EV Charging Guides
Everything we wish someone had told us before our first long trip in an electric car. No jargon, no affiliate links, no manufacturer press releases — just how charging in the UK actually works, what it costs, and how to avoid the mistakes that leave you sitting in a car park for an hour longer than you planned.
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Connectors
CCS, CHAdeMO and Type 2: UK EV Connectors Explained
There are only three plugs you actually need to recognise in the UK, and your car decides which ones you can use. Here is how to tell them apart at a glance.
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Basics
Why a 150kW Charger Rarely Gives You 150kW
Slow, fast, rapid and ultra-rapid explained — plus the charging curve, the 10-80% rule, and why the last 20% of a battery costs you more time than the first 60.
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Costs
What Public EV Charging Actually Costs in the UK
How per-kWh pricing works, why rapid charging costs roughly three times what home charging does, and the VAT quirk that explains most of the gap.
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Costs
Home vs Public Charging: Which You Actually Need
Whether a home wallbox is worth it, what to do if you have no driveway, and why the answer changes the entire economics of running an electric car.
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Networks
The UK's Charging Networks, Compared
Who runs the chargers you will actually meet — InstaVolt, Gridserve, BP Pulse, Osprey, Ionity, Tesla and the rest — and what each is genuinely good and bad at.
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Journeys
Planning a Long EV Journey in the UK
How to plan a 300-mile trip without range anxiety — where to stop, how long for, what to do when the charger you planned around is broken, and the buffer that makes it all work.
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Running an EV
EVs in Winter: Why Range Drops and What Actually Helps
Cold weather costs an electric car real range, and most of the loss is not where people think. What the battery is doing, what the heater is doing, and the handful of habits that recover most of it.
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Practical
Charging Etiquette, and What to Do When a Charger Fails
The unwritten rules of the charging bay, your actual rights under the UK charge point regulations, and a working order of operations when the unit will not start.
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About our data
Where Our Charger Data Comes From — and Where It Falls Short
How PlugMap is built, what OpenChargeMap does and does not know, the specific ways our listings can be wrong, and how to check before you rely on one.