Soon EV chargers will be a much more common sight when you’re out and about.
Both public and private investment is being put into a new electric-focused infrastructure. So, you’ll be able to charge your car at places like petrol stations, hotels, public car parks and retail parks. Employers too are installing charge points at the workplace. And the changes are happening fast. As of July 2021 there are now more than 42,000 EV charge points at around 16,000 locations, and 400-500 points are being installed every day.
Free EV charge points
There are free charge points popping up across the UK – however they do have some access restrictions. For example, you might find a charge point that is indicated for customer use only. It’s worth bearing in mind that, while charging might be free, you may have to pay for parking.
Even if you don’t have an EV yet, it could be useful to find your nearest free charge point for when you need it in the future. You can view charge point locations using an app like ZapMap which shows you both major networks and the smaller providers across the UK, so you can search for your nearest. Or you can use the search function on Google Maps.
Fast and rapid chargers
While there are many free charging spots, the fast and rapid points will cost money. This is calculated based on a flat connection fee, and then a cost of pence per hour for your charging time or cost per energy consumed measured in kilowatts.
