Tethered vs Untethered EV Chargers
The cable is usually supplied with the unit for no additional cost. Another big advantage of tethered chargers is that they are very easy to use. There is no need to look for a charging cable every time you want to charge your car. The cable is attached to the charger and is always available when you need it. You simply need to plug them into an outlet and you are good to go.
This gives it the look and feel of a tethered unit, but you can easily switch it back on the App to a socketed unit if you wish. Tethered EV home chargers provide an added layer of theft protection to your home EV charger compared to untethered EV home chargers. With tethered units, the cabling is embedded directly into the unit, and it can not be removed (so it can’t be stolen!).
Obviously, it won’t look so unwieldy because it is attached to your wall but the charging cable is built into the unit itself. In this way, it is more similar to when you’re using a petrol pump. What exactly is the difference between a tethered and untethered charger? If you’ve just purchased or are planning to purchase a new electric vehicle, you must consider whether to opt for a tethered or untethered charger. Unfortunately, both tethered and untethered chargers can attract thieves who may want to steal your cable, which is worth around £20 scrap.
Me, I prefer untethered chargers because I would much rather have a clean, simple home charger installation with no cable tidy. But I can totally understand why you might prefer a tethered charger that has the cable ready to go all the time. One of the biggest benefits of untethered chargers is that they are extremely portable. Additionally, they are often less expensive than tethered chargers. These are the American/Japanese standard, and are the plug used by Asian manufacturers, such as Nissan and Mitsubishi.
Our cable-attached charger is £24.50/month with 0% APR over 3 months or £882 upfront, including installation. Our cable-attached charger is £26.50/month with 0% APR over 3 months or £954 upfront, including installation. We refer to our tethered EV home charger as a ‘cable-attached’ charger – because the cable comes attached to the charger. While you can use a normal 3-pin plug to charge, this should only be your backup option. This is known as a trickle charge – and, when we say it trickles, it trickles! It has 3kW of power and charges 10 miles RPH instead of 7kW of a home charger that charges at miles RPH.
Tethered is definitely the more popular because it allows you to just park up and start charging without having to find your cable. You do have to make sure that you wrap the cable around a hook or the unit itself to make sure you don’t drive over it or it gets damaged in another way. Well now we’re here to explain the key differences and how ultimately it’s down to you which charging station you prefer. Quality – as the lead is permanently tethered to the charger, it is less likely to get damaged.
With an estimated 80% of electric