Several energy providers offer EV-focused tariffs of as low as 7p per kWh in the early hours, so you can plug your EV in but set the schedule to charge only during the off-peak time, which might be between 12am and 7am, depending on the supplier.
Using a 7kW home charger, that could give close to 195 miles of range at a cost of less than 2p per mile.
Plug types
Fifty years ago, an epic struggle broke out between JVC and Sony to dominate the home video tape market with their respective VHS and Betamax formats.
VHS eventually won, making Betamax obsolete, and the two names came to symbolise competing standards. EV charging plugs went the same way a few decades later, which is why there are different plug formats out there, causing some confusion.
The first Nissan Leafs came with a Type 1 ‘J-Plug’ for AC charging and a Chademo plug for direct current (DC) rapid charging, which was the standard in Japan.
Meanwhile in the EU, the Type 2 Mennekes plug became the standard for AC charging and the Combined Charging System (CCS) plug for DC rapid charging – so called because it combines the Type 2 plug with an additional two pins for carrying DC straight into the EV’s battery.
When you arrive at a public charger, Chademo plugs (if present) are easily identifiable as bright blue and CCS plugs as plain white.
