- What’s the charging etiquette for sharing a home charger with guests?
‘My father-in-law drove down from Stoke-on-Trent to Hitchin to see the grandkids for Sunday lunch and when he arrived his EV (Audi e-Tron) was on 20 per cent.
He hooked up to our home charger (we have an Ioniq 5 so we have a wallbox charger) and charged up to 80.
I don’t want to be stingy but he does this every time – and he comes down at least once a month.
Should I start asking him to pay for his charging?
I wouldn’t mind so much if it was an overnight charge with off-peak rates and cost less than a tenner, but he charges in the middle of the day so it’s about £20.
He wouldn’t ask me to pay for his petrol… I don’t want to cause a family – what should I do? Is there a precedent? Dan C.
Should you ask a friend or family to pay to use your EV charger? We ask experts for their take and give you an etiquette guide so you aren’t tiptoeing round the subject like an awkward Brit
This is Money’s EV expert Freda Lewis-Stempel answers: Dan you’re asking a question an awful lot of people are probably thinking. And if they aren’t already, with the rise of EVs means they soon will be.
Do you offer to let visiting friends and family charge on your home charger? And do you ask them to pay when they’re adding to your electricity bill?
Or if you’re the visitor, do you ask to charge? Do you offer to pay? And how do you work out how much it costs?
And as you’ve pointed out, no-one would ask you to pay for fuel so if you compare it like that it seems a bit bonkers to pay for someone’s charge. But then it’s typically much less expensive, and depending on where you live there might not be public chargers nearby.
This is unchartered territory for people and there’s no official line – so what’s the correct etiquette?
As plenty of EV owners are tiptoeing around the subject in a typical British way, we asked some EV experts on what’s the fairest and politest way to handle the situation.
AA President Edmund King says ‘most people tell the AA that they wouldn’t charge close family and close friends if they weren’t taken advantage’
AA President Edmund King expects this question to ‘become more commonplace’: ‘Most people tell the AA that they wouldn’t charge close family and close friends if they weren’t taken advantage of i.e. every week coming over for a free charge.’
King also points out that you can rent a charger via platforms like Co Charger or Just park or charging brands like Evois ‘allow you to allocate a pin number to a neighbour so they can come at leisure to charge and you have a record of what it cost’ and are a good solution for ‘a neighbour waiting to get to a charge point or a builder’.
Evois shows you how much range has been added to the car, how long the session was and how much it cost.
Quentin Wilson, Faircharge UK says: ‘Etiquette for friends charging at your home is to not ask them to pay. EV owners tend to be have a helpful community spirit.
‘But if it’s a stranger, who perhaps needs a charge in an emergency or you’re sharing your home charge point, you normally ask for them to pay, or at least contribute.’
Michelle Breffitt, co-founder of Women Drive Electric says: ‘No way would I ask a friend of family member to pay for charging their car if they are visiting us ant home especially if it’s overnight on my cheap EV energy tariff.
‘The simplicity and convenience of charging when you have stopped is hugely appealing to drivers and means we get to spend more time with loved ones too.’
If you use a friend or family member’s home charger and they don’t ask you to pay then it’s a nice token to give them a small thank you – a box of chocolates or a bottle for instance
What to do if a visitor wants to use your EV home charger? A rough etiquette guide
A bit like when EV charging became commonplace at services or dedicated hubs, a charging etiquette had to be established.
There’s not set rule, but more a code of conduct reasonable EV community members follow.
Taking stock of the different viewpoints we’ve decide on a few pointers to help tackle these conversations.
Always let a guest use your home charger
Whether or not you ask your guest to pay, always let them use your home charger. It’s just good manners and every EV driver knows what a difference it makes having an easy, reliable charging option on hand.
As the host it’s on you to make your guest feel welcome and to have an easy stay, and these days this includes EV charging.
Plus it will be cheaper for them too even if you decide to ask them to pay or they offer.
If a visitor is coming to stay overnight
If a friend or family member needs to charge up and they’re staying overnight then offer to let them charge but schedule it during off-peak hours so it costs a lot less. Especially if they’re only topping up it will likely only cost you less than a tenner so it seems good natured to not ask for the guest to pay.
If they’re coming down multiple times a month then you can re-evaluate.
If the visitor is only coming for the day
If you’re happy to cover the costs then it’s a very nice gesture to offer to cover it but as it’s likely to cost around £20 or so, it seems fair to ask for at least a contribution.
Again this depends on how often they visit and we’d highly recommend checking what percentage they’re on because if they only need 10 per cent top up it’s a bit stingy to ask for that.
How long is the visitor staying?
Of course if your visitor is staying for several nights, a week or even more and they’re driving around, using up battery and needing to charge multiple times then it is entirely fair to ask for them to pay for charging.
Multiple charges add up, and you certainly wouldn’t pay for multiple tanks of fuel so don’t feel bad about this.
Per mile drivers like John and Rosa who charge the majority of the time at home will only pay 7p/miles, while Kris who charges in public pays 18p/mile
If you’re the visitor – should you offer to pay to use your host’s EV home charger? A rough etiquette guide
It’s absolutely fine to ask your host to use their charger.
While we might have just told the host not to ask for payment, but as the guest you should always offer.
Again it’s a matter of manners. It’s highly likely your host will wave away your offer, but if you’re going to hook up your car for some juice (especially during peak hours) then you’ve got to take the initiative on the payment front.
A happy medium – offer a different contribution other than payment
If you use a friend or family member’s home charger and they don’t ask you to pay then it’s a nice token to give them a small thank you – a box of chocolates or a bottle for instance.
What if my neighbour asks to use my EV charger? Or can I ask my neighbour to use their charger?
Generally this situation is only going to come around if the someone’s charger isn’t working, or all the local public chargers are taken and it’s a time pressured situation, or someone’s guest is already using their charger.
In these cases it’s fine to ask your neighbour to use their charger and the correct thing to let your neighbour charge.
After all that’s what neighbours are for – to help each other out.
But definitely pay your neighbour. And if it’s anything but a small overnight cheap charge then it’s entirely fair to ask them to pay!