Installing a charging station at home? Here's what you need to know!
Do you drive an electric car? Then charging your car at home is super convenient. Are you hesitant to install a charging station at your home? We will tell you how to install such a charging station at home, how much it costs, and whether you can recoup your investment!
There are three ways to charge your electric car: through a regular socket, through a charging point (both public and at home), and through a fast-charging station. The first two options are possibilities for at home. But how do you make the choice?
Charge at home through the outlet or install a charging station?
Often, you can charge your electric car via a standard outlet, but this depends on your type of car and battery. Manufacturers of electric cars provide a special cable and adapter with which you charge your car. The cable is equipped with an In-Cable Control Box. This ensures optimal protection during charging of your electric car through a differential switch and a current limitation. This is "Mode 2" charging. Via this method, you charge about 12 kilometers of range per hour.
Household electrical outlets, however, are not designed to deliver high current so regularly and for prolonged periods. Therefore, it is important to limit the charging current. Charge your vehicle as often as possible at a specific charging station. Moreover, there are 2 types of electricity networks in Belgium (3,400V and 3,230V). So, make sure to check with your network operator which network your home is connected to, as some electric vehicles do not charge on outlets connected to 3,230V. In this case, you will also need an adapted charging point.
Charging at home via a wall socket also takes a very long time; a full charge takes about 10 hours (depending on the type of vehicle). With a charging station (at home or public), the charging time is four to six hours. The charging speed is a significant advantage of a charging station. Charging at a charging station is called “Mode 3” charging.
Safe and efficient charging at the home charging station: 4 advantages listed
- If you have a charging station at home, the risk of overheating or a worn-out outlet is eliminated. Charging stations are specifically designed to deliver more power without heating up.
- A home charging station is connected to its own protected circuit at the start of your electrical installation. Since there is no need for artificial current limitation, charging at a charging station is significantly more efficient than at a regular outlet.
- What makes a home charging station particularly attractive is the cost of charging: your own electricity is much cheaper than that of a public charging station. Do you also have solar panels on your roof? Then the energy from the sun charges your car essentially for free.
- Charging an electric vehicle takes up a quarter of all available electricity. With a charging station, you can easily set up the charging of your car: charging stations can detect if other devices are consuming a lot of power at the time and can reduce their own power accordingly. You can ensure they only charge at night, you can check the charging usage online, and they offer other smart features for convenience.
How much does it cost?
An electric car quickly doubles your electricity consumption. Therefore, it is wise to evaluate your electricity supplier and possibly switch to a cheaper one. When you calculate the electricity cost of charging, driving electrically costs about €3.8 to €4.6 per 100 km. That's much cheaper than driving with fossil fuel. Charging your car at home costs around €750 per year, while with diesel you quickly spend more than €1,100 and with gasoline more than €1,200. Quite a difference!
While it may be cheaper to drive electric, you must of course take into account the cost of the charging station and installation. Depending on the type of charging station (single-phase or three-phase), the price ranges from 600 euros to 1,500 euros. On top of that, there is the cost of mandatory inspection (100 euros) and installation costs.
So, it takes a while to recoup the cost of your charging station, but this infrastructure offers you many benefits such as greater convenience and higher charging speed.
And what about subsidies for charging stations?
Since 2021, individuals have been eligible for a tax reduction on charging stations installed until the end of 2024. This ended on December 31, 2024. In 2025, there are currently no federal or Flemish subsidies available for home charging stations.
For businesses, there is still an enhanced investment deduction of 100% for charging stations in 2025, provided they are publicly accessible.
However, the governments are making efforts to increase the number of public charging stations. For instance, Flanders aims to have multiple charging stations available in every municipality by 2025 through the public charging station plan.
For the installation of a charging station in a company's parking lot, the business does not need a town planning permit or environmental permit. Fixed installations for charging vehicles and bicycles are exempt from the classification obligation. In the future, some specific conditions for charging stations will need to be adhered to, such as separation distances when there is above-ground storage of dangerous products or gases.
