To make it easier to understand you can break EV chargers into two different categories: speed or location.

Based on speed, there are four types of chargers:

• Slow - These typically fall within the 3kW - 7kW bracket that makes up most home EV chargers available today.

• Fast - Fast chargers are usually 7kW - 22kW, and these are usually speeds found at public EV charge points rather than at homes.

• Rapid - Rapid chargers usually range in power from 50kW - 100kW. You’ll find these at rapid public charging points.

• Ultra-rapid - Ultra-rapid chargers range from 100kW - 350kW. These are the fastest chargers currently available on the market.

You can also categorise based on location:

• Home EV chargers - these are designed for residential properties and are generally slow to fast electric vehicle chargers.

• Public EV chargers - these are found in areas such as supermarkets or car parks and can vary in speed all the way up to ultra-rapid.

Whether you’re charging your electric car at home or in public, you’ll use a charging cable with a set connector. The type of charging connector you use depends on the type of EV you have and the power rating of the charging point.

Here are the five main charging plugs used in the UK:

The Tesla connector is a proprietary connector used exclusively for Tesla cars. It offers rapid DC charging at Tesla Supercharger stations. Tesla cars also come equipped with adapters so they’re also compatible with other charging connector types too.

When you choose your new home EV charger you often get the option of it being tethered or untethered. A tethered EV charger comes with a cable permanently attached to it, whereas with an untethered charger you’ll need to have your own separate cable. Normally this comes with your electric car.

Untethered can be useful if you want more flexibility with which cars can be charged at your property and they also tend to be cheaper than tethered.

If you get a new electric vehicle then it will normally come with a Type 2 or Mode 1 cable or both.

A Type 2 cable has a Type 2 connector on one end with a socket that fits the car on the other. This socket can be Type 1 or Type 2.

Mode 1 cable or “granny cables” come with the same Type 1 or Type 2 socket for your car but have a three pin plug on the other. This offers the slowest charging but is helpful in a pinch.

We offer a range of home EV chargers, and a dedicated EV tariff, Next Drive, which features 100% renewable electricity³ and cheaper overnight charging.⁴

Included with this tariff is a free 1 year subscription to Zoom EV, an online platform that gives you access to lots of EV benefits and discounts on things like public charging and parking.⁵ You can also download our E.ON Drive Comfort app for easy access to over 20,000 UK charging points, real-time charging station info⁶, flexible payment plans, and 24/7 support.