I tried Ohme’s home EV charger and it will make you ditch petrol for good

Whether you like it or not the battery powered EV car revolution is now well underway. The UK government is still hell-bent on banning the sale of new petrol vehicles from 2035 which means all of us will have to go electric at some point in the future. EVs continue to improve at a rapid rate with many new models now able to match their petrol siblings when it comes to range, along with boasting blisteringly quick performance, less maintenance and features such as preconditioning which gets the car toasty and warm before you hop inside for your winter morning’s drive.

There are clearly big bonuses to switching to an EV but one of the biggest gripes for motorists continues to be how to refill that battery. Public charging points are still scarily scarce when compared to the endless supply of petrol stations that are dotted all over towns and cities and battery anxiety remains a big issue for many.

Boosting the power pack away from home can also be ludicrously expensive (around 79p/Kwh) and can take way too long. Luckily, there is another option that makes filling the battery far more convenient and surprisingly cheap.

Ohme is just one of a number of firms offering home charging solutions with the company promising its smart boosters can work out the best time to top up that tank and save you significant amounts of cash.

So can this device really end the worry of ditching petrol and is it worth all the hassle of getting it installed? Express.co.uk has been putting the Ohme Home Pro to the test and here’s our full review.

We have to kick things off by explaining the purchasing and installation process. Firstly, you need to decide which charger you want with Ohme selling two models including the smaller ePod and more advanced Home Pro solution.

There are two distinct differences between these products with the Home Pro offering a touch display and fully tethered connection – a bit like what you find at refilling stations.

The ePod is simply a small box on your wall that lets you plug in your car’s own portable cable each time you want to charge. Both of these gadgets are pretty pricey, with the purchase and installation costs starting from £949.

For our review, we had the £999 Ohme Home Pro fitted which is bigger but makes a quick charge far less hassle as it comes with that cable already attached so there’s no need to go digging around in the boot for the charging wire. The in-built screen also offers some useful info such as how much charge has been put into the battery and when the refill is due to finish.

The whole process of installation was fairly seamless, although you do have to spend some time filling in a form and sending pictures and videos of your home’s walls, access points, fuse box and where you want the box placed on the wall.

Ohme do message you throughout the process to make sure you aren’t having issues which is a nice touch but you will need some patience and time to complete the purchase. Once the form has been approved you then confirm the installation date with numerous times and days to choose from.

On the day of the fitting, our engineer arrived promptly with the Ohme box drilled into the walls and connected within a few hours. The main power supply was also only switched off for a few minutes to complete the energy connection so don’t worry if you work from home and are concerned about losing that all-important Wi-Fi.

Once the power is flowing, it’s then just a simple process of downloading the Ohme app onto your phone and setting things up.

When you log in for the first time, you’ll be asked some simple questions, such as what EV you own and what energy deal you are currently committed to. You can then start charging, and here’s where things get clever.

Yes, you can plug in for an instant boost with the Ohme Pro refilling the battery at around 7.8kWh – during our tests, that speed meant getting around 10 percent an hour (or 30 miles of range) back into our test car – a new Mercedes EQB.

It’s not exactly rapid but this device is designed for when you get home in the evening and leave things refilling overnight – and that’s a process that can be very good for your finances.

A number of energy firms, such as Octopus, offer much cheaper electricity during the early hours of the morning and, thanks to Ohme’s intelligent charging, you can top up the tank for as little as 7p/kWh.

At that price, you could go from flat to full for less than £7.

The beauty of this system is that you simply tell the charger what days you want to charge and the percentage you need in the tank when you wake up and it works out the best and cheapest times to boost the battery. You then plug in and forget about the rest.

The whole process is powered by a very simple app which also shows when the charging took place, how much energy was used and how much it cost.

The app can also be used to verify each session which means passing EVs can’t just pull up on your drive and start pinching power. You can even set times to precondition the car which means the windscreen gets defrosted and seats warmed up without it draining the actual battery.

It’s all very clever but there are some things to note.

Firstly, the Octopus Intelligent Go tariff is slightly more expensive for general daytime use than the firm’s standard plan so you will pay a bit more for energy used during the day. It’s not a massive difference – just a few pence per kWh – but it is worth noting.

If the Ohme charger can’t fill the tank with the required amount of power during the cheap times, it will refill for a short period at the standard rate which can make some refills more expensive than others.

Of course, under £7 per tank is incredibly cheap when compared to over £50 to fill a car with fuel but you have to factor in that initial £1,000 price for the charger itself.

Our only other gripe is that the tethered cable isn’t retractable and doesn’t wind up neatly like some other solutions on the market, so it looks slightly messy on your driveway.

This is a very smart solution to a growing problem we are all soon going to have to face. Refilling at home is super simple and can be unbelievably cost-effective if you pick the right energy tariff.

Top up the battery at the motorway services and you’ll pay over 70p/kWh but do it on your drive and things can cost as little as 7p/kWh or well under £8 to go from flat to full.

The fact that the Ohme charger does all the heavy lifting means you don’t have to sit up until midnight to wait for the cheaper tariffs to kick in.

Just plug in when you get home and wake up with a car that’s refilled and ready to go.

Yes, it’s not cheap to have the Ohme charger fitted but considering a tank of fuel now costs over £50 it shouldn’t take too long to make your money back.

To get the cheapest charging, you will also have to switch to an EV energy tariff which can be slightly more expensive to use during the day.

If you opt for the Home Pro, there’s also that handy but unsightly cable to be aware of.

Despite the high cost of installation and a few changes you’ll need to make to your tariff and appearance of your drive the Ohme charger really is excellent.

It’s super easy to use, takes all the hassle out of filling up your EV and will save you money while you are tucked up in bed.