Best home EV chargers 2024 - reviewed and rated

Around 300,000 electric vehicle (EVs) home chargers for were installed in the UK last year, taking the total number to more than 700,000, according to charging network data provider Zap-Map. And the home charger market is set to expand exponentially over the coming years as EV sales increase and new petrol and diesel cars are phased out.

More demand is leading to a growing number of new charger brands to choose from, which can make life more complicated for the EV owner. While there are some established names in the sector, including Pod Point and Rolec, there are many new names which might be unfamiliar, especially if you’re new to the world of EVs.

However, with most people paying between £1000 and £1500 for a charger and installation, it’s important to choose the supplier carefully, because you’ll want the charger to be well built and protected by a lengthy warranty in case it goes wrong. We’ve already seen instances where companies have pulled out of the home EV charger market or started selling a different brand, making it more difficult for owners of older units to get swift and effective customer service to deal with any issues.

Another consideration is that your home charging system could become obsolete in a couple of years. To try to avoid this, we recommend selecting a brand that offers over-the-air software updates. Finally, because you’re likely to be using the charger a couple of times a week at least, you’ll want it to be easy to live with and simple to operate.

How we assessed home EV chargers

To help consumers buy the best devices, we’ve used survey data from home EV charger users, augmented by research and experiences from our own staff, to rate 10 different charger brands and the products they supply.

A total of 2176 drivers told us via a survey how much their home EV chargers cost to buy and install, and we used this information to create value for money and installation satisfaction ratings for each brand.

We also asked users if their home EV chargers had suffered any faults, and gathered details about how long faulty systems took to fix and how much the repairs cost; this is the basis of our reliability rating.

Finally, we asked a number of editorial staff who have EV wallboxes fitted at their homes to review the systems, asking how easy they have been to use and if they’ve had any issues with them. This provides the ease of use rating.

Each brand was given a star rating (out of five) in each of those four areas, plus an overall rating, to help us establish their final rankings.

Best home EV chargers

1. Easee

Rating 5 stars

This Norwegian company was established in 2018, and the Easee One is the only home charger it offers in the UK. 

The installation process worked well for all survey respondents; three-quarters of people were very satisfied with it and the rest were satisfied. Owners said their units had been pretty dependable. All faults were resolved for free by the company; Easee is one of only four brands that didn’t charge any customers for remedial work.

A quarter of problems were sorted out in 24 hours, another quarter in less than a week and the rest in less than 30 days.

The only area in which the One’s score is average is price, with most Easee customers telling us that they paid £500 to £1000 for their charger and another £500 for installation.

What Car? review Easee One

Tester Kiall Garrett

Price £1099 (typical installation) easee.com

“The Easee One is intelligently designed and simple to use. The wallbox is compact and the plug inserts at a 45-degree angle so the cable doesn’t stick out too far from the wall, and it will drain quickly if rainwater gets into the socket.

“The charging lead can either be locked into the charger so it’s always ready to be used, or you can unlock it via the app and tuck it away in a garage or in the boot of your car.

“Starting the charging process is just a matter of connecting the cable to the car and clicking ‘start’ in the app; a bar on the wallbox lights up to let you know it’s charging. There are no controls on the unit, but the phone app is very easy to understand and operate. It also enables me to view data about previous top-ups and get invoices for charging. And it’s reassuring that the unit can receive over-the-air updates, so it shouldn’t become obsolete.

“There’s a handy plug release button on the wallbox that you can press to unplug the cable if it doesn’t unlock automatically.

“My charger has worked faultlessly since it was installed a year ago. It builds up to 7kW quickly and its performance hasn’t deteriorated over time.”

2. Hypervolt

Rating 5 stars

UK-based company Hypervolt has been around since 2021. It designs and builds its chargers here, and offers them with or without fitting, giving buyers the opportunity to choose their own installer.

Hypervolt customers are generally a happy bunch, and virtually all were very satisfied or satisfied with the installation process. Reliability isn’t quite as strong, and the fault rate of 22% is the reason the company finishes second here rather than first. However, Hypervolt sorted out all issues at no cost, and responded swiftly, resolving 50% of problems within 24 hours.

