The Complete Guide to Choosing an EV Charging Cable

Charging cables provide power from a power source to an electric car. Many charging points have a charging cable attached to them to allow you to charge your EV easily; these are called tethered charging points. 

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However, not all charging points are tethered; many require you to bring your charging cable to use them; these are called untethered charging points. Untethered charging points are usually AC chargers between 3 - 42 kWh. 

Many public chargers at these speeds are untethered; you&#;ll need to buy a charging cable to use these charging points. So to have the widest variety of choices for where to charge, you&#;ll need to own a cable.

You might find untethered charging points at your workplace, and you can get an untethered charging station for your home. 

You don&#;t need charging cables to charge at rapid chargers (50+kWh), as these are always tethered. 

Choosing an EV charging cable might seem confusing as cables charge at different maximum speeds and come at varying prices and lengths.

This article will help you understand why you might need a charging cable and how to choose one that will suit your charging needs. 

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When Might You Need A Charging Cable?

If you only go to tethered charging points, you might never need a charging cable. There are certainly enough tethered chargers in the UK that you don&#;t have to worry too much, although you will find your charging options limited. 

Below are some places where you&#;ll need to own a charging cable. 

Untethered Public Charging Points

As already stated, you&#;ll need a charging cable for untethered public charging points in the UK. These charging points will have a universal socket to plug your cable into, allowing any connector type to charge.

Not all public chargers are untethered, so you will need to use apps like Bonnet to help find untethered chargers to ensure that you don&#;t waste your time going to charging locations that don&#;t have untethered options.

Bonnet features many different charging networks and untethered charging points you can access. 

Home Charging Points

More and more people are getting home charging points, enabling them to charge easily and conveniently at their homes. These chargers tend to go at rates between 3 - 7 kWh. 

These charging points generally cost between £740 - £900, but you can apply for grants, such as the OZEV EV chargepoint grant, which can give you up to £350 towards purchasing and installing a charger. 

Home charging points can be tethered or untethered, depending on your preference. If you choose an untethered charging point, you&#;ll need to buy a charging cable to use it.

Workplace Chargers

Just as you can have charging points installed at your home, your employer could have them installed in the workplace. These charging points tend to have a universal socket that allows any EV to charge at them, so you&#;ll need to own a charging cable to charge while you work.

Workplace charging is a very time-efficient option for EV owners as it allows them to charge their EVs slowly while they work.

Other Reasons To Get A Charging Cable

Car With A Type 1 Connector

If you own a car with a Type 1 connector, you will struggle to find charging points at which you can charge. This is because the Type 1 connector is outdated and is no longer the European standard for AC charging. 

If you have a Type 1 connector on your EV, you&#;ll need to go to untethered charging points and use their universal sockets. So you&#;ll need to buy a Type 1 charging cable.

You can purchase a Type 1 to Type 2 adapter, which will let you charge your Type 1 car at a tethered charging point, but these can be dangerous, so it isn&#;t recommended.

Charging With Your 3-Pin Plug

If you don&#;t think you&#;ll charge at home too often but are still interested in charging there now and then, you might be interested to learn that you can charge your EV with the 3-pin plug in your home. 

3-pin plugs are slow chargers that charge at around 3 kWh. They are best used for either topping up your EV or charging overnight. To use them, you must have a domestic adapter. Many cars come with a domestic adapter when you buy one, but otherwise, you can buy one from an auto manufacturer.

While these are a convenient way to charge, you shouldn&#;t use them too much, as prolonged use can damage your home&#;s wiring. If you charge at home frequently, you should get a home charging point as it is much safer and more reliable.

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Do Electric Cars Come With Charging Cables?

Nowadays, most electric cars come with a Type 2 charging cable, although this is not always the case and depends on which EV you buy. Check whether an electric car comes with a charging cable before you purchase it.

For some EVs that don&#;t include one, you can buy a cable as an extra. 

If the car you buy does come with a cable, you might want to get a second one as a backup or to use one cable for home charging and the other for your &#;out and about&#; charging.

If you plan on keeping the charging cable in your car, you should buy a carry bag for the cable to keep it safe and help it last longer.

When buying a second-hand electric car, you should ask the seller if a charging cable comes with the vehicle. 

How To Choose An EV Charging Cable

What Connector Type Should The Cable Be?

The only untethered charging points in the UK are AC chargers that use a Type 1 or Type 2 connector to charge. So there is no need to get a cable for a DC connector like the CCS connector or the CHAdeMO connector. 

Which connector your EV uses depends on the model of your car and its age. 

Type 1 Connector

Type 1 connectors charge at around 3 - 7 kWh. For 30 minutes of charging, they give you around 12 miles of range. Type 1 connectors are only found in older EVs. They don&#;t have a locking mechanism that secures your EV to the power source while you charge.

As Type 1 connectors aren&#;t the standard AC connector, you will struggle to find a tethered charger that you can charge at. If you have a Type 1 connector, you will need to buy a charging cable if you want to charge at most locations. 

Type 2 Connector 

Type 2 connectors charge between 3 - 42 kWh; if you charge at their max speed for around 30 minutes, you will get around 75 miles worth of charge. Type 2 connectors are the European standard AC connector and are the most common connector type in the UK. They have an inbuilt locking mechanism to safely secure your cable to your power supply. 

