How To Choose a Home EV Charger

Which EV Charger Do I Need? The Short Answer First, Then The Detail if You Want It

Buying a home EV charger looks complicated until you realise it comes down to four questions. Answer them and you've picked your charger. Everything after that is detail.

What size EV charger do I need?

For a house, it's 7kW or 22kW. There's no real middle ground and you almost never need more. Here's what each one does in practice.

These figures are estimates. Real charging speed depends on your car, its battery size, how full it already is and the weather, so treat them as a guide rather than a promise.

7kW covers almost everyone

The average Australian drives about 35 km a day. A 7kW charger replaces that in under an hour. Even if you come home empty, you'll be full by morning. The only people who genuinely need more are high-kilometre drivers, households sharing one car between two drivers, or anyone who regularly needs a fast turnaround between trips.

Your car's onboard charger sets the ceiling

This one catches people out. When you charge from a wall box, the AC power goes through a converter inside the car, and that converter has a limit. Plenty of EVs sold here cap out at 7kW. Others do 11kW. Only a handful take the full 22kW. So a 22kW charger on a car limited to 11kW charges at 11kW, no faster. Look up "onboard charger" or "AC charging" in your owner's manual before you pay for speed you can't use.

DC fast charging is different, that's the public stuff at servos and shopping centres, and it bypasses the onboard charger. You won't be installing one of those at home.

Single phase vs three phase EV charger

This is the question that actually decides it. A 22kW charger needs three phase power. If your home doesn't have it, the choice is made for you.

How to tell which one you've got

Open your switchboard and look at the main switch. One switch, single phase. A row of three switches linked together with a bar, three phase. You can also count the wires coming into the meter box, or just ask your electrician when you get your quote. Most detached houses built before the last decade are single phase. Larger or newer homes, and properties with big sheds, ducted aircon or a pool, are more likely to have three phase.

Single-phase / single-pole main switch (on the left) vs. a three-phase / three-pole main switch (on the right). Image source: Reduction Revolution

Is upgrading to three phase worth it?

For charging alone, usually not. An upgrade means new service cable from the street, switchboard work and your distributor's involvement, which can run into thousands and take weeks. If you're already upgrading for a workshop, a hoist or a big aircon system, adding a 22kW charger to the job makes sense. On its own, spend the money on a good 7kW unit instead.

7kW vs 22kW EV charger: which is actually faster?

On paper, 22kW is three times quicker. In a driveway, the difference is often smaller than that, because of the onboard charger limit above. Think of it this way:

• You charge overnight. You've got eight or nine hours. 7kW is enough. 22kW just means it finishes earlier while you're asleep.
• You charge in bursts during the day. Two drivers, one car, back-to-back trips. Here 22kW earns its money, if the car supports it.
• You've got solar and charge midday. A bigger charger lets you soak up more surplus on a big solar day, as long as you have the panels to feed it.

Our full range of both sits in 7kW EV chargers and 22kW EV chargers.

Do I need a solar EV charger?

If you have solar panels, it's the single biggest money-saver in this whole article. Not because the charger is clever, but because of the gap between what you get for exporting power and what you pay to buy it back.

Solar-powered EV charging at home: Rooftop solar panels supply clean energy to a wall-mounted charger, helping charge an electric vehicle from the comfort of your garage.

How solar charging actually works

A solar-capable charger comes with current transformers, or CT clamps. Your electrician clips them around the main wires at your switchboard. They measure what's flowing in and out of the house, so the charger knows exactly how much surplus solar you have at any moment. It then matches the charging rate to that surplus. Sun comes out, the car charges faster. Cloud rolls over or the kettle goes on, it eases off. You can usually choose between solar-only, a mix of solar and grid, or full speed regardless.

Charging on surplus solar is effectively free driving. Exporting the same power earns you a feed-in tariff that keeps shrinking. Over a few years the difference adds up to real money.

When a solar charger isn't worth it

If you've got no panels and no plans to get them, don't pay for the CT clamps. If you're never home during the day and your car isn't either, solar charging won't get much of a look in, unless you have a home battery. And if you're on an old premium feed-in tariff, run the numbers first, because exporting might still pay better.

One thing to know: you can't bolt solar onto a non-solar charger later. The hardware is either in there or it isn't. If panels are even a maybe, buy the solar-capable unit now.

Tethered vs untethered EV charger

Tethered means the Type 2 charging cable is permanently attached. Untethered, also called socket or universal, means there's just a socket on the wall and you supply your own cable.

Tethered: cable attached

Park, grab the plug, plug in. No lead to pull out of the boot, nothing to forget. For a private garage or carport where the same car parks in the same spot, tethered wins on convenience every time. The trade-off is a fixed cable length, usually 5 or 6 metres, and the cable lives outside with the charger.