Most of the other problems were dealt with in less than a week and only 10% took up to 30 days to put right. With buyers paying between £500 and £1000 for their chargers and up to £500 for fitting, Hypervolt is average for cost.

What Car? review Hypervolt Home 3 Pro

Tester Lawrence Cheung

Price £1239 (fitted) hypervolt.co.uk

“I wanted a home EV charger that would be compatible with solar panels and have a long integrated charging lead. The Hypervolt unit is one of a few that meet these criteria.

“Installation was a painless process and was organised by Hypervolt's registered installer 247EV. I completed a simple online survey followed up by a phone call to confirm how straightforward fitting would be. Here, I chose the colour of the unit (white, black or grey is available) and I was able to opt for a 10-metre lead instead of the standard five- metre one. Because my cars are parked in a line on the driveway, the cable is long enough to reach the one parked farthest away.

“The unit doesn’t stick out any farther from my wall than the meter box beside it, while a holster mounted alongside it holds the plug securely in place when it’s not in use.

“The phone app is simple to use and has icons indicating whether I’m charging my car using the solar panels or from the grid. You can also choose to just charge by using the solar panels. When doing so, the system is clever enough to let the solar panels power the house as a priority (including charging up the solar battery storage) before diverting electricity to charge up the car. This means you can simply plug the car into the charger and leave it there to automatically top up the battery incrementally when there’s enough sunlight.

"You can also set a charging schedule if you prefer charging up at night and change the colour of the LED light on the panel.

“The unit is quite far away from our wi-fi router, so the app struggles to communicate with it. Fitting a wi-fi booster hasn’t completely solved connectivity issues, but it is an improvement. There is the option to hardwire an ethernet cable into it as a potential solution, which we may do. However, you don’t need to use the app to charge a car, you can just plug it in and off it goes.”

3. Wallbox

Rating 4 stars

This company was founded in Barcelona by just two people in 2015 and now has around 1000 employees, offices in nine countries and customers in more than 100. It offers a range of EV chargers, including the Supernova, Wallbox's award-winning DC fast public charger.

EV owners with Wallbox chargers told us the installation process was excellent, and that the majority of their chargers hadn’t developed any issues. Eighty percent of problems were fixed without charge, and the other 20% cost EV owners £100 or less. However, only 40% of problems were sorted out in a week or less, and 60% of customers had to wait up to 30 days to have their charger working again.

According to owners, this brand is average for cost, with most people paying £1500 for their Wallbox and fitting.

What Car? review Wallbox Pulsar Max

Tester Doug Revolta

Price £1245 (fitted) wallbox.com

“My installation was complicated, because the place where I park my car is a long way from my house’s fusebox. It required lots of back and forth with the installers and multiple site visits over a period of months to find a solution.

“The only way to install the charger was to dig a 33-metre trench across the garden for the power cables to be buried in; I was able to get this sorted myself, saving a lot of money.

“Since it was finally installed via a third party organised by Wallbox, the Pulsar Max has been faultless. The myWallbox app connects to the charger with no hesitation, storing all the information I need and making it easy to keep track of how much electricity I’ve been using. It’s a breeze to install any over-the-air updates or control its various functions when necessary.

“Unfortunately, my wi-fi router is too far away from the unit to be able to connect with it. This means I need to be next to the charger to control it; I can’t do it remotely.

“To be fair, the installation and wi-fi problems aren’t anything to do with Wallbox. But my experience shows that installing a home charger and making use of its many features isn’t always a simple process.”

4. Andersen

Rating 4 stars

Unlike most other wallboxes, aside from those made by Simpson and Partners, the Andersen A2 and A3 are made from metal and wood, and can be ordered in a choice of 247 finishes. Also unlike many other home EV charger providers, it has its own, in-house installers, and this shows, because it gained the highest score of all 10 brands for installation satisfaction.

Andersen also provided a swift, effective response to any customers with faults, fixing 50% of issues in less than 24 hours, 25% in less than a week and the rest in less than 30 days.

