Using a 3-pin plug to charge an electric car at home – 2025 update

If you’re here in a hurry:

A 3 pin charger adds 8 miles of range per hour to your electric car. Using a 3 pin plug car charger costs nothing to install and works with any standard socket in your home. You probably cover 20-30 miles daily in most cases. An overnight charge delivers 60-80 miles, so you wake up with more range than you used yesterday. Plug in when you get home, charge while you sleep, start each day with range to spare.

Use our 3 pin charger calculator to see how charging your EV with a 3 pin plug will fit your lifestyle:

How 3-pin charging fits your routine

Plug in at 11pm with 90 miles remaining. Wake at 7am with 150 miles showing. You’ve covered your commute for the week from one overnight session. You’re not constantly charging because you don’t need to.

A 40kWh Nissan Leaf goes from 20% to 90% overnight. A 60kWh battery gains 50-60% in eight hours, giving you 120-150 miles of range. You get several days of driving from one plug-in.

Making your home socket work

EV charging 3 pin plug setups work when your socket is close to where you park. Garage sockets keep everything protected and you can leave the cable rigged permanently. External sockets work well too, particularly weatherproof ones designed for outdoor use.

Your home handles the 2.3kW load without issue in most cases. Your electric shower draws more power and runs for 10 minutes rather than 10 hours. Your ring main was designed to handle sustained loads like charging electric car at home 3-pin plug.

Charging your electric vehicle at home is convenient and inexpensive. You can pay 100% more to charge in public than at home, so charging at home is crucial to minimise your running costs – even if it means using a 3-pin plug.

Using a 3-pin plug to charge at home is easy. 3-pin sockets charge at 2kW to 2.3kW max, so it’s the slowest type of charging available. However, as a backup or overnight charging solution, it works fine. How long does it take to charge an electric car with a 3-pin plug?

You’ll get 8-miles of range per hour, so adding 60kWh to your battery takes 7.5 hours overnight – ideal if your daily mileage doesn’t exceed 60 or 70 miles.

Choosing your charging cable

A decent 3 pin EV charger includes variable amperage settings, LED status indicators, and built-in safety protections. You’ll spend £180-250 for equipment that handles years of daily use.

Look for 10-metre cables when possible. You eliminate the need for extension leads and get flexibility with parking positions. The extra length costs £30-40 more but removes a potential problem from your setup.

3-pin charging cables for electric car

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Tera Portable EV Charger Type 2

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bokman EV Charger Type 2 to 3 Pin Plug

Type 2 to 3-pin EV charger with 10M cable, 2.3kW charging, IP65 waterproof, LED indicators, and carry bag included.

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Note that charging outdoors with a 3-pin plug requires a weatherproof outdoor socket with a 13 amp rating, like this:

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RICOKEY Weatherproof Outdoor Socket

Fully waterproof outdoor socket with neon indicators, heavy-duty cable, clear locking cover, and 2 year guarantee – perfect for charging your electric vehicle with complete weather protection.

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Typical charger specs

You’ll see products with these data fields:

6a to 13a variable | up to 3.3kw | type 2 | 3 pin portable ev charger | 3 to 10 metre | granny charger |lcd screen | uk 3-pin | free carry bag

Combining home and public charging

Mix regular home top-ups with occasional public charging. Supermarket chargers while you shop add 15-20 miles for free. You get several days of local driving without touching your home electricity.

Workplace charging cuts your home charging needs dramatically when you can charge at work once or twice weekly. Your best 3 pin EV charger becomes your weekend backup rather than your primary method.

Extension leads for extra reach

Heavy-duty 13A outdoor reels handle EV charging when you need extra reach. Professional-grade versions include thermal cut-out protection and weatherproof sockets.

Fully unwind your reel to prevent heat build-up. Check your connections stay dry when charging outdoors. Extension leads work for thousands of drivers who need that extra 5-10 metres of cable reach.

How long does it take to charge an electric car with a 3-pin plug?

Charging an electric car with a standard 3-pin plug can take a very long time compared to using a dedicated EV charger. A normal household socket provides between 1.8kW to 2.3kW of power. For a Tesla Model 3 with a 50kWh battery, charging from empty would take around 28 hours with a 3-pin plug. For other electric cars with smaller batteries like the Nissan Leaf (40kWh), it would be 10-20 hours.

The slow charging speed is due to the low power output from a household socket. While it is possible to charge an EV overnight with a 3-pin plug, it is not recommended for regular use. Using public rapid chargers or installing a dedicated home charger like the Pod Point Solo 3 or Ohme ePod can reduce charging times to just a few hours. Overall, 3-pin plugs should only be used occasionally as a backup option due to their extremely slow charging speeds.

Want to know more? Here’s a more detailed guide:

Quick guide to 3-pin charging

Charging with a 3-pin plug at home is easy, and anyone can do it.

When you bought your car, it will have come with a 3-pin charging cable called an EVSE (electric vehicle supply equipment) cable.

Your EVSE cable will have the right connector for your car, either Type 1 or Type 2. So, to charge with a 3-pin plug at home, you only need two things:

• EVSE charging cable
• 3-pin socket (with power)

Things you need to know:

• 3-pin sockets are not designed to charge electric cars for hours at a time. The danger of overheating is real. You need to monitor heat at the socket. If the socket gets hot, pull the plug.
• Your EVSE cable will only be around 4-5m in length, so you will probably need to use an extension cord.
• The extension cord has to be heavy-duty, rated for 13A, if you intend to charge overnight. While extensions cords below 13A will work, 13A leads are less likely to overheat at the wire and are considered safer.
• Unless you have an outside socket, charging with a 3-pin plug probably means leaving a door or window open. This creates obvious security issues.

Comprehensive guide to 3-pin charging

Our comprehensive guide to charging at home with a 3-pin plug has more advice to help you charge safely.

