You can, but it isn't really meant for it. A standard three-pin socket will trickle-charge an electric car, but only at around 2 to 3 kW, so a full charge can take the best part of a day or more, and household sockets and their wiring were never designed to run at full load for hours on end. Do it often and the socket, plug and cable can overheat, which is why carmakers treat three-pin charging as an occasional emergency measure rather than a daily habit. A dedicated home charge point runs two to three times faster, on its own circuit built for the job, with the protection to match.
A proper home charger is the easiest and safest way to run an electric car: plug in overnight and wake up to a full battery, at a fraction of the cost of the public network. Across the commuter towns near the M8 and M74, Motherwell, Hamilton, Bellshill and Larkhall, it's some of the work we do most. We check your supply and existing fuse box first, install the charger on its own dedicated circuit with the right protection, site it neatly where it suits your driveway, and test and certify the whole job to BS 7671 before we leave.
Fine for a top-up, not a habit
A three-pin socket will trickle-charge in a pinch, but it's slow and not built to run at full load for hours on end.
A charger is faster and safer
A dedicated point charges two to three times quicker on its own protected circuit, never spurred off the ring main.
Checked and certified
We check your supply first and test and certify the finished install to BS 7671, so it's safe from the first charge.
Your questions, answered
Is it dangerous to charge an EV from a normal socket?
As an occasional top-up on a sound socket it's generally alright, but doing it daily risks overheating the socket, plug and wiring, which were never designed for that load. A dedicated charger removes the risk and charges far faster.
How much faster is a proper charger?
A home charge point typically runs at 7 kW, two to three times the speed of a three-pin socket, so most cars charge fully overnight rather than taking most of a day.
Do you need to upgrade my fuse box to fit a charger?
Not always. We check your supply and board first and only recommend an upgrade if it's genuinely needed for a safe install. If it's fine as it is, we'll tell you so.
Ready for electrics done properly?
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