While three-quarters of problems were resolved for free, some owners had to pay up to £250. The main area where Andersen dropped points is on cost, because most people told us they’d paid up to £2000 for their charger and fitting.

What Car? review Andersen A3

Tester Claire Evans

Price Charger £995, premium wood front £200, fitting £395 andersen-ev.com

“I really like the fact that the A3 is made from sustainable materials, and that I could order it with a Cotswold Oak Accoya front panel and cream casing so it matches the style of my 120-year-old cottage.

“Andersen is the only company that offers units with tethered cables that can be tucked away inside the wallbox so your drive doesn’t look scruffy. The A3 is also practical, with lighting inside the lid of the wallbox and underneath it.

“The installer was knowledgeable and spent some time resolving an intermittent issue with my wi-fi by fitting a range extender plug in the house close to the charger.

“You have to use a phone app to schedule charging, but once you’ve set up all your desired parameters, you simply have to plug in the car. The charger is a breeze to use and has worked faultlessly with a number of different cars, not requiring me to use the scheduling on the cars, which has been the case in the past.

“I also found the complimentary concierge service useful for getting advice on the most suitable low-cost energy tariff. It’s reassuring that the unit comes with a seven-year warranty.”

5. Ohme

Rating 4 stars

This UK-based company was set up in 2017 and specialises in ultra-smart chargers that can link with the National Grid in real time and use the most flexible charging tariffs, such as those from Octopus Energy and OVO Energy. It has affiliations with car brands such as Hyundai, Mercedes-Benz, Polestar and the VW Group.

EV owners told us that 40% of the Ohme chargers they had fitted were supplied and installed for free alongside the purchase of their new car. Most of those who did pay shelled out up to £1000 for the charger and installation, and most were pleased with the installation process.

Two-thirds of faults were resolved in less than a week and the work was done for free in 77% of cases. However, 21% of customers told us the problems with their systems weren’t resolved, bringing down the reliability rating.

What Car? review Ohme Home Pro T2

Tester Mark Pearson

Price £999 (fitted) ohme-ev.com

“I’ve had my Ohme Home Pro T2 charger since September 2022. Elecology did the original installation, that firm being Ohme’s approved fitter in my area. Elecology initially surveyed where the charger would be placed, utilising photographs I sent of my incoming electricity supply, electricity meter location and the area where I wanted the charger placed – on the wall just in front of my garage. The installation process took four hours.

“So far, my Ohme has been utterly reliable. I’ve used it on a variety of EVs, from a Fiat 500e to a Volkswagen ID Buzz, and it’s proved remarkably consistent in its performance. Hooking up any of these cars is easy, because the wallbox comes with an integrated five-metre cable, which can be looped around a handy wall-mounted cradle when not in use.

“There’s also a large and intuitive panel on the wallbox that is very easy to use, as is the accompanying phone app, through which you can start and monitor the charging process. I use the app nearly all the time for my charging.

“It’s a 7kW charger, and it takes about eight hours to fully charge the 54kWh battery in my current Peugeot e-308 SW from close to zero.”

6. Pod Point

Rating 4 stars

One of the UK’s largest EV charger providers, Pod Point was founded in 2009 and has installed more than 222,000 devices since then.

Its home chargers are among the most affordable to buy; EV owners told us 25% of their chargers were supplied and fitted for free, 25% cost less than £500, and most customers paid out less than £1000 for the wallbox and installation.

However, the brand scored the equal second-lowest rating for installation satisfaction, with some owners unhappy with the standard of workmanship.

Of the chargers that had a fault, 28% weren’t fixed at all, but the rest of the remedial work was carried out for free. It took less than a week to fix 60% of the faulty units, but some people had to wait more than 30 days.

What Car? review Pod Point Solo 3S

Tester Allan Muir

Price From £1099 (fitted) pod-point.com

“My old Chargemaster home charger was becoming unreliable, so I replaced it with Pod Point’s latest wallbox, the Solo 3S. The charger has to be located in my detached garage, but the power supply from my house is insufficient for it to safely draw 7kW (the rate for most home chargers), so the 3S, like the old device, is capped at around 3kW. I’m hoping to find a way to upgrade the power cable (without digging up my neighbour’s garden) so that I can get faster charging in the future.

