Frequently Asked Questions

It's possible to charge your electric car with the 3-pin plug charger cable supplied with the vehicle, but it's slow and offers fewer options than a dedicated home charge point. Some of the most common reasons to choose to have a fit-for-purpose charge point installed are:

Everun has experienced in-house engineers based all over Northern Ireland, covering every County.

For charging at home, Type 1 and Type 2 are the most commonly used connections between the charger and the vehicle. The charging type you will need will be determined by your EV. Type 1 connectors are currently favoured by the Asian car manufacturers such as Nissan and Mitsubishi, while most American and European manufacturers such as Audi, BMW, Renault, Mercedes, VW and Volvo, use Type 2 connectors. Type 2 is rapidly becoming the most popular charging connection, though.

When considering which length of lead you choose for your tethered unit, you must consider where you want to park your EV / plug-in hybrid car, when charging. Some considerations may include:

Fast charging refers to any vehicles or chargers that are capable of charging from 7kW to 22kW. They can charge the typical Battery Electric Vehicle in around eight hours, depending on the size of the battery. While the 22kW fast chargers are quicker, they require a 3-phase connection which are not usually found in the average domestic property.

Rapid charging refers to vehicles or chargers that are capable of charging from 43kW to 150kW. They are not available in domestic properties and are usually located at service stations, cities, and supermarkets, although rapid chargers at fuel stations are expected to become commonplace.

There are two types – AC or DC [Alternating or Direct Current]. Current Rapid AC chargers are rated at 43 kW, while most Rapid DC units are at least 50kW. Both will charge the majority of EVs to 80% in around 30-60 minutes (depending on battery capacity). However, 120kW and 150kW rapid charging units are becoming more common too.

Tesla Superchargers are also Rapid DC and charge at around 120kW but these are only available for Tesla vehicles and owners. Rapid AC devices use a tethered Type 2 connector, and Rapid DC chargers are fitted with a CCS, CHAdeMO or Tesla Type 2 connections.

A 22kW charger has the capability to charge your EV up to 22kW per hour. It is 3 times faster than a 7kW charger. 22kW charging can only be supported by households that have a three-Phase electrical set up. Most houses in the UK are single-phase and can only support a maximum 7kW charging output.

Bear in mind that the charging speeds from fast chargers will depend on the car’s onboard charger, with not all models able to accept 7kW or more. These models can still be plugged into the charge point but will only draw the maximum power accepted by the onboard charger. For example, a Volvo XC60 T8 PHEV with a standard 3.5kW onboard charger will draw a maximum of 3.5kW from a 7kW power supply or three-phase power supply.

A Porsche Taycan with an 11kW onboard charger will draw a maximum of 7kW from a single-phase supply and a maximum of 11kW from a three-phase supply.

The rating marked on charge points is the maximum continuous rate of charge available to an EV from the charger.

The vehicle's Battery Management System (BMS) continuously controls the rate during a charging session and dictates the rate of charge. The rate depends on a number of factors outside of the control of the charger.

The most common factors effecting the charging rate are:

Make & Model of EV: Some models of EVs are not capable of availing of the full kW available from a charge point but can still obtain a charge suitable to its own maximum charging rate.

State of Charge (SOC) battery: The rate of charging allowed by the EV's BMS reduces as the battery comes closer to fully charged in order to reduce stress on the battery pack. This reduction for most EV models starts around 50% and charge rate reduces dramatically after 80%. Fast charging is most effective up to 80% SOC.

Temperature of Battery: If the battery is too cold or too hot the EV's BMS will adjust the rate of charge to protect the cells of the battery. Some EVs will activate internal heaters or fans to maintain a temperature between 20 and 25C. The main factors affecting battery temperature is the amount of driving and charging done up to the charging session.

There are three types of charging options:

Home charging – 6 to 8 hours

Public charging (AC) – 1 to 6 hours depending on the car model and range

Fast charging (DC) – 30*minutes to achieve an 80% charge

Due to different types and battery sizes of EVs, these times may vary.

You can choose from 7kW and 22kW. The greater the power, the faster the charge. To use a 22kW charge point, you need a three-phase power supply. As 95% of UK homes use a single-phase power supply, the choice for most people is 7kW.

