Episode Details

Welcome back to the show. Today we’re talking about the one piece of EV kit most drivers use every single day and think about least: the charging cable.

If you’ve just bought an electric car, or you’re about to, you’ve probably noticed how many decisions hide inside one simple lead. Type 1 or Type 2. 16 amp or 32 amp. Single phase or three phase. Five metres or fifteen. Get one wrong and you’re either charging slower than you should, tripping over a cable that’s far too long, or sending the whole thing back.

So let’s break it down.

First, the connector. Type 2 is the UK and European standard for virtually every EV sold new here since 2018. Type 1 mostly shows up on older Japanese models, think early Nissan Leafs and the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV. If your car was bought new in the UK in the last six or seven years, you’re almost certainly Type 2.

Next, speed. A single-phase 32 amp Type 2 cable carries up to 7.4 kilowatts, roughly 25 to 30 miles of range per hour on most cars. A 16 amp cable drops that to around 3.6 kilowatts. Three-phase 22 kilowatt cables go further, but only if your home has a three-phase supply and your car’s onboard charger can accept it. Most can’t, so don’t pay for headroom you’ll never use unless you’re deliberately future-proofing.

Then there’s length, which people get wrong more than anything. Five metres suits most homes where the wallbox sits beside the parking space. Ten metres covers a charger at the far end of the drive, or a charge port on the opposite side of the car. Fifteen metres and above is for on-street setups and awkward layouts. Longer isn’t better. It’s heavier, pricier and harder to store.

If your wallbox is tethered, the cable is already attached. If it’s untethered, just a bare Type 2 socket on the wall, you need your own cable, and that same cable works at public AC posts too. Mode 3 Type 2 cables follow an open standard, so they work with any UK wallbox brand, whether that’s Ohme, Hypervolt, Pod Point or Easee. And yes, you can leave a quality IP55-rated cable connected in the rain. Just coil it at the high point of the drive, out of standing water.

Two more things worth knowing. A granny cable, the 3-pin portable charger, plugs into any domestic socket. It’s slow, around 8 to 10 miles an hour, but it lives in the boot and gets you home from a relative’s house or a holiday cottage. And V2L adapters let some EVs run a kettle, power tools or a fridge straight from the battery. Not every car supports it, and a good specialist will tell you plainly if yours doesn’t.

If all of this feels like a lot to work out yourself, that’s exactly why specialists exist. EV Cable Hub is a UK shop that focuses purely on charging cables and the accessories that go with them. You enter your registration, they read your charge port, maximum AC rate and phase from DVLA data, and point you to the exact cable for your car. Their cables are IP55 rated and flexible from minus 30 to plus 60 degrees, with a two-year minimum warranty, free next-working-day delivery over £150 and 30-day returns. Pick the wrong one anyway and they cover the return. Support comes from a UK team, 8am to 6pm, made up of people who actually drive EVs.

That’s it for today. Check your port, check your supply, measure your drive, and buy once. See you next episode.