“The 3S is compatible with solar panels, and although I don’t have these yet, I’m now future-proofed if I ever want to go down that route to reduce my energy bills.

“I’ve opted for a tethered version, which is slightly pricier (£1149 fitted) but more convenient than the regular version. It comes with a wall-mounted plastic holster that’s intended to keep the plug dry and elevated if the charger is installed outside.

“The Solo 3S is a doddle to use just by plugging it into my car, but Pod Point’s app also allows you to schedule top-ups. The unit comes with a five-year warranty, although this reduces to three years if you get it from a third party.”

7. Myenergi

Rating 3 stars

Myenergi was born out of a desire to create a home EV charger that could be powered by solar panels. Its original Zappi unit, launched in 2017, was the first wallbox with this capability. It now has a network of 3000 approved installers and has sold more than 500,000 products worldwide.

The cost of its home EV systems is average, with most customers paying around £1500 for the unit and installation. While its customers were generally fairly happy with the standard of installation work, the company was slow and ineffective at fixing some faults.

Although 83% of problems were fixed for free, a small percentage cost up to £250 and 14% of issues were not sorted out at all. Of the faults that were resolved, just over half were put right in less than a week, but the rest took up to 30 days.

What Car? review Myenergi Zappi V2

Tester Claire Evans

Price £1099 (typical installation) myenergi.com

“My Zappi system consists of a wallbox, a small hub that plugs into my internet router, and a phone app. To operate it, you can use either the app or large buttons on the box. I’ve tended to do the latter, because the app isn’t the easiest to read or use.

“The box controls are easy to scroll through, and there’s a screen that shows which setting you’re selecting: Eco, Eco Plus or Fast. Once you’ve set the schedule on the app, you can select Eco Plus on the box and charging will automatically start and finish at allotted times.

“My Zappi was installed in 2021 and worked well for the first couple of years. However, it started to become unreliable a year ago. This was resolved by me doing a software update following some online discussions with customer services.

“However, the charger started switching off mid-charge fairly often in late 2023, and a further software update was recommended. Doing this stopped the hub from communicating with the wallbox, and despite me emailing customer services four times, I didn’t get any response. After three months of unreliable charging, I decided to replace it.”

8. Rolec

Rating 3 stars

This Lincolnshire-based company has been making EV chargers for homes and businesses for more than a decade. It offers three options that can be purchased with or without fitting included.

The Rolec chargers are among the most affordable, with 40% supplied and fitted for free and the rest costing less than £1000 in total. However, the brand gained the second-lowest score for installation satisfaction, with some survey respondents saying they were unhappy with the workmanship of the fitters.

The fault rate is on the high side (26%), but 43% of those issues weren’t fixed by the company, leaving some customers very displeased with the aftersales service. That said, the rest of the faulty devices were fixed for free, and 75% of them were back in action in less than a week.

What Car? review Rolec Zura

Tester Oliver Young

Price £1249 (fitted) rolecserv.com

“The Zura has been easy to use, thanks largely to the accompanying app, called Monta. It’s your sole means of controlling the charger, and it has a simple layout yet contains lots of detail.

As well as showing the charging speed and cost and a history of my charges, it has some other handy features, such as a live support chat and a map of local public chargers.

“Initially, I used to plug my car in when I got home from work but let the app automatically control the overnight charging. While this has usually gone to plan, there have been a couple of occasions when I’ve woken up to a car that isn’t fully charged.

“I can’t tell if this was caused by an issue with the charger, app or car, but I now tend to override the scheduling and start the charge straight away to ensure the car is fully charged the following morning. Doing this requires a little more work; when the app notifies me that the charge is complete, I simply check that the amount of charge that has been distributed looks right. It always has.

“I’ve had the charger for a year now, and these occasional blips are the only issues in an otherwise faultless, stress-free experience.”

