How do you charge an electric car?

Charging your electric car can require more planning than filling up a conventional car with petrol, particularly on longer journeys. We’ve made it really simple to plug in and start charging, so as soon as you’re ready you’ll know exactly what to do. Want to learn more about our home charge points or charging at Shell?

What you need to start charging your electric car

Wherever you’re at home, on-the-go at work, the logic for starting a charge is very similar. To get started, you’ll need the following:

1. You’ll need a charging cable. You’ll need a charge cable to connect your EV to a charge point. You need a charging cable compatible with your car and the charge point you would like to use. Most of our charge points are equipped with a Type-2 socket connector, in some cases a Type-2 cable is already connected to the charge point.
2. You’ll need a charge point. Then you need the charge point, this is where you will get the power to charge your EV from.
3. A charge card or charging app connected to a charge card. We recommend a Shell Recharge charge card, connected to the Shell Recharge app

Where do you charge electric cars

You’ll find charge points in three main areas: on-the-go, at home and at work.You’ll find public charging in a wide variety of locations, such as petrol forecourts (like Shell), supermarkets, hotels, shopping centres, leisure centres, on-street and car parks. If you want to charge from the comfort of your home, you’ll need to get a dedicated private charger installed, like Connect or Advanced. Regardless of where you choose to plug in, charging your EV with a Shell Recharge charge point is super simple and straightforward.

Find the nearest charge point

We are seeing an ever-increasing number of public charge points in the UK, from a wide range of providers, at various price points. The Shell Recharge network gives you access to 10,000 public EV charging points across the UK, including over 140 Shell Recharge electric vehicle charging points on UK forecourts and 500,000 across Europe. Shell Recharge plans to grow the UK public EV charging network to 100,000 by 2030. This means that 90% of all UK drivers will be within a 10-minute drive of a Shell rapid charger.

How to charge and pay for EV charging in public

Electric cars function by plugging into either a private or public charge point and taking electricity from the grid. Public chargers and those found at workplaces are great for people without a dedicated home charger, for those who want to ‘top-up’ while away from home and also those undertaking longer journeys. For more information on the mechanics of electric car charging, you should read our article, that tells you 7 things you should know about Electric Vehicles.

To be able to start a charging session with a public charge point, you need either an active charge card or key fob. You can order this directly from the Shell Recharge app. At some providers, you can actually start a session with just the Shell Recharge app, but you need to activate your charge card in the app to do this. The third option is scanning the QR-sticker, found on the charge point, with your smartphone. This way you can set up a one time contactless debit or credit card payment.

Charging costs include a standard connection fee, Shell Recharge will charge a transaction fee of £0.35 per charging session (with a maximum transaction fee capped at £7.00 per month). You then pay for the electricity consumed, multiplied by the Charge Point Operators (CPOs) or network’s electricity tariff (price per kWh). Read more about public charging tariffs here.

How do electric cars charge: at home

This is one of the most popular options, largely for ease and convenience. Home charge points are usually installed in the most convenient place to charge, often where you can plug-in overnight, so that could be a garage or drive. If you are able to, we recommend that you install your home charger prior to the delivery of your electric vehicle. With a charging station at home, you always have a place to charge. There are many other benefits to a home charge point, you can read them here.

Most home chargers have a tethered cable attached, with an inbuilt connector, you just plug this straight in to your car to begin charging. Some charge points, Shell Recharge included, have the option to include a universal socket and cable, meaning it can charge any electric vehicle, provided the cable is compatible. You also plug straight in. And while you can charge an electric vehicle using a standard domestic 3-pin plug, it will take significantly longer, x3 times the duration of most 7.4kW home EV chargers. Not only this, but it is also advisable to not use a domestic extension lead, only plugging the charging cable directly into a wall, which, depending on where you park your car, can be very inconvenient.

Charging an electric car at work

Workplace charging is fantastic, because, similarly to charging at home, you car is likely to be parked in one place, unused, for a large portion of the day. So it makes sense to get some charging in. Many business, offices and organisations are now installing charging points for both staff and visitors.

Workplace chargers usually have the same charging speeds as home chargers, normally with a universal “Type 2” sockets. This might mean you need to bring your cable. Work place charge pints are just like any other. Some will start charging simply by plugging in, like you would a home charger. Alternatively, you may need to swipe with a charge card or payment card, like you would on the public network. You might even get lucky and get rapid 50kW rapid chargers installed at your work place. The installation costs of these can are very high though, so are usually reserved for highly utilised, return to base fleet vehicles, rather than employee cars.

