A 7kW home charger adds about 30 miles of range an hour on the standard single-phase supply nearly every UK home already has — enough to fully charge overnight. Here's what it is, whether it's enough for you, the real install cost, and how it stacks up against 22kW.
Price my 7kW install →A 7kW EV charger is a home wall-box that delivers up to seven kilowatts of power — the rating that matches the 32A single-phase electricity supply found in almost every UK home. That makes it roughly three times faster than charging from a normal 3-pin plug, and it's the reason 7kW is the default home charger across the country.
In practice, “7kW” describes the speed, not the brand. Ohme, Pod Point, Hypervolt, Easee, Wallbox and Andersen all sell 7kW home units; they differ on app, cable and design, not headline power. Every new install must also be smart-charge compliant by law, so any 7kW unit you fit today supports scheduled off-peak charging out of the box.
A 7kW charger adds roughly 25–30 miles of range for every hour plugged in. That fully refills almost any EV overnight — plug in at 6pm, wake to 100%.
The 7kW rating maps to the 32A single-phase electricity nearly every UK home already has. No 3-phase upgrade, no special supply — that's why it's the default.
You sleep longer than it takes a 7kW unit to charge. A faster 22kW charger finishes sooner, but if you're asleep either way, you've paid for speed you never use.
Two EVs sharing one charger, very high daily mileage, or a home that already has 3-phase power are the situations where 22kW earns its extra cost — for everyone else, 7kW is enough.
The short version: if you charge at home overnight, a 7kW charger is enough. The only people who should look at 22kW are those with a 3-phase supply and two EVs, or genuinely exceptional daily mileage.
Our live UK sample puts a typical 7kW home install at £1,087, with the lowest sampled job at £918. Most of the variation is the electrical work — the cable run from your consumer unit and any board upgrade — not the charger itself.
Renters, flat-dwellers and on-street parkers can take up to £500 off with the grant. See the full breakdown, including the variables that move your price, on the cost page, or run the calculator.
22kW charges about three times faster, but needs a 3-phase supply most homes don't have and costs more to fit — our live sample averages £1,150 for a 22kW install versus £1,087 for 7kW. For overnight home charging, the extra speed is wasted.
A 7kW charger adds roughly 25–30 miles of range per hour. To go from empty to full, divide your usable battery by about 7 — here's what that means for popular UK EVs.
| Car | Usable battery | 0–100% at 7kW |
|---|---|---|
| Nissan Leaf | 39 kWh | ~6 hours |
| MG4 (Standard Range) | 51 kWh | ~7½ hours |
| Tesla Model 3 RWD | 57.5 kWh | ~8½ hours |
| Volkswagen ID.3 | 58 kWh | ~8½ hours |
| Tesla Model Y Long Range | 75 kWh | ~11 hours |
| Kia EV6 / Hyundai Ioniq 5 | 77.4 kWh | ~11½ hours |
Times are the usable battery divided by ~7kW, allowing for charging losses. In practice you almost never charge 0–100% — most drivers top up from 20–80% overnight, which takes well under half these times.
Our live UK sample puts a typical 7kW install at £1,087all-in. Here's where that money actually goes — and which line items change your quote.
Tethered units and models with load balancing or a built-in display sit at the top of the range.
A qualified installer, usually half a day, including testing and certification.
The single biggest surprise on most quotes — the further the charger is from your consumer unit, the more cable and labour.
Only needed if your board has no spare way or lacks the required RCD protection. Many older properties do need this.
Applies if the cable has to cross a driveway or garden to reach a detached garage.
Component ranges above are indicative UK market pricing to explain the variance — only the headline figure is from our tracked sample of real completed installs. Get your own number with the cost calculator.
A 7kW charger is simply 32A at 230V single phase. That means a dedicated circuit — here's the spec a competent installer will be working to.
6mm² steel-wire-armoured is the usual choice for a 32A EV circuit on a short-to-medium run. Longer runs are often stepped up to 10mm² to keep voltage drop within limits — your installer calculates this for your specific run.
A dedicated 32A way on your consumer unit. 7kW is simply 32A at 230V single phase (about 7.4kW nominal).
EV circuits must detect DC fault current. Most modern chargers include 6mA DC protection built in, which allows a Type A RCD instead of a much costlier Type B.
Modern chargers detect an open-PEN fault electronically, which usually removes the need for a separate earth rod on a PME supply.
This is a guide to what to expect on your quote, not a wiring specification. EV circuits are notifiable work — cable sizing, earthing and protection must be designed for your property by a qualified installer under BS 7671.
Cable permanently attached — you just pull up and plug in. Most convenient for daily use, and the popular choice for a single-car driveway. Downsides: you're fixed to that connector and cable length, and the cable lives on the wall.
A socket you bring your own cable to. Tidier on the wall, and more flexible if you change cars, run two EVs, or need a different cable length later. Downside: you handle the cable every time.
Most UK homeowners pay between roughly £800 and £1,200 all-in for a 7kW home charger installed. The charger unit itself is usually £400–£800 and standard installation labour £300–£500. The biggest variables are the cable run from your consumer unit and whether your board needs upgrading. Renters, flat-dwellers and on-street parkers can take £500 off with the government grant; homeowners with a driveway are not eligible.
A 7kW charger adds roughly 25–30 miles of range per hour. In practice that is about 6 hours for a 39kWh Nissan Leaf, 8½ hours for a 58kWh VW ID.3 or Tesla Model 3 RWD, and around 11 hours for a 75–77kWh Tesla Model Y or Kia EV6. Because almost every car is parked overnight for longer than that, 7kW gives you a full battery by morning.
A 32A/7kW circuit is typically wired in 6mm² steel-wire-armoured (SWA) cable, stepped up to 10mm² on longer runs to keep voltage drop within limits. It needs its own 32A MCB or RCBO and RCD protection capable of detecting DC fault current — usually a Type A RCD combined with the 6mA DC protection built into modern chargers. Your installer must size the cable for your specific run under BS 7671.
Tethered chargers have the cable permanently attached, so you just plug in — more convenient for daily use, but you are tied to that connector type and cable length. Untethered units have a socket, so you use your own cable: tidier on the wall, more flexible if you change cars or need to charge a different connector. Tethered is the more popular choice for single-car households with a driveway.
A 7kW charger is a home wall-box that delivers up to 7 kilowatts of power on a standard single-phase UK supply — about three times faster than a 3-pin plug. It's the most common home charger rating in the UK because it fully charges almost any EV overnight without any special wiring.
For the vast majority of drivers, yes. A 7kW charger adds around 30 miles of range per hour, which means a full overnight charge for almost any battery. You only need more than 7kW if you regularly do very high mileage, share one charger between two EVs, or already have a 3-phase supply.
Roughly 25–30 miles of range per hour. As a rule of thumb a typical 60kWh EV goes from near-empty to full in about 8–9 hours on 7kW — comfortably within an overnight window, especially on a cheap off-peak EV tariff.
Our live UK sample puts a typical 7kW home install at the average shown above, with the lowest sampled job lower still. Your own price depends mostly on the cable run from your consumer unit and whether the board needs any work. Renters, flats and on-street parkers can take up to £500 off with the grant.
7kW for nearly everyone. 22kW charges roughly three times faster (~90 miles/hour) but needs a 3-phase supply most UK homes don't have, and costs more to install. Unless you have 3-phase power and two EVs, 7kW is the right call.
Almost certainly. A 7kW unit runs on the standard single-phase supply found in nearly every UK home, so no supply upgrade is needed. A qualified OZEV-approved installer fits the unit, runs the cable from your consumer unit and certifies it to the smart-charge regulations.