Charging an electric car at home: costs and installation

Be it in terms of CO₂-Emissions or running costs: Neither diesel nor gasoline engines can keep up with the values of electromobile drives. E-cars charged with environmentally friendly green electricity have a significantly better carbon footprint than other drives, and the annual maintenance costs are also far below those of other models. Those who rely on an e-car pay much lower annual contributions to taxes and insurance. Despite rising electricity prices and fewer subsidies, a E-car still cheaper than a combustion engine. Another advantage: electric cars can be conveniently charged at home.

The expansion of the private charging infrastructure is a major lever for the success of the mobility transition. Around 85 percent of all charging processes take place in the private sector, estimates the German Association of Energy and Water Industries (BDEW). However, there are a few things to consider here.

Regardless of whether it's a wall-mounted or floor-standing box: Compared to a normal socket, the charging stations are not only harmless. They also charge the vehicle about 4.5 times as fast on average – in some cases, the discrepancy is even greater. With the Mini Cooper SE, for example, the charging time at a charging station is three hours, but at the socket it is 14 hours. And a Fiat 500e only has to be at the charging station for four hours, but 10.5 hours at the socket. The battery of an Audi e-tron 55 is fully charged in 4.5 hours at a wallbox, and only after 42 hours at the socket (source: The Mobility House GmbH).

The cost of a wallbox depends on the respective model. Recommended models are available from about 500 euros. At the upper end of the price range, a wall speaker can cost up to 2000 euros. In addition, there are always costs for installation. This creates the connection to the house network, i.e. the connection between the charging station and the fuse box. The installation costs depend on the individual structural conditions of the property. If major conversion measures such as a wall breakthrough, the extension of the grid connection or a separate power connection or the laying of a high-voltage line are necessary, the installation costs increase accordingly. According to the ADAC, they are on average between 1045 and 5200 euros. The exact costs you will incur will be checked by the specialist company during an inspection of your property and then calculated.

These initial costs pay for themselves over time, because charging an e-car at home is significantly cheaper than the tariffs at public charging stations. If you have a Photovoltaic systemcan even charge his e-car with self-generated electricity, which offsets the acquisition and installation costs even faster.

Owners can easily hire a specialist company to install a wallbox. But what about tenants? Are residents of an apartment building allowed to install a wallbox? The answer is yes, if you consult the landlord beforehand. Thanks to the Act on the Modernization of Residential Property, it has become much easier for tenants to obtain approval from the landlord to install a wallbox since December 2020. The law states that the tenant has a right to the installation of a charging station, which the landlord can only refuse for valid reasons. A valid reason is, for example, if the house is a listed building.

And who bears the costs? If the landlord agrees to the project, the costs of the wallbox installation must be clarified individually. The landlord can contribute to the costs, but is not obliged to do so. However, both tenants and owners benefit from the purchase of a charging station. On the one hand, through the option of charging your own electric car conveniently at home and through the associated increase in the value of the rental property.

There is also the option of electrifying the garage for e-car drivers who park their e-car in a garage courtyard without a power connection and also want to charge it there. As a rule, this is done in coordination between the co-owners of the garage courtyard. One solution variant is a central grid connection for the entire garage courtyard and the distribution of the charging currents to the garages via load management. An alternative and very convenient solution is to create your own grid connection in the garage, which is offered by many power grid operators. enercity offers complete packages that include lighting and sockets in addition to the wallbox. For example, the e-bike can also be conveniently charged or an electric garage door can be connected. Details can be found at Shop in the garage courtyard.

If you want to further shorten your charging time, you can rely on a wallbox with a charging power of 22 kW, which can halve or even significantly minimize charging times. Wallboxes with a charging capacity of 22 kW often cost a little more than their little sisters. The installation of a wallbox with 22 kW charging power must be checked and approved by the operator of the electricity grid. Most of the time, however, a connection is no problem even with 22 kW. The responsible electricity grid operator wants to ensure that the residential building is really supplied with the required charging power by means of an inspection. It is also important for grid planning to know where and how many charging stations are in use in the grid area. For this purpose, it is also important that your wallbox is registered regardless of the charging power.

A specialist must be hired to install a wallbox, because the connection is made to a 400-volt high-voltage line. Do not do the installation yourself, but hire a licensed electrician, preferably with experience in installing charging stations. Many e-mobility service providers also offer wallboxes as a complete offer with installation service.

If you want to charge your electric car at home, you have to register your wallbox with the grid operator. This basic registration requirement applies to all wallboxes up to 11 kW. From 12 kW, the charging stations must even be approved by the grid operator. The grid operator is the owner of the electricity grid in the respective region and does not have to be the same as the electricity provider. In our guide, we explain to you, how to register a private charging station.

Government subsidies for private charging stations are currently not available. However, there are other ways to promote a private wallbox. Some energy suppliers and municipalities want to support not only the charging of electric cars at home, but also the energy transition and the switch to green electricity. Subsidies are also available from enercity, for example – a total of up to 200 euros if the wallbox is operated with green electricity.

Regardless of whether normal or particularly high charging power, a high-voltage connection is usually recommended for a charging station. In any case, installation by a specialist is necessary – if only for safety reasons. But the boxes themselves also focus on safety: they have safety devices that monitor and control charging at home. This means that the boxes only activate the power when there is a secure connection to the car – this guarantees additional safety when charging. In addition, your electrician connects the charging station to a miniature circuit breaker that protects the charging cable from overloading. In addition, a residual current circuit breaker, also known as a RCD, must be installed to protect the wall charging station, the electric car and all connected cables from residual currents.

Wallboxes charge electric cars with alternating current and usually rely on a single charging point with a type 2 plug. You don't have to be a technology expert for charging itself: simply connect the charging cable of the electric vehicle to the charging station – and off you go.