Can you charge an EV from a 3 pin plug?

Yes, you can charge from a 3-pin plug. A 3-pin plug will give you up to 8-miles of range per hour and could be all you need.

3-pin plug charging speeds

A 3-pin plug charges at 2.3kW, adding up to 8 miles of range per hour, or 4 miles in half an hour. For example, charging the 42.2kWh BMW i3 from 0-100% with a 3-pin plug would take 18 hours 35 minutes. You can calculate the charge time by taking the battery capacity and dividing it by the kW speed.

How long does it take to charge an electric car with a 3-pin plug?

A 3-pin plug add 8-miles of range per hour so topping up by 150 kWh takes 18 hours. If you have a 200 kWh battery, you’re looking at 25 hours. However, most people use 3-pin plugs as a back up to public charging, or they do such low mileage that a 3-pin plug just works.

What you need to charge at a 3-pin socket

You need a Type 2 to UK 3 Pin EVSE charging cable. You can buy one online for around £150.00. The EVSE cable is more than just a cable, it also regulates the charge and has an indicator for the charge status. There’s a good chance your car came with one.

An EV charging 3 pin plug is a standard socket – nothing special. Just make sure it is in good condition before charging, and select a low amperage on your EV charging cable if you are unsure about the plug socket.

3-pin sockets for EV charging

While ordinary 3-pin sockets will charge your electric car, you can get robust 3-pin sockets with that are more suited to the job such as the FNRIDS charger and Vorsprung charger listed above – these are better than regular cables.

Using an extension cable

Sometimes, you might have to use an extension cable to charge your electric car with a 3-pin socket. If so, only use a 13A heavy-duty extension cable.

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SLx Outdoor Extension Lead 20m

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While you can charge an electric car with an extension cord, extension cords were never designed to be used for the duration it takes to charge an electric car. We recommend using them only for boosts now and again.

Downsides to 3-pin charging

3-pin charging is extremely slow. You’ll get up to 8 miles of range per hour and charging overnight won’t get you to 100% – 3-pin plugs take at least 18 hours for batteries over 42kWh (which most batteries are).

Another downside is safety. 3-pin sockets are not designed to deliver 2.3kW of power for 18 or so hours. For example, a fridge only takes around 400 watts. The danger of fire from overheating is real. You should use 3-pin plugs carefully!

Safety standards for low-voltage EV cables

In addition to sockets overheating, another safety concern is cheap EVSE cables and Type 2 to 13A adapters sold online. Like dodgy smartphone chargers, dodgy EV cables increase the risk of electric shock and fire.

13A/3-pin EV charging cables have the following standards:

• CE marking
• IEC 61851 (Electric vehicle conductive charging system)
• IEC 61557 (Electrical safety in low voltage distribution systems)
• IEC 62196 (Plugs, socket-outlets, vehicle connectors and vehicle inlets)

Avoid plugs and connectors without all relevant marks.

Scenarios where 3-pin charging is all you need

3-pin charging is all you need if the slow charge speeds work for your lifestyle. You will get 4 miles of range every half hour, and an overnight charge (10 hours) will top up a 42.2kWh battery to around 60% from 10%.

The fact is that 3-pin charging, while slow, is fine if you have time to leave your electric vehicle plugged in. However, if you have a driveway, a 7kW home charger will unlock significantly faster charge speeds.

So, if you have a driveway and can leave your car plugged in overnight, 3-pin charging could be all you need. After all, there are free supermarket chargers to top up and you can use ultra rapid chargers on longer journeys.

How much will charging your electric car at home increase your electricity bill? It depends on how often you charge at home, but on average, your electricity bill will increase 5-10% per month.

When to get a more powerful EV home charger

3-pin charging adds 8 miles of range per hour, which isn’t enough to drive on a motorway at 65mph for more miles 5 miles.

You should get a more powerful home charger if you need more range in a shorter space of time. A 7.4kW charger adds 30 miles of range per hour, while a 3.6kW commando socket adds around 18 miles of range per hour.

Best EV chargers up to 7.4kW

We review EV chargers, so we have a few recommendations:

• Hypervolt Home 3 Pro – a fantastic tethered wall charger with voice control and solar integration to charge your car with solar panels
• Ohme Home Pro – in my opinion, the best tethered home charger with an in-built display and control panel.
• Easee One – a handsome and smart EV charger with excellent hardware.

If you want even faster charge speeds, then you need an 11kW EV charger which requires a 3-phase supply.

Is a 3-pin charger enough for an electric car?

This depends on your lifestyle. 3-pin chargers add around 8 miles of range per hour, so a 10-hour overnight charge will give you around 80 miles of range on top of anything that’s already in your battery. This will probably give you 25% to 50% of your total range, the rest of which you’ll probably get from a supermarket like Aldi or public rapid chargers.

For some people, charging overnight is the most convenient way to charge an electric car and getting 70-90 miles of range by the time you wake up might be enough.

Overall, charging with a 3-pin plug is slow, but if you only want to trickle charge at home, it’s a cheap, easy way to do it. If you want to charge even faster, get a 7kW single-phase charger – our EV charger reviews are a great place to start.

When you need faster charging

You’ll know when your driving outgrows 3-pin speeds. Long-distance commutes over 80 miles daily need faster charging. Irregular schedules where you can’t predict overnight charging opportunities need more power. Around 15-20% of drivers fall into these categories – most find 3-pin charging handles their needs.

Spending £900 on a wall charger when £180 of cable does the job seems wasteful unless you genuinely need faster speeds. Many drivers are charging their electric car at home with a 3 pin plug, only upgrading when they change cars or circumstances shift.

Do you charge your electric car with a 3-pin plug? Be sure to share your tips in the comments below. Happy charging!