Do you have a driveway, garage, or a fixed parking spot? For most EV drivers, home charging is then the cheapest and easiest way to keep the battery topped up. No hassle with charging cards or occupied stations: you plug in at night and drive off in the morning with a full battery. This guide explains what you need, what it costs, and what to look out for.
Wall socket or wallbox?
Technically, you can charge your car from a regular wall socket using the emergency cable supplied with the car. In practice, that is not a structural solution: a wall socket typically delivers only 2.3 kW, good for roughly 10 to 15 km of range per hour of charging. A full battery would then take a full night and day, and drawing high power for extended periods from an old socket is a fire risk.
A wallbox (home charge point) solves this. Most wallboxes deliver 7.4 kW or 11 kW, connected to a separate, properly protected circuit. That lets you charge effortlessly from 20% to 100% overnight. A certified installer determines what power is achievable based on your electrical installation and the capacity of your grid connection.
What does home charging cost?
This is the biggest advantage: home charging is almost always cheaper than public charging, and considerably cheaper than fast charging.
- At home, on your own electricity contract: you simply pay your normal per-kWh rate, with no margin added by a charging card provider or charge point operator.
- Public AC charging: typically adds a margin on top of the operator’s base rate.
- Fast charging on the road: structurally the most expensive, precisely because you are paying for speed there.
An average EV using 15 to 18 kWh/100 km quickly costs half to a third at home of what the same trip would cost at a public fast charger. If you drive a lot of kilometres, that difference adds up to hundreds of euros a year.
The Flemish capacity tariff: charge smart, not at random
Since the introduction of the capacity tariff by grid operator Fluvius, part of your electricity bill is determined by your highest quarter-hourly peak of the month, not just your total consumption. A wallbox drawing 11 kW while your heat pump and induction hob are also running can push that peak up considerably.
Three ways to avoid that:
- Avoid overlap. Don’t charge at the same time as other heavy consumers like a heat pump or tumble dryer.
- Choose a smart wallbox. Many modern charge points measure your household consumption and automatically adjust charging power to avoid peaks — often called “dynamic load management.”
- Charge at a fixed, predictable time. For example, always starting at 11pm, once the rest of the household has quietened down.
Solar panels: your cheapest kWh
Do you have solar panels? Then charging during the day with your own generated power is the cheapest option there is — you avoid both the grid rate and the low feed-in tariff for surplus exported to the grid. A smart charge point with solar steering measures your panels’ surplus in real time and adjusts your car’s charging power accordingly, so you use as much of your own green electricity as possible instead of selling it to the grid.
Do you work from home during the day, or does the car mostly sit still on the driveway anyway? Then this is the most cost-effective combination: panels on the roof, wallbox on the driveway.
Having a wallbox installed: what to look out for
- Power matched to your connection. Not every home has the capacity for 11 kW; a certified installer checks this.
- Certification and inspection. Always have the installation inspected by an accredited inspection body, just as with any other electrical change to your home.
- Subsidies. Various regions and grid operators offer subsidies for installing a home charge point — check the conditions before you buy, as they change regularly.
- App integration. Most wallboxes come with an app for charging history, scheduling, and (where applicable) solar steering. Convenient, but not required for the basic function.
- Renting or living in an apartment? Ask about the “right to a charge point”: in an increasing number of cases, tenants or co-owners can have a charge point installed at their own parking spot, even without full consent from the landlord or the owners’ association.
Home charging versus public charging: the best of both worlds
Home charging doesn’t replace the public charging network, it complements it. For daily trips to work, school, or the supermarket, a full battery in the morning is incredibly convenient and cheap. For long trips, or if you don’t have your own driveway, the public network remains essential.
Not sure whether home charging is worth it for your situation, or looking for the nearest public charger in the meantime? Check the charging station map for an overview near you, or compare your options on our charging cards page.