Charging An EV At Home - What Are Your Options?

If having an EV is like driving a car from the future, then finding an ideal home charging solution is like owning your own filling station outside your front door. 

The experience of enjoying a modern vehicle like the ones powered purely by electricity should come with advantages beyond what you experience behind the wheel, and a fundamental difference here is that a bay of batteries replaces the role of a fuel tank.

While public charging facilities have not yet matched petrol stations in terms of widespread availability, ensuring your EV sets off with the required amount of charge can be done on a daily basis. However, while most automakers agree that setting up an AC charger at home is a vital first step, most have not offered these solutions at particularly affordable rates. 

On the other hand, most first time EV owners may feel obligated to purchase home charging packages directly from the automaker not realising that the majority of AC (alternating current) chargers are universally compatible across vehicles, are of very high quality, and are often less expensive due to less brand mark-up. 

By the way, do you know how long it takes your battery to charge up to 60%, 80%, or even 100%? If not, click this link for a handy EV charging time calculator.

Plugging in for a charge at the end of a day, after an evening commute, would mean that the average EV will have roughly 12 to 14 hours (depending on battery size and rate of charge of course) to either top off its charge levels or completely refill a near-depleted battery. 

There are DC (direct current) chargers out there that are advertised to be able to charge an EV (usually up to 80% before trickle charging) in under an hour, maybe even in under 30 minutes. However, they are much costlier to set up and maintain and therefore much more expensive to plug into as an EV user. 

DC chargers also have a somewhat hidden downside as frequent use of them can be more detrimental as they may increase the rate of degradation of lithium-ion batteries that EVs today use and rely on due to the added stresses of a rapid charge cycle. 

While slower in delivering their rate of charge, AC chargers are generally more gentle to a given EV’s internals, including its battery and circuitry, prolonging the vehicle’s service life. They are also much less stressful on the electrical grid, more economical, and therefore ideal for home installation.

Having a home AC charger will also significantly improve the convenience and cost of everyday driving since your EV’s maximum range and capacity are in your hands and therefore much more easily kept at a high level. 

To this end, EvGuru has been one of the top-rated EV charging solution providers in Malaysia with a range of different home AC chargers to choose from multiple brands. All come with comprehensive product support and consultation to ensure that purchase and installation are handled smoothly whether you are housed in a landed property or a condominium/apartment.

Best of all, they offer all their products with a 3-month installment plan that ranges from as low as RM940/per month. Once the AC charger is up and running, there is not much left to do besides charge and charge and charge again.

But don’t take our word for it, do your own research here, you can check out the different types of AC chargers available for your home, compare them with each other and even get a consult from EVGuru on the best type of AC charger for your home. 

Good luck!