Untethered: socket only

You bring your own Type 2 to Type 2 lead. It's tidier on the wall, the cable lives in the boot where it can't be damaged or pinched, and you can buy whatever length suits. Sockets are the right call for shared driveways and apartment carparks where several drivers use one charger, and for anyone with an older EV or PHEV that uses a Type 1 plug, since you can just use a Type 1 lead.

If you go untethered on a three phase 22kW charger, make sure your lead is rated for three phase 32A. A single phase lead will cap you at 7kW no matter what the charger can do.

Which smart features are worth paying for?

"Smart charger" covers a lot of ground. These are the features that actually change what the charger costs you to run or how well it works.

Live charging stats in the app let you track power, energy used and cost per session from your phone. Image source: Ocular Charging

Scheduling and off-peak charging

Worth it for nearly everyone. Set the charger to start when your cheap rate kicks in and the car fills while you sleep on the lowest tariff you've got. If you're on a time-of-use plan, this pays for itself quickly. Check whether your retailer has an EV-specific plan too, some have very cheap overnight windows.

Load balancing

Worth it if your switchboard is tight. A 32A charger is a big load. Add an oven, aircon and an induction cooktop and some homes would trip the main breaker. Load balancing uses the same CT clamps as solar charging to watch the whole house and dial the charger back when things get busy, then ramp it up again. It can save you a supply upgrade.

RFID and access control

Worth it if anyone else can reach the charger. Tap a card to start a session, and without a card nothing happens. Essential for apartment carparks, shared driveways and rentals. Pointless in a locked private garage.

OCPP and billing

Worth it if you need to charge someone for the power. OCPP is the open standard that lets a charger talk to a management platform, so a strata manager or business can run user accounts, set tariffs and bill automatically. For billing you also want a MID-certified meter, which is the revenue-grade standard. Overkill for a family home, necessary for a shared building. There's a full rundown on our apartment EV charger page.

What does installation involve?

Every hard-wired EV charger in Australia must be installed by a licensed electrician. It's not a DIY job, and doing it yourself will void the warranty and your insurance.

What your electrician needs to sort out

• A dedicated circuit. The charger gets its own run from the switchboard with its own RCBO, typically 40A Type A.
• Switchboard space. Older boards may be full, or may need upgrading to take the extra load.
• Cable run. The big cost variable. A charger on the garage wall next to the board is cheap. One on a detached shed 40 metres away is not.
• CT clamp wiring. If you've bought a solar charger, the clamps go at the switchboard and a signal lead runs back to the charger. Mention the distance when you book.
• Your supply capacity. Some homes need load balancing or a supply upgrade to run a full 32A charger. Better to find out before the charger arrives.

Rebates and incentives

Rebates for home EV chargers and solar-friendly charging come and go, and they vary by state and by electricity retailer. Check your state government's energy site and ask your retailer about EV plans before you buy, since some require a specific charger type or an approved installer to qualify.

Best home EV charger in Australia: our picks

We stock the Ocular range because it's locally supported, RCM certified and covers every situation above without forcing you into features you won't use.

Best for simple, no-fuss charging: Ocular LTE Plus

A 3.5" LCD screen showing live charging data, a 6m tethered cable and a Bluetooth app for scheduling. No network setup, no account. Available in 7kW and 22kW.

Best for homes with solar: Ocular IQ Home Solar

CT clamps included, so solar charging and load balancing work out of the box. Wi-Fi, Ethernet or 4G, plus RFID. Cable or socket, in 7kW and 22kW.

Best value smart charger: Ocular IQ Mini

The same platform as the IQ Home Solar with the solar hardware left out. App, connectivity and RFID access for less. Cable or socket, in 7kW and 22kW. Not solar compatible, so only pick it if panels are off the table.

Best for shared or billed charging: Ocular IQ Wallbox

Touch screen, MID meter, RFID and OCPP, plus wall or pole mounting. The one for strata, small business and fleet bays.

Questions we get asked

Can't I just use the charger that came with the car?

You can, and for a plug-in hybrid or a low-kilometre second car it might be all you need. But a 10A portable charger adds 10 to 15 km an hour, so a flat battery takes two days. It also runs a heavy load through a standard power point for hours at a time, which is why most manufacturers call it an emergency or occasional option rather than a daily one.

Will any charger work with my EV?

Every EV sold new in Australia uses a Type 2 socket, which is what these chargers use. A few older imports and early PHEVs use Type 1. If that's you, buy a socket model and a Type 2 to Type 1 lead.

Can I install it myself?

No. Hard-wired chargers must be installed by a licensed electrician, and in some states the install has to be notified to the network. It's also a condition of every manufacturer warranty.

Will it work in the rain?

Yes. Every charger we stock is IP55 rated for indoor and outdoor use, and handles -30°C to +50°C. Mount it out of direct weather if you can, mostly so the cable and plug stay dry when they're not in use.

What if there's no wall near where I park?

Use a pedestal. The Ocular IQ charger stand is a powder coated steel post that bolts to the concrete and takes any charger in the IQ range, so you can put the charger right beside the bay in a carport or open driveway.