The Best Home EV Chargers: Charge Your Car at Any Time

We’ve had our fair share of EV charging mishaps as we’ve been exposed to more and more EVs during our reviews. As such, we’ve come to know which chargers can be trusted and which ones absolutely can’t be. With that in mind, we’ve pooled our collective EV knowledge and come up with the list below which represents trusted brands, known quantities, and some of the best in the business that even the automakers themselves trust when branding home chargers bought at dealerships. 

Check it out. 

ChargePoint is a known factor. It’s a known quantity and brand. And in the game of EV charging, that represents a huge portion of capability and reliability when so many others have phoned it in or are just waiting to put out their best tech for when all the dust settles around the charging wars. 

Thankfully, with this one, you’re safe for either Tesla’s NACS or CCS charging, as this charger supports either and has been tested with the likes of “Tesla, Chevrolet’s Bolt, Audi’s e-tron, the Hyundai Ioniq, Porche Taycan, Nissan LEAF, Ford F-150 and more” according to ChargePoint.

A Level 2 charger, this specific at-home unit supports up to 50amps of power, which is good for about 37 miles per hour of charging. Far better than most on the market. The integrated WiFi app also allows you to pick your charging speed, time of charging, schedule a future charging, enable reminders and notifications, and even works with Amazon’s Alexa devices. 

As for price, it isn’t cheap. At the time of writing, a plug-in version will set you back $679, though  hard-wired option can be had for $599.

Autel might not be a household name, but it’s quickly become one of our go-to brands for all things automotive electronics. We’ve recommended the company’s products a ton, including its OBD scanners, which are burly things with a host of great features. And this Home Smart charger is no different. 

The indoor/outdoor charger comes complete with a 25-foot charging cable that can deliver up to 50amps of power, which is good for about 40 miles of range per hour. Like the ChargePoint, the Autel comes with a WiFi-enabled app that lets you control a ton of the system’s features, including scheduling charging, showing peak charging times, cost of power, and more. It also comes with a three-year warranty and a 24/7 customer service line that can help you with any issues.

It does, however, have to be hard-wired to your house. And that isn’t inexpensive. Be sure to contact a local electrician first and see how much it’ll add to the Autel’s current $569 price tag.

Bosch is possibly the most well-known brand on this list, as it’s the company that so many OEM manufacturers utilize whether it be for electronics or general parts. If you don’t believe me, go look under your car’s hood and see how many Bosch-labeled products you find. I’ll wait. 

Anyways, the reason it makes it on this list is because it’s a helluva part from one of the most well-respected companies out there. Plus, it’s perfect for those luddites making the switch to the techno age, as this EV charger is beyond simple. The 32amp charger comes with an easy-to-manage 16-foot charging cable, and the charger itself only has three LEDs to denote what’s going on at that moment. 

It’s good for both indoor and outdoor use, while also being UL listed. It comes pre-installed with a wall plug, but can be hardwired to your house. That name-brand quality and performance, however, comes with a cost and that’s, well, price. It’s currently listed for $904, however, Amazon has a $270 coupon going on at the time of writing. So hop on that right now before it’s gone!

While plug-and-go is great, and this JuiceBox offers such capability, what you want from this EV charger is to be hardwired so that you gain access to its faster charge capabilities. Both UL and Energy Star certified, this home EV charger is capable of charging up to 40amps, and with the use of its app, scheduling charging, seeing when peak hours are, and even using the grid when most of the energy is being produced by renewable sources. 

The 25-foot cable is great for large garages, or when you have two EVs at home that you need to charge within the space. It’s also indoor and outdoor certified, and is one of the most affordable options on this list, with a current price of just $599 without hardwire installation, of course. 

That said, because of the long cable and its heft, as well as a somewhat lacking customer support system, things could be improved. So buy accordingly.

There’s always something to be said about getting something directly from the manufacturer, and that’s what this is, a Tesla wall connector EV charger. When you get something from the manufacturer, you’re assured it’ll work for your application, and this Tesla charger is designed to work with each of Tesla’s EVs, including the Model S, Model X, Model Y, and Model 3, and likely with the forthcoming Cybertruck. 

Tesla also throws in a 24-foot cable, which allows you to be adaptable in your garage, and charge up to two different vehicles from the same location. There’s also a four-year warranty, which is awesome to hear. That 24-foot cable, however, is a bit of a bear to use, as its length can make it somewhat unmanageable to lug around given its heft. 

That said, its $475 price at the time of writing makes it one of the most affordable options on this list. And with a large swath of the automotive industry moving toward using Tesla’s NACS, this should work for a host of future EVs in the near future.

The best part about this is it’s just an adapter plug! That’s it. This adapter converts any Tesla NACS charge plug into a CCS plug. Seriously, that’s it.

Though the charging standards are still in flux, ChargePoint is one of the most well-known and trusted brands in the business, and it’s said that it too will be adopting Tesla’s NACS, which means though it’s currently set up for CCS, a forthcoming accessory plug will become available in the near future. That ensures this charger’s long-term longevity. 

There are two main types of EV chargers; NACS and CCS. NACS is the charger type that Tesla pioneered, while CCS is one that other manufacturers used for quite some time and still do for faster charging speeds at public chargers.

EV Chargers aren’t cheap. In addition to the charger itself, which can run between $500 to $1,500, you’ll also need an electrician to come to your home and wiring an outlet that can handle most Level 2 chargers that’ll enable you to charge in reasonable amounts of time. That can be a couple grand on top of the charger. 

You’ve got questions. The Drive has answers.