There are a lot of advantages to owning an electric car. Beyond the lower noise and greater amounts of technical equipment typically available as standard, EVs are often cheaper to run, as they typically cost less than half the price per mile compared to using petrol or diesel.
The one caveat to this is that you will generally need a home EV charging station to charge your vehicle quickly and affordably, but this cost is often worth it and can sometimes be included with certain car models as a bonus.
However, some have asked whether it is possible to plug their car into the mains using a standard three-pin adaptor. The answer is yes, but you really should not.
There are several common connector types depending on your model and when it was made, but they will generally plug into a wallbox or charging station, are rated at 7kW and can charge your car overnight, taking between six and ten hours to complete the charging process.
By contrast, a standard mains adaptor only charges at a rate of 2.3 kW, which means you could potentially have to wait over a day to fully charge your car.
As well as this, constantly draining a high current at a plug socket can cause it to overheat, which can lead to potential electric fires if left for long enough. It can also cause the socket to potentially wear out and fail.
Wallboxes avoid this by being installed by a trained electrician who can handle the sustained loads and maintain a safe, consistent level of charge.
Because of this, you should only charge your EV using a standard socket if you do not have any other options. If you run completely flat and it is the only option, it is usually fine to do so as a one-off to get enough range to reach a suitable charger.
