Get your car charged when you’re out and about.
With electric vehicles you get the benefit of being able to charge at home, no more having to dash out to petrol stations before work. However, if you do need to charge when away from home, we’ve got you covered.
E.ON are building a network of Ultra Fast Charging stations across the UK, which have charging points that could give your electric car a 100 mile range in as little as 10 minutes. To help you find these public charging points, we’ve put together this helpful EV charger map.
Are there free electric car charging points?
Yes, you can find thousands of free public charging points across the UK. These are often located in supermarkets, public car parks and services stations. They may have certain restrictions around charging for a set period of time or requiring an-in store purchase, so it’s best to check before you charge.
Find the right public electric charger for your needs.
Depending on your type of electric vehicle as well as how much time you have to charge your car, you’ll want to find the right public charger. There are four main types:
Slow.
Fast.
Rapid.
Slow chargers are usually up to 3kW and can take around 8-10 hours to full charge, whilst fast chargers are normally 7 - 22kW and can take approximately 3-4 hours.
Rapid chargers are from 43kW. They can charge your car in around 30-60 minutes, but are only compatible with rapid-charging function EVs.
Almost all EVs are able to charge on Type 2 units for fast charging, and either Chademo, CCS and Tesla Type 2 for rapid charging.
How do I use a public charger at an electric vehicle charging station?
Once you’ve found your public charging point at an electric vehicle charging station, you’ll need to:
Lift the charge point cable from the holder (or use your own if there isn’t one).
Connect it to the charging socket on your electric vehicle.
You then select the socket type from the selection on the charge point touchscreen.
There are a number of different ways to pay for your electricity, including: contactless/smartphone, Pay As You Go, an RFID card or through an app such as E.ON Drive.
To stop charging, you can push the stop button on the touchscreen which will release the cable and let you disconnect it from your car.
how do I pay for electric car charging at a public charging station?
There are four easy ways you can pay:
Paying with contactless or a smartphone.
Follow the instructions on the charge point touch screen and hold your contactless credit or debit card or smartphone against the payment terminal at the top of the reader.
You can also use Apple Pay or Google Pay.
Paying with an RFID card or tag.
Place your RFID card or tag against the reader to start. You must ensure your card is placed at the bottom of the reader and not on the contactless card reader at the top. The cost will be taken from your account balance.
Paying with Pay As You Go.
Go to the website for that chargepoint and enter the unique location code shown on the charge point. Enter your credit card details and follow the online instructions.
Don’t close the web page as you’ll need it to stop charging.
Paying with an app.
In the app, select the charge point from the map and you’ll see a list of socket types. Choose the socket type that fits your vehicle and swipe to start charging.
How do I stop using the public EV charger?
That depends on the payment method you use to start the charge:
Stop charging with contactless or a smartphone.
To stop charging, push the stop button on the touch screen. This will release the cable and allow you to disconnect it from your vehicle.
Stop charging with an RFID card or tag.
Hold your RFID card against the reader again to release the charging cable.
Stop charging with Pay As You Go.
Click stop charging on the webpage. This will also release the charging cable and allow you to disconnect it from your vehicle.
Stop charging with an app.
Swipe end charge shown at the bottom of your mobile device screen. Alternatively, disconnecting the cable from the car will stop the charging session. Return the charging cable to the holder.
Not sure how long it'll take to charge your vehicle?
Whilst it depends on a number of factors, such as battery size, we've pulled together what you need to need to plan your EV charging.
You can also see how far you'll get on a single charge, great if you're planning a longer journey or worried about how far EVs can go.
Get a Vestel EV04 charger.
Perfect for your home.
WiFi connectivity.
Can be used via the app.
Available both socketed and tethered.
Can be used in all weather.
Has a maximum output of 7.4 kW on a single phase meter such as your home, but can increase to 11 kW or 22 kW on a 3 phase meter for commercial use.
Plus get £50 off if you're an E.ON Next customer.
Get an EV charger quote