Charging an electric car at work

Workplace charging is fantastic, because, similarly to charging at home, you car is likely to be parked in one place, unused, for a large portion of the day. So it makes sense to get some charging in. Many business, offices and organisations are now installing charging points for both staff and visitors.

Workplace chargers usually have the same charging speeds as home chargers, normally with a universal “Type 2” sockets. This might mean you need to bring your cable. Work place charge pints are just like any other. Some will start charging simply by plugging in, like you would a home charger. Alternatively, you may need to swipe with a charge card or payment card, like you would on the public network. You might even get lucky and get rapid 50kW rapid chargers installed at your work place. The installation costs of these can are very high though, so are usually reserved for highly utilised, return to base fleet vehicles, rather than employee cars.

App for electric car charging in public

Charging an electric vehicle public is super simple with the Shell Recharge app.

Google Maps will show you charging stations, but you won't get the added benefit of using a dedicated app. The Shell Recharge app enables EV drivers to find and navigate to any of the 500,000 public charging stations in the network. It will show which are nearby, available and ready to use. You can filter by connector type, or speed, plus save a list of favourites. The app is free and allows for subscription free, monthly invoicing. And lastly, you can view real-time charging updates, check charging status and view personal charging history.

App for electric car charging at home

One of the many benefits of a dedicated home charger is the control and management of it, and the great news is, you can also use the Shell Recharge app for it. You are able to adjust all your charge settings. AutoCharge can be enabled in the app, allowing you to start your charging session by simply plugging in the cable. No card or other action needed. You can also set up charge schedules, to start and stop at convenient times, meaning once you’ve parked and plugged in you don't need to worry if you want to begin a charge session at a particular time. It will just start for you! Plus, with this, you can schedule charging to start at times when the demand on the grid is low and energy prices are cheaper. You can also monitor all your charging history.

How long does it take to charge an electric car

EV charging time depends on the car itself, as well as the power supply that you have. Other factors should also be taken into consideration, such as how full the battery is at the time of charging and the temperature of the battery. Would you like to know the charging time of your EV? The formula for calculating the charging time is basically:

Battery capacity in kWh / charging power in kW = charging time (h).

We can use this calculation to work out the length of time it takes to charge three popular EVs with varying battery sizes.

A Renault Zoe with a 52kWh battery will take just over an hour to charge in public using a typical 50kW rapid charger (52/50=1.04). At home, this will take around 7 hours (52/7.4=7.02).

Charging the slightly larger Kia e-Niro with a 64kWh battery and the same size 50kW charger will be about an hour and a half (64/50= 1.28) in public and eight and a half at home (62/7.4=8.64)

The luxury, Tesla Model X has a battery of 100 kWh. Using our example, the Model X will charge in around 2 hours on a public 50kW charger (100/50=2) and 13 at home (100/7.4=13.51)

How to charge quickly

Having a dedicated home charger is great, it’s hassle-free and simple. It allows you to charge during “dormant” hours at night, which is not only super convenient, but it's better for the grid to charge when energy demand is low, and it means you can take advantage of off-peak energy prices. However, if you are in a rush or travelling and need to charge, you also have the option to use public charge points. The charging at Shell Recharge comes in fast (7-22kW), Rapid (25-50kW) and ultra-rapid (150kW & above) speeds. In approximately 60 minutes, a Shell Recharge 50kW DC charger can typically charge from 2-80% and the 150kW charger can deliver power up to three times faster than that. Simply go to the charge point locator by clicking on the button below. Use the filtering options to find the charge speed you require. Read more about charging speeds.

How far can an electric car go on one charge

There is no neatly packaged answer to how far an EV can go on a single charge, and the answer will depend hugely on the which vehicle you are driving as well as the driving conditions. As a general rule, the larger the vehicle, the bigger the battery. The reverse is also true. Smaller cars are often designed for cities, they are meant to be agile for nipping in and out of spaces, cheap to run, and easy to park in tight spots. They aren't built for long distances. Back in the day, some cars could only do about 100 kms whereas now, the newer electric cars can travel up to 450 kms on a single charge. While it is still worth planning ahead for longer journeys, public charge points are more common than ever before. Always remember, you can easily stop and charge on-the-go with any of the 500,000 charge points available on the Shell Recharge network.

Now you hopefully have all the knowledge you need to start a charge session at home, at work or in public. You can find more interesting and useful information on the Shell Recharge blog, articles such as, a guide to electric car charging costs in Europe, and 7 things you should know about Electric Vehicles.