Buying an electric car home charger can be a big upfront expense, but that can be paid back quickly thanks to the vast savings by using a domestic tariff over more expensive public charging costs.
Charging on your driveway is on average over 50 per cent per unit cheaper than plugging into a street-side device, but if you take advantage of smart charging and off-peak electricity rates it can be even greater.
A dedicated home charger is also much safer, more convenient and faster than simply using a three-pin plug in your home or garage.
But with an increasing array of wallbox chargers available, how do you know which is the best brand to buy?
Auto Express’ Driver Power 2024 survey of more than 4,000 motorists ranks the UK’s main EV home chargers from best to worst. Drivers were asked to give their charger a score out of seven across seven different categories: installation process, style, ease of use, build quality, reliability, smartphone app and customer service.
Here are the 2024 results – so you know which charger and installation services are worth every penny.
Winner of the best charger award: Hypervolt
With a score of 6.5 out of seven, Hypervolt tops the Auto Express rankings for 2024. Hypervolt won five out of seven categories – installation, style, reliability, customer service and smartphone app
With a score of 6.5 out of seven, Hypervolt tops the Auto Express rankings for 2024.
Hypervolt won five out of seven categories – installation, style, reliability, customer service and smartphone app.
Demonstrating though that EV owners really do properly assess their experiences of their own home charger for the survey, Hypervolt was marked down to the bottom of the field for build quality and ease of use. However, both scores were still quite high.
Chris Rosamond, current affairs and features editor at Auto Express said: ‘This year’s champion secures first place on the podium with an impressive array of five category wins, but there are a couple of category results where it trails worryingly in seventh place.
‘Build quality is arguably the most troubling of those, with satisfaction falling well below the majority of rivals here. Hypervolt also ranks seventh for ease of use, but the differences across the brands are more marginal. The brand’s biggest wins are rave reviews for its customer service and smartphone app.’
Runner up: Easee
Coming in second place is Easee with a score of 6.4 out of seven. However, ‘seriously disappointing’ reliability is Easee’s achilles heel
Coming in second place is Easee with a score of 6.4 out of seven.
Its sleek, minimal smart home charger won first place in the ‘build quality’ category and was second place for style, with smooth installation taking third place.
However, ‘seriously disappointing’ reliability is Easee’s Achilles heel.
Rosamond said: ‘Easee by name but not so easy by nature; Easee was ranked third for ease of use by Driver Power respondents, albeit by the narrowest of margins.
‘Easee customer service rated only fourth most satisfying, while satisfaction with its smartphone app is fifth. Reliability being ranked only seventh is seriously disappointing, though.’
Third place: Zappi
Zappi takes home bronze, but by only the tiniest of margins with a score of 6.3 out of seven
Zappi takes home bronze, but by only the tiniest of margins with a score of 6.3 out of seven.
Its adaptable charger can output at 7kW or 22kW speeds depending on the setting, and came in second for reliability, build quality and installation.
It also scored highly for customer service and the smartphone app, even though it came fourth for ease of use.
Fourth: Wallbox
Wallbox comes in fourth with 6.2 out of seven: Wallbox came second for ease of use and smartphone app too, showing that owners find their Wallbox hassle-free and simple to use way day to day
Wallbox comes in fourth with 6.2 out of seven.
With multiple home chargers to choose from, Wallbox offers energy management and in-built solar charging options for those interested in reducing carbon footprint further.
Wallbox came second for ease of use and smartphone app too, showing that owners find their Wallbox hassle-free and simple to use way day to day.
Fifth: Ohme
Ohme came fifth with a score of 6.2 out of seven: Ohme only scored in the top three for customer service and being well-made
Ohme came fifth with a score of 6.2 out of seven.
Coming low down the list for style, ease of use, reliability, Ohme only scored in the top three for customer service and being well-made.
Sixth: EO
Taking sixth: Although EO came towards the bottom of the league tables for the majority of the categories, it did take first place for ease of use
EO takes home sixth place with a score of 6 out of seven.
Although EO came towards the bottom of the league tables for the majority of the categories, it did take first place for ease of use.
Seventh: Pod point
Coming second from last is Pod Point, with a score of 5.9 out of seven, but it did come third for reliability with a score of 92.02 per cent.
Coming second from last is Pod Point, with a score of 5.9 out of seven.
While Pod Point managed to only come in the bottom half of the table for six out of seven categories, it did do much better on reliability.
It came third for reliability with a score of 92.02 per cent.
Eighth and last: Rolec
In last place is Rolec with a score of just 5.1. Rolec chargers are generally pretty cheap for an at home option, costing around £350. Surveyed customers voted that their experience with a Rolec wasn’t up to scratch compared to the competition, coming in last in all seven categories. Customer service was ‘especially poor’.
In last place is Rolec with a score of just 5.1.
Rolec chargers are generally pretty cheap for an at home option, costing around £350.
But sometimes you pay less in the knowledge you’ll get a lower quality product or service, and this is reportedly the case with Rolec.
Surveyed customers voted that their experience with a Rolec wasn’t up to scratch compared to the competition, coming in last in all seven categories.
Customer service was ‘especially poor’.
However, it is worth noting that only the top eight largest charger brands were voted on and Rolec still scored 6 out of seven in the reliability category.
‘With a range of options that include what’s claimed to be the UK’s most affordable home charger, the feedback from Rolec customers suggests they may be getting what they pay for,’ says Rosamond about Rolec, the worst ranked home charger provider.
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