Electric car experts warn drivers not to fall for EV charging myths

With that in mind, electric car experts at GRIDSERVE want to ensure that motorists aren’t fooled by common charging myths. They said: “It’s important that drivers are given the correct information when making the switch to an EV. Myths such as needing to charge an EV multiple times a day are circulating which is simply untrue. In fact, as the average real-world range of an electric car in 2023 is 219 miles, the average UK driver will be able to drive for almost a fortnight on a single charge.”

Myth: EV charging is now more expensive than petrol and diesel

It is widely believed that EV charging is more expensive than buying petrol. However, charging the UK’s bestselling EV in 2022, the Tesla Model Y, from zero to 80 percent (the recommended capacity by most manufacturers) would cost as little as 16p per mile.

This is based on a Tesla Model Y Long Range using one of GRIDSERVE’s High Power chargers at 66p-per-kWh.

The average driver in the UK covers 6,800 miles per year, meaning it would cost £1,088 per year for charging at the above rate.

However, the average petrol or diesel car costs 19.6p per mile, which would cost drivers £1,332.80 per year – £244.80 more expensive than public EV charging.

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Furthermore, charging an EV at home is even cheaper, as it currently costs 34p per kWh to charge at a domestic charge point, around 9p per mile. Therefore, GRIDSERVE has calculated it would cost £612 a year to charge an EV from home – less than half the cost of filling a petrol or diesel car each year.

Myth: Drivers should always be charging at the highest quoted charging speeds

A common myth is that your EV should be charging at its peak rate for the full duration of its charge and if it doesn’t, the charger hasn’t achieved its quoted speeds.

However, this is not true; each EV has a charging curve which dictates the speed of charging at different levels of battery capacity. The maximum speed tends to peak at lower charge percentages and as it approaches 80 percent, it will slow down significantly to protect the battery.

So, the charger should never be charging at its peak speed for the full duration of a charge as this would not be good for an EV. It’s also worth noting that maximum charging speeds aren’t only dictated by the car, but by the charger it’s plugged into.

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It is understandable why people may question this, with mixing water and electricity being a bad idea typically, however it is completely safe to charge your EV in the rain. Drivers can even take an electric car through a car wash.

Myth: Drivers have to wait for ages for their car to charge

The latest generation of high-power chargers have outputs of between 150kW and 350kW, so has the potential to add 100 miles of range in less than 10 minutes. This can easily be worked into your trips, whether taking a short break from driving or parking your car up while you run errands.

The time it takes to charge an EV is falling as the latest technology is rolled out. GRIDSERVE has trialled the UK’s fastest electric vehicle charger for public usage at its Braintree Electric Forecourt.

Capable of delivering a maximum output of up to 360kW, it can add approximately 100 miles to compatible EVs in less than five minutes, which demonstrates how quick nationwide EV charging could become before the 2030 deadline.