You might need a type 2 connector cable to charge at untethered home, work or public charging points with a universal socket.

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Do Type 1 Connectors Work With Type 2 Connectors?

No. Type 1 connectors can&#;t be used to charge an EV with a Type 2 connector. Type 2 connectors aren&#;t backwards compatible either and can&#;t charge through a Type 1 connector.

You must use an untethered charging station with a universal socket compatible with both connector types to charge with either connector.

What Speed Does The Charging Cable Go To?

Your charging cable should be able to match at least the single-phase max AC charging speed of your EV. 

Max speed varies from vehicle to vehicle; the Nissan Leaf has a max single-phase charging speed of 6.6 kW, and the Jaguar I-Pace has a max single-phase speed of 7.4 kW.

Don&#;t get one slower than your max single-phase speed; otherwise, you limit how fast you can charge your car. You can get one faster than your max speed, but it will only be able to charge at that speed. 

Cheaper cables tend to have a slow max charging speed. 

What Length Cable Should You Get?

The exact length depends on where you want to charge and how far away your home charging point is from your parking space. Generally, a 7.5m cable is a good length that can almost certainly reach your charger but is still easy to use and store without hassle.

However, depending on your circumstances, you can still get a shorter or longer cable. It&#;s better to have a longer cable than a shorter one as, although annoying to store, it can connect your EV to any charging port, no matter the distance between the charging point and your car.

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Additional Tips For Choosing An EV Charging Cable

Get a 32A Cable

When looking at charging cables, try to get one that is 32A. 16A cables are cheaper but can only charge at a max speed of 3.6 kW, whereas a 32A cable can charge at 7.2 kW.

Choose A High-Quality, Durable Charging Cable

Electric cars can cost drivers thousands of pounds, so it&#;s best not to buy a cheap, low-quality cable to save a few quid. Instead, buy a more expensive charging cable that&#;s more durable and will last much longer. High-quality cables are more flexible, smoother to the touch and have a better grip, making them easier to charge with.

Meanwhile, cheaper cables are more rigid and lightweight and might struggle in extreme weather conditions. For example, in the cold, they become stiffer and unwieldy.

Make Sure The Cable Is Recyclable 

Cheaper cables will need to be replaced quicker, but all cables will eventually reach their limit and be unable to function. Whether this happens due to wear and tear or it just stops working, it&#;s best to get a recyclable one.

Avoid Short Charging Cables

Shorter charging cables are the cheapest ones on the market. However, they&#;re not the most practical way to charge as you will stretch them and damage the cable. These won&#;t be a good long-term investment. 

Most charging stations need charging cables longer than 2m to use them. You should look to get a charging cable that is ideally 7.5m long or between 5 - 10m, as this should be long enough for most charging stations and be compact enough to store easily. 

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Make Charging Easy &#; Join Bonnet!

When buying a new charging cable, avoid buying the cheapest one available. Cheap cables might not charge at optimum speeds. They also may not be long enough or won&#;t charge your vehicle if the cable is for the wrong connector.

Keep in mind what AC connector your EV uses, your car&#;s charging rates and your charging routines. Perhaps you want to charge at home or work, or maybe you want to charge while out and about on public networks.

If you want to use it at public chargers, you&#;ll want to know whether stations provide untethered chargers where you can use your cable. You should download Bonnet, our app, to discover all the best charging stations.

Our app is a great way for EV drivers to connect to thousands of charging points nationwide. We&#;ve partnered with the best public charging networks in the UK, which offer charging in every corner of the country. 

Many of our partners have untethered charging points in their networks, which you can access if you download our app. 

Otherwise, accessing public networks can be quite a hassle as most require an app download or membership purchase before they let you charge. Downloading multiple network apps can clutter your . Instead, you should download Bonnet, which lets you use 17+ charging networks with just one click.

We have a membership option called Bonnet Boosts that allows drivers to save up to 15% off all their charging at our partners&#; charging stations. Bonnet Boosts come with two options.

The first option is Light Boost, which is just £2 monthly for 10% off your charging bill. That&#;s £24 for a whole year&#;s worth of savings! Light Boost is an ideal charge option if you have a home charging point but regularly use public charging networks. 

Our other option is Turbo Boost, which is £8 monthly for 15% off all your charging at our partners&#; charging points. Turbo Boost is best for people who don&#;t have home chargers and frequently charge at public charging stations.

Make charging easy &#; download Bonnet today.

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Charging cable (AC current)

Here we present to you the two most common types of charging cables found on electric vehicles using AC current:

You can see that the cable type 1 has 5 connectors. It is easily differentiable with a type 2 cable which has 7 connectors .

Fast charging cable (DC current)

Here we present to you the two most common types of charging cables found on electric vehicles using DC current:

For vehicles equipped with a type 2 plug, you will often find it paired with a CCS combo plug. The CCS combo socket allows rapid recharging (over 22kw). They are usually found on public charging stations or on highways.

Likewise for the vehicle equipped with type 1 plug, you will find Chademo plugs for quick recharging.

CHAdeMO

Summary of the different existing cable types:

CHAdeMO

For more information, please visit electric vehicle charging cable.