How Long Does It Take to Charge an Electric Car at Home?

A typical electric car with a 60kWh battery takes just under 8 hours to charge from empty to full on a 7kW home charger. On a standard three-pin plug at around 2.3kW, that same battery can take up to 26 hours. In practice, most drivers top up overnight rather than charging from empty, so actual charging time is much shorter. The table below lets you apply these figures to your own car.

Pod Point and the RAC both frame 7kW as the benchmark for UK home charging, adding roughly 25 to 30 miles of range per hour. A three-pin socket works but is better treated as a backup. The rest of this guide explains the spread, the 20% slowdown, and why overnight timing on a smart tariff makes the whole thing straightforward.

How long does a typical home charge actually take?

For most UK drivers, a 7kW home charger is the starting point for any calculation. A 60kWh battery, which covers a large share of electric cars sold in the UK, takes just under 8 hours empty to full on a 7kW unit. That is roughly three times faster than a domestic socket, according to Pod Point.

The RAC’s figures show the spread by car: a ~63kWh Nissan Ariya takes around 10 hours on 7kW, which reflects how the car’s own onboard charger limit and battery management affect real charge times. So while “just under 8 hours” is a reliable headline figure, the actual time for your car depends on its battery size and the rate it accepts from the charger.

For most people, that distinction matters less than the practical point: plug in before bed, and the car is full by morning. The table below lets you cross your battery size against charger speed for a more precise estimate.

Charge time by battery size and charger speed

The figures below assume empty-to-full charging and that the car accepts the full charger power. They do not account for the slower final 10 to 20% (covered in a separate section below). Figures vary; verify current data for your specific model.

Battery size	3-pin (2.3kW)	Slow (3.6kW)	Standard home (7kW)	Three-phase (22kW)*
40 kWh	~17 hrs	~11 hrs	~6 hrs	~2 hrs
60 kWh	~26 hrs	~17 hrs	~8 hrs	~3 hrs
82 kWh	~35 hrs	~22 hrs	~12 hrs	~4 hrs

*22kW requires three-phase power, which is rare and expensive at a UK home. Times are empty-to-full approximations and do not account for the slower final 10 to 20%.

In terms of range added per hour: a 3.6kW slow charger adds up to around 15 miles; a 7kW standard home charger adds roughly 25 to 30 miles (the RAC puts this at around 22 to 30 miles depending on car efficiency); and a 22kW unit adds up to around 90 miles per hour. As an example, an 82kWh VW ID.5 takes around 22 hours at 3.6kW, around 12 hours at 7.4kW, and around 8 hours at 22kW (figures vary, verify current data).

Can you just use a three-pin plug?

A domestic three-pin socket delivers around 2.3kW, which adds only about 8 miles of range per hour. For a 60kWh battery, that means up to around 26 hours for a full charge, and for larger batteries the time stretches further.

The practical answer is yes, it works, but it is intended as a backup rather than a daily method. Running a standard socket at near its capacity for many consecutive hours puts sustained strain on household wiring that it was not designed for. The risk is overheating, and manufacturers generally advise treating three-pin charging as a last resort rather than a routine solution.

If you find yourself relying on a three-pin plug regularly, a dedicated wallbox makes daily charging significantly faster and safer.

Why a 7kW home charger is the sweet spot

A 7kW wallbox delivers roughly three times the power of a domestic socket and recharges a 60kWh car fully in a single overnight window. That covers the vast majority of what UK drivers actually need day to day.

Some wallboxes are advertised at 22kW, but that speed requires a three-phase electrical supply, which is rare and expensive to install at a UK home. Most UK homes run on single-phase supply, which caps AC charging at 7kW or 7.4kW regardless of what the wallbox is rated for. As the RAC notes, three-phase supply is simply not a realistic option for the great majority of homeowners.

Because nearly all home chargers sold in the UK deliver 7kW, the speed difference between models is small. What varies is smart-tariff control, build quality and price, which is why it pays to compare the best home EV chargers before you buy.

Why the last 20% takes the longest

Charge speed tapers as the battery approaches full. This is a deliberate protection mechanism, not a fault: the battery management system slows the incoming current to reduce heat and preserve long-term battery health. In practice, the final 10 to 20% can take a disproportionately long time compared to the earlier stages of charging.

This is one reason most owners do not charge to 100% every night. Topping up from 30% to 80% is both quicker and easier on the battery than running it empty and filling it completely. Many manufacturers recommend keeping daily charging within the 20 to 80% range and only going to 100% before a long trip. The empty-to-full figures in the table above are useful for comparison, but they do not reflect how most people actually charge.

When is the cheapest time to charge at home?

Overnight is both the most convenient and, on the right tariff, the cheapest time to charge. EV-specific smart tariffs offer off-peak rates for overnight charging, with Intelligent Octopus Go offering an off-peak rate of around 7p/kWh (figures vary by region and can change over time; check the current rate for your postcode before switching).

That overnight window is ample for a 7kW charger to fully recharge most batteries from a normal daily top-up point. You set your target charge level and departure time in the app, and the charger manages the rest.

For renters and flat owners who want to install a home charger, the EV chargepoint grant provides up to £350 toward the cost of a unit and installation (figures vary, verify current data on GOV.UK as the grant value and the end date, currently 31 March 2027, can change). The grant is administered by OZEV and is available to eligible applicants in England, Scotland and Wales.

Since home charge time is largely determined by the 7kW standard rather than the charger brand, the real decision is which charger gives you the best smart-tariff integration, reliability and value. Browse our comparison of the best home EV chargers to find the right wallbox for your situation, and see our guide to charging at home for a broader look at the process.

Useful Resources

RAC charging speeds guide https://www.rac.co.uk/drive/electric-cars/charging/electric-car-charging-speeds/

Intelligent Octopus Go https://octopus.energy/smart/intelligent-octopus-go/

EV chargepoint grant for renters and flat owners https://find-government-grants.service.gov.uk/grants/electric-vehicle-chargepoint-grant-for-renters-and-flat-owners-2

Pod Point charging time guide https://podenergy.com/guides/how-long-to-charge-an-electric-car