You can charge using a regular domestic 3 pin socket, but a dedicated home EV charger is the better option by far.

Dedicated EV home chargers typically deliver around 7kW of power. In contrast, most vehicle manufacturers limit the current drawn from a standard domestic 3 pin socket to 10A or less, which equates to a maximum of 2.3kW.

A 7kW home charger therefore delivers approximately three times as much power and is approximately three times as fast as using a domestic socket.

We've got a full guide dedicated to charging an electric car at home, so head there for more information.

To fully charge an electric car at home it costs around £5.

To charge an EV to 80% at a public rapid charger (the level you normally would here) it costs around £7 to £10.

Naturally, this varies depending on the location, tariff , energy cost, battery capacity, charging speed and charge level, but we can say for certain that charging an EV far undercuts fuel costs for a petrol or diesel car.

How long it takes to charge an EV depends on the size of the battery and the type of charger - which is defined by the power in kW.

This is where things get slightly more complicated because there isn't yet a universal connector for electric vehicles and the different chargers.

Each charger type (slow, fast and rapid) have their own set of connectors for low or high power, and for AC or DC charging.

Here is a list of every different type of connector within each category.

Slow charge connectors:

• 3-pin 3kW AC
• Type 1 3-6kW AC
• Type 2 3-6kW AC
• Commando 3-6kW AC

Fast charge connectors:

• Type 2 7-22kW AC
• Type 1 7kW AC
• Commando 7-22kW AC

Rapid charge connectors:

• CHAdeMo 50kW DC
• CCS 50-350kW DC
• Type 2 43kW AC
• Tesla Type 2 120kW DC