With electric vehicles flooding UK roads over 1.4 million registered and 450,000 more sold in 2025 alone the question of who foots the bill when guests plug in at your driveway is turning into a quiet domestic flashpoint.
Home charging remains the cornerstone of EV ownership, accounting for 85 percent of sessions thanks to overnight convenience and lower costs than public networks. A typical Level 2 wallbox adds 7kW to 22kW per hour, equating to 2p to 5p per mile depending on tariffs. Overnight guests might draw 20kWh to 50kWh, or £5 to £15 at average rates peanuts compared to petrol equivalents, but enough to irk hosts facing rising energy bills.
Etiquette splits sharply. Pro-chargers argue reciprocity: you offer tea and supper without invoices, so electrons should flow freely. EV evangelists point to environmental wins, with home top-ups displacing dirtier grid power over public stations. Yet hosts without EVs bristle at subsidising a lifestyle choice, especially as 40 percent of UK homes lack off-street parking for safe charging. Flatmates and in-laws report tension, with some installing meters or apps like Zaptec to track usage precisely.
Practical fixes abound. Apps such as ChargePoint or Tibber automate billing via QR codes, while portable J1772 leads with built-in meters tally exact kWh. Bring-a-bottle reciprocity works too £10 Venmo for a full overnight charge smooths feathers. Long-term, bidirectional charging could flip the script, letting guests power your home.