9. Indra

Rating 2 stars

Founded in the UK in 2013 with the ambition of finding the smartest ways to charge up EVs, Indra was the first company to successfully demonstrate large-scale domestic vehicle-to-grid technology (sending unused power back to the National Grid at peak times), and is now running a vehicle-to-home trial to learn more about the benefits of this.

EV owners told us Indra chargers were average for cost, with most people paying up to £1500 for the box and installation. Although no owners were dissatisfied with the installation process, most were merely satisfied rather than very satisfied, and this limited its score for this category.

The main shortcomings were a very high fault rate (71%) and that a third of those issues took more than 30 days to repair. Still, all remedial work was done for free.

Indra response

Indra asked for the following response to be included in this review: "Customer satisfaction and trust are our highest priorities, and over the last six months we have deployed enhancements to deliver an even better customer experience.

"While both existing and new customers benefit from software updates, we accept customer internet connection can play a part in delaying chargers to receive these updates. We urge anyone experiencing issues to contact Indra customer service so we can ensure their charger is running the most up-to-date version. Most issues arise from chargers running older software.

"Product excellence is paramount to Indra and it's one of the reasons we were recently awarded ChargePoint Manufacturer of the Year."

What Car? review Indra Smart Pro

Tester Chris Haining

Price £949 (fitted) indra.co.uk

“The Indra Smart Pro is as foolproof as it is future-proof. It’s solar ready; if I ever fit panels to my house, I’ll be able to set the charger to draw its power from those. It’s also able to recognise (via an Indra app) electricity tariffs, including those with cut-price rates for EV users at off- peak times. However, it doesn’t automatically adjust to charge only at those times.

“While the app is fairly comprehensive (you can set it to begin a charge at a certain time and deliver a set charge, measured in miles, kilowatt hours or cost), I usually just connect the car and press the ‘boost’ button on the charger to start charging as soon as I get home. Starting the charge via the app simply adds complication, and the three-way relationship between the car, charger and phone can be flaky, although that might be due to limitations with my home wi-fi.

“Although one EV I brought home [an Abarth 500e] refused to charge using the Smart Pro, the device has otherwise been dependable, and its multi-coloured indicator light is easy to understand. I’m pleased I opted for an untethered unit, so I don’t have an unsightly cable dangling from it all the time.” 

10. Hive

Rating 2 stars

Part of the British Gas group, Hive was originally a provider of smart home heating systems that let people control the temperature and other functions via an app. It has expanded into a number of areas, including home EV chargers.

Only half of those responding to our survey were very satisfied with the installation work of the British Gas engineers. The rest were merely satisfied and some were very unhappy, resulting in the equal lowest rating in this area.

There was widespread dissatisfaction with the aftersales service, too, with 30% of problems not fixed. All of the issues that were resolved were done for free, but in many cases this took up to 30 days. A quarter of the devices were supplied and fitted for free; the rest cost less than £1500, making them average for value for money.

What Car? review Alfen Eve Single S Line

Tester Stuart Milne

Price £989 (fitted) hivehome.com

“I bought my Alfen Eve S Line charger through Hive in October 2021, but while it is still manufactured, it’s no longer sold by the firm.

“The installation process was simple, beginning with an assessment by an engineer via a video call to check the suitability of my house and its electrical supply. They highlighted the need for a double-pole isolator to be fitted by my electricity provider – something that hadn’t been spotted when my previous Pod Point charger was installed.

“Fitting took a morning, and the engineer showed me how to operate the charger hardware and configure the phone app. It was the latter that particularly appealed to me, because I already use Hive for my home heating and lighting. I can schedule charging, track costs and troubleshoot any communication problems with the Hive hub.

“Like many other home chargers, the Alfen is a large white box with a light that changes colour to indicate its status. Although a tethered cable is available, I chose an untethered version. It has recently become slow to unlock the cable, and I need to wiggle the plug to get it to release.”

Other home EV brands tested

What Car? review Cord One

Tester Matt Saunders

Price £999 fitted, £575 charger only cord-ev.com

“I chose the Cord One to replace a 10-year-old, 3.7kW Polar wallbox. It has a long, seven-metre tethered cable, and it looks quite neat.

“Installation was a little complicated. After the survey, Cord’s fitting agent, PlugMeIn, insisted I remove the old charger myself and part-disassemble the wooden cabinet containing the household electrical consumer unit to enable better access. The old charger had an isolator switch, so I was happy enough to oblige, but I was surprised that it wasn’t part of the service.

“That apart, the installation job was first rate. PlugMeln fitted all the necessary electrical  gubbins into a tight space so as not to leave any remedial work for me, and both Cord and PlugMeIn were proactive with customer service follow-up calls.

“The charger is operated via an app called Monta Charge. Because it’s not set by default simply to charge immediately and continually, it almost caught me out with a half-flat car on its first use, but that could be changed easily enough.

“I especially like the option to group your friends, family and neighbours into ‘teams’ who can use your charger, at a price per kWh that you can set yourself.”

What Car? review Simpson and Partners Home Series Plus

Tester Ben Summerell-Youde

Price £896 plus £400 for typical installation simpson-partners.com

“The 7kW Home Plus is my first home EV charger, and it’s made the switch to charging at home quick and easy.

“Once ordered, the wallbox arrived in less than a week and it was installed soon after that. It was great to have a choice of colours and finishes; I picked a silver metal cover and a charcoal wooden lid, which looks really smart on the side of my house. Having a tethered lead means I don’t have the faff of getting a lead in and out of my car.

“To get started, I needed to download the Simpson app and enter my preferred charging criteria, including the scheduled charging times to make the most of my cheap overnight electricity tariff. Using the charger has been a breeze since then, because all I need to do is plug my car in and charging starts and finishes at the allotted times.

“I’ve had no issues with wi-fi connectivity, because the app and charger don’t need wi-fi to talk to each other.”

What Car? review Humax 7.4kW Smart Home Charger

Tester Dan Jones 

Price £599 (currently reduced to £538), plus £400 for installation humaxcharging.com

“The big selling point of Humax’s home charger is that it gives you plenty of versatility. Not only does it allow you to switch it on and off through the easy-to-use mobile app, but you also get RFID cards and a smart scheduling option; time will tell how effective all of these features are.

“Simple design is another plus, with the small form factor keeping it snug against the wall and not encroaching on my already tight garage access. Indeed, my only issue so far has been a fairly long period of installation, although that isn’t really Humax’s fault. Instead, it seems that the third party they were using to install my isolator was the problem, not showing up to an appointment on one occasion, getting the date wrong on another and continually trying to book installation on days when I’d said I wouldn’t be free. Humax itself has been very efficient and incredibly helpful, and it did a really tidy job of installing the charger.”

What Car? verdict

"There’s more to being a great home EV charger provider than offering high- tech, upgradable units that are robust and easy to use," says Claire Evans, consumer editor with What Car?.

"It’s also important to provide ongoing support for customers to ensure any issues that might crop up are resolved swiftly and with minimal expense. After all, a home wallbox is expensive to buy, and consumers don’t want to be left without assistance, or in the worst case scenario having to replace a unit if it suffers a serious fault. The best providers also offer long warranties for their products.

"The best of them all, according to our readers and expert reviewers, is Easee, because its units rarely went wrong and when they did, it solved all problems quickly for free. Hypervolt had a higher fault rate than Easee (22% versus 14%), pushing it into second place.

"That pales into insignificance when you consider Indra’s 71% fault rate, which drags it down to ninth place. It did, however, fix all issues for free. Hive, then, takes the bottom spot, due to the high proportion of unresolved faults and long wait for repairs when they did happen," concludes Claire. 

About the report author

Claire Evans has been a motoring journalist for more than 30 years, and has focussed on consumer issues for much of that time. She was the advice columnist for Carweek magazine in the 1990s, helping car owners with faulty cars get the right level of reparation from car makers.

She also spent six years working on motoring content for Which?, and it is here she oversaw the running of the charity's annual used car reliability survey.

Claire launched the What Car? Reliability Survey in 2017, and since then has helped thousands of buyers choose the most reliable new cars and SUVs, as well as the most dependable used cars. 

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