To make it easier to understand you can break EV chargers into two different categories: speed or location.

Based on speed, there are four types of chargers:

• Slow.

• Fast.

• Rapid.

• Ultra rapid.

You can also categorise based on location:

• Home EV chargers - these are designed for residential properties and are generally slow to fast electric vehicle chargers.

• Public EV chargers - these are found in areas such as supermarkets or car parks and can vary in speed all the way up to ultra rapid.

Whether you’re charging your electric car at home or in public, you’ll use a charging cable with a set connector. The type of charging connector you use depends on the type of EV you have and the power rating of the charging point.

Here are the five main charging plugs used in the UK:

When you choose your new home EV charger you often get the option of it being tethered or untethered. A tethered EV charger comes with a cable permanently attached to it, whereas with an untethered charger you’ll need to have your own separate cable. Normally this comes with your electric car.

Untethered can be useful if you want more flexibility with which cars can be charged at your property and they also tend to be cheaper than tethered.

If you get a new electric vehicle then it will normally come with a Type 2 or Mode 1 cable or both.

A Type 2 cable has a Type 2 connector on one end with a socket that fits the car on the other. This socket can be Type 1 or Type 2.

Mode 1 cable or “granny cables” come with the same Type 1 or Type 2 socket for your car but have a three pin plug on the other. This offers the slowest charging but is helpful in a pinch.