cost to charge | Cost per mile | Cost per mile (Petrol and diesel equivalents) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small electric car (42 kWh battery) | £4.20 | £0.02 | £0.13 |
| Medium electric car (50 kWh battery) | £5.00 | £0.02 | £0.15 |
| Large electric car (65 kWh battery) | £6.50 | £0.03 | £0.17 |
The right tariff can help keep your costs low
Speak to your current provider: ask them about the tariff in your local area before you get a home chargepoint
- Shop around for the best price: compare tariffs online, to find the best deal for you
Using my home chargepoint is much easier. I think it’s cheaper and I can switch it on when I wish to.”
Kevin, electric car customer
Charging on the go
We understand there will be times when you’ll need to charge away from home, like when you’re on a long distance trip.
That’s not a problem, as you can still use the public charging network.
As part of your worry-free package, we’ll also give you our Motability Go Charge card. This lets you charge simply, at over 45,000 chargepoints. You’ll never pay more than the chargepoint operator’s ‘pay as you go’ tariff.
Find chargepoints near you
See if an electric car is right for you: check if there are chargepoints near you and on your usual routes.
Check nearby checkpointsSummary of things to think about
You’ll need off-street parking, and permission to fit a chargepoint if you do not own your home
You’ll need to pay extra if you need a non-standard installation
Charging costs will vary, depending on the tariff you choose
