Charging away from home

There are a variety of ways in which you can pay for your rapid charging session. Most chargers accept contactless payments. Just tap your card (or phone/watch if you use Apple Pay or Google Pay) on the payment terminal and you’ll be able to start charging. Some brands offer payment via their own app. All chargers are connected to the web, so if you have set up payment details in the app, all you do is select the charger that you are at and the session will start. A third option is an RFID card which some charging brands will send you on request. 

Yes, but with one notable exception. Tesla has one of the biggest networks in the UK, but only 15 of its sites are open to non-Tesla drivers. If you own a Nissan LEAF or Lexus UX300e, your car will have a CHAdeMO connector. Although this is still supported by the majority of charge point operators, many sites are starting to install more CCS connectors, so you will not have as many units to choose from. 

We recommend using a finder app such as ZapMap, PlugShare or WattsUp. These smartphone apps will show you charger locations, speeds and even live availability. Additionally, most charging brands have their own apps that also show the current status of their units. Google also details the locations of rapid chargers in the UK as part of its Google Maps app. Finally, most car navigation systems will list nearest chargers and of course provide navigation to them. 

No. All rapid chargers come with cables attached to the units. All you need to do is plug the connector in to your car. 

The higher the speed of a charger, the faster it will charge your car… However, bear in mind that all electric cars limit the speed at which they can charge. So if you have a car that has a peak charging speed of 100kW, that is the maximum it will accept. You can still use a more powerful charger, but it won’t charge your car up any faster. 

Yes, your car will ‘talk’ to the charger via the cable and only accept power up to a certain level. You don’t need to do anything - just sit back and let the car and charger get on with it. 

This depends on a number of factors: the peak charging speed of your car, the charging speed of the charger you plug into and the condition of the battery. An empty battery will charge much faster than one that’s nearly full, for example. Rapid charging causes the battery to get hot, so your car will always turn down the charging speed to ensure that it stays as healthy as possible. Use our charging calculator to get an idea of how long your car will take to charge at a rapid charger.

Charging a car battery with a rapid charger generates heat in the battery pack. Heat isn’t particularly good for battery health, so your car will reduce its power draw as it becomes full. Once your battery has reached 80% charged, the car will draw far less power from the charger to top up the last 20%. Unless you really need that last 20% to get to the next charger, unplugging at 80% will allow you to get back on the road much faster.