Electric car owners are being offered home charger deal that is worth around 12,000 miles of free driving.
EDF energy is offering customers – new or existing – £300 if they sign up its Pod Point Plug & Power home charger and tariff bundle.
The company claims the £300 credit is worth around 12,000 miles of electric driving, which it calculates is equivalent to nearly 24 months of using their vehicle.
At the same time, powering an electric car from a home charger massively cuts the cost of running a car because the VAT is charged at just 5 percent versus 20 percent from a commercial on-street charger.
The government recently outlined rules to make it easier for households to install their own chargers, while councils will be given powers to allow the installation of pavement gulleys so people can run cables to their vehicles.
Charging at home already makes EVs cheaper to fuel per mile than petrol cars (Image: Getty)
Charging at home already makes EVs cheaper to fuel per mile than petrol cars, but adopting smart charging, which the Pod Point charger offers, can potentially boost home charging saving to more than £1,300 a year.
Rich Hughes, director of retail at EDF, said: “By spreading the cost of a charger over two years, we already make it easier for customers to manage typically high upfront costs. Now, with an additional £300 back upon signing up, the costs are even lower.
“We all know driving electric will reduce our carbon footprint, and our aim is by offering more deals like this to help customers save cash in the process, we hope it’ll encourage more drivers to make the switch.”
The offer includes a Pod Point Solo 3S charger, for a lower upfront cost of £499 (RRP £1,099), with the remaining cost of the charger spread over two years and integrated into the tariff.
The tariff, priced at £1,383 for electricity only, comes with cheaper overnight electricity at 8.49p per kWh from 12am to 5am for both driver’s cars and homes.
Customers need to visit EDF’s website, and once signed up, EDF will forward details onto Pod Point so they can buy the Solo 3S EV charger from £499.
Once customers have purchased their charger and booked an installation date, EDF will apply the £300 credit to their account within 30 days.
The Solo 3S comes with standard installation included and a five-year warranty.
The Pod Point app also lets users manage their home charging from their phone. The offer ends on 31 January 2025.
Importantly, if you already have a home charger installed, there are tariffs out there that undercut EDF. These are supplied by E.on, Ovo, British Gas and Scottish Power.
A recent study by home charger provider Andersen EV found that by using a smart charger, drivers of a typical EV could end up paying just £18 to do 1,000 miles per month – far cheaper than the £128 cost of refuelling a petrol car.
Another study by charge point mapping service ZapMap found that a typical couple who do 80 percent of their EV charging at home and travel 10,000 miles a year spend just £660 on charging, compared to a petrol driver who spends £1,430 on fuel a year.
The RAC has called on the government to take urgent steps to encourage the switch to EVs by, for example, re-introducing grants to bring down the initial purchase price.
It also wants the Chancellor to reduce VAT on public EV charging from 20 percent to match the 5 percent levied on domestic electricity so those who can’t charge at home aren’t disadvantaged