Charging speed is dictated by the limits of your car battery, your charger point will deliver what is requested by the vehicle up to the maximum limit.

Most experts say that the lifetime of a battery is between six and ten years. Once the battery comes to the end of their lifespan, they can be recycled. Some manufacturers offer a battery guarantee on their vehicles of five or seven years or 100,000 kms, whichever comes first. Please check with your vehicle dealer for more information.

Most daily commutes are under 30 miles, which is comfortably within the range of most electric cars. In addition, most EV drivers charge their car overnight so they wake up to full range every morning.

Most new EVs have a real-world range of somewhere between 80-250 miles, depending on the model. Small, city-focused cars sit at the lower end of the range spectrum, with many family models easily able to cover 110-180 miles on a single charge, though there are an increasing number that can cover 200-250 miles. Premium models, like the Tesla range or Jaguar I-Pace, can cover 250-300+ miles on a full battery.

Depending on the model, PHEVs are able to drive 15-40 miles in electric only mode. However, when the conventional petrol or diesel engine is used, PHEVs have a range that can easily exceed 500 miles when using both fuels.

Range-extended EVs tend to offer the same amount of range as a pure-EV on electric power, but then can call on a small combustion engine to extend the range. This typically adds another 100 miles or so, with an overall range (using both fuels) of 200-250 miles.

Range can be affected by a number of factors. These include internal factors like the use of air conditioning and/or heating. Driving style can have a great impact too, with higher speeds and aggressive acceleration significantly decreasing the range available.

Making good use of regenerative braking can reduce the rate at which your battery’s charge will drop too, and the outside temperature has an impact too – with batteries preferring warm to cold conditions.

Electric Vehicles (EVs) are powered, in total or partially, by electric power from batteries charged in the electrical network. Essentially the electric motor replaces the petrol or diesel engine as the means of moving the car.

Modern electric vehicles use rechargeable lithium-ion batteries. Lithium-ion batteries are better for the environment than other types of batteries as they are made from safe and easily recyclable materials. 

Most daily commutes are under 30 miles, which is comfortably within the range of most electric cars. In addition, most EV drivers charge their car overnight so they wake up to full range every morning.

Most new EVs have a real-world range of somewhere between 80-250 miles, depending on the model. Small, city-focused cars sit at the lower end of the range spectrum, with many family models easily able to cover 110-180 miles on a single charge, though there are an increasing number that can cover 200-250 miles. Premium models, like the Tesla range or Jaguar I-Pace, can cover 250-300+ miles on a full battery.

Depending on the model, PHEVs are able to drive 15-40 miles in electric only mode. However, when the conventional petrol or diesel engine is used, PHEVs have a range that can easily exceed 500 miles when using both fuels.

Range-extended EVs tend to offer the same amount of range as a pure-EV on electric power, but then can call on a small combustion engine to extend the range. This typically adds another 100 miles or so, with an overall range (using both fuels) of 200-250 miles.

Range can be affected by a number of factors. These include internal factors like the use of air conditioning and/or heating. Driving style can have a great impact too, with higher speeds and aggressive acceleration significantly decreasing the range available.

Making good use of regenerative braking can reduce the rate at which your battery’s charge will drop too, and the outside temperature has an impact too – with batteries preferring warm to cold conditions.

Maintenance and running costs for electric vehicles are much lower than a petrol or disel equivalent. The cost to charge an EV is cheaper than filling a car with fuel, but they also have fewer moving parts which means lower servicing costs and not as many things to wear or fail.

The answer is typically ‘less than in a petrol or diesel car’ as fuel costs for a petrol or diesel car are usually in the range 10-15 p/mile, and only 3-4 p/mile for a home-charged pure-EV. Because of the variety of models available, each will have different costs per trip, depending on where it is charged, and how efficient the EV is compared to other electric models.

EV drivers in Northern Ireland benefit from paying no tax on their vehicle.

From 31st March 2022 the OZEV home grant scheme changed. The scheme is now only open to people who live in apartments.

The workplace grant scheme continues to run and allows those eligible to claim up to £14,000 off the installation of up to 40 EV charge points at the workplace.