Written by: Briain Kelly, Editor
Cost of installing a home EV charger
This price includes both the charger and installation in most cases, but if your home needs electrical upgrades it could be higher. Homes without driveways, or apartments, may also face more expensive installation scenarios.
EV charger
This typically costs €400 – €900 by itself if you are buying the charger. It may be less expensive if you get one as part of a contract with an installer.
Isolation switch
This must be installed within 2m of a wall-mounted charger based on NSAI standards.
Charger pedestal
Used when a charger is not being mounted on the wall of a building. They cost €150 – €500 depending on materials, cable management, weight capacity, and if a mounting plate is included.
Home EV charger grant
The SEAI offers a €300 grant for homeowners getting an EV charger. To qualify, you must live in a house with off-street parking. If you have on-street parking, which is common in towns and cities, you cannot get the grant.
Learn more about the eligibility requirements for the home EV charger grant.
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What affects installation prices?
Electric car charger costs are affected by factors such as the brand and model of the charger, and how much electrical work is required at your home.
In a normal installation without any upgrades required the installer will run a heavy duty cable from your fuse box to where the charger is mounted. The further the charger is placed from the fuse box, the more cabling is required.
Homes without a driveway
Installing a charger on a home without a driveway is more complex and usually more expensive. Homeowners with on-street parking will have to find an alternative method of extending the charger’s reach.
Charging Arm: This is a gantry or pole with an extended arm designed to suspend a charging cable from above, so that it can reach a car parked on the street without running along the ground. You may spend up to €3,500 installing a charging arm.
Cable Gully: Installing a charger on a pedestal near the entrance to a property and cutting a gully into the path to run the cable through can cost between €2,500 and €3,500. This includes the groundworks and charger installation.
Key Point: These methods outlined above require approval from your local authority as they involve public paths and roads.
EV charging station type
7kW vs 22kW: Chargers capable of up to 22kW AC charging speeds can be €100 to €200 more expensive than 7kW chargers.
Tethered vs untethered: A tethered charger might be more expensive than an untethered model, since it always includes the cost of the cable. However, many socketed chargers come with a charging cable as standard.
Electrical upgrades that may be needed
Some homes may need electrical updates to install an EV charger. This may mean having an earth rod installed, replacing your home’s meter tails, or upgrading the fusebox. Your installer will tell you if you need any of these upgrades, or all of them, after carrying out a survey.
Installing an earth rod to ground an electrical discharge in the event of a fault can cost between €200 and €800.
The electrical cables connecting your meter to the fusebox may have to be replaced with thicker, 25mm² wiring to handle the increased load from the charger.
The price for this can vary greatly depending on the property, from as little as as €500 – €600 to many thousands of euro. There is also a a €203 connection fee from the ESB.
Older fuseboards may need to be replaced if they do not have enough spare capacity or RCD protection. Chargers with dynamic load balancing and built in RCD protection can make this less necessary.
How much does it cost to charge an electric car?
Home charging
Most home charging is done at night, often using discounted electricity rates that make it much cheaper than daytime charging. The average night-time electricity rate in Ireland at the end of 2025 was €0.1542 per kWh according to the SEAI Domestic Fuel Cost Comparison.
Example: Charging a car with a 52kWh battery from 10% to fully charged will cost just €7.22 at this price.
Public charging
The price of pay-as-you-go charging with ESB ecars, the largest public charging network in Ireland, can be as high as €0.73 per kWh.
- AC Charging (Up to 50kW): €0.61 per kWh
- DC Charging (50kW+): €0.73 per kWh
Example: Charging a car with a 52kWh battery from 10% to fully charged using a fast charger will cost €34.16.
How much can you save by charging at night?
Charging at night can be much cheaper than during the day, with many electricity providers offering dedicated plans with lower rates for EV charging during the early hours of the morning.
The value of these tariffs is determined by how much charging you need to do nightly, the price per kWh, and the hours in which they are available.
If you have home solar panels and a battery you can save even more at night with solar EV charging.
Tip: If you only need to do one or two hours of charging per night, then look for the cheapest rate. But if you charge for 4+ hours regularly, then look for longer hours of availability.
| Supplier | Standard EV Rate (Inc Vat) | Hours Available |
|---|---|---|
| Bord Gáis | 10.57c | 2am - 5am |
| Electric Ireland | 11.51c | 2am - 4am |
| Energia (Smart Drive) | 10.47c | 2am - 6am |
| Energia (Smart Drive Plus) | 12.26c | 2am - 6am |
| Flogas | 14.03c | 2am - 5am |
| SSE Airtricity | 17.33 | 11pm - 5am |
Best EV charging night rates in Ireland, as of 13 August 2026. These are prices inclusive of VAT with no discount applied.
FAQs
Compared to using public charging, a home EV charger can save €25 or more per full charging session. This means that it will pay for itself in as little as 24 to 52 charging sessions.
If you have a home charger then it typically costs just over €3 to drive an electric car 100km. That is based on a mix of 90% home charging and 10% public charging, with an average price of €0.21 per kWh. The price of driving the same distance in a petrol or diesel car is three times higher according to the SEAI.
- Electric Car: €3.27
- Petrol Car: €9.80
- Diesel Car: €10.02
Yes, getting an EV wall charger is worth it for anyone who drives regularly due to the charger speeds, and features like scheduling that make it easier to use cheap night rates.
Reduce your driving costs by over 60% with a home EV charger
Reduce your driving costs by over 60% with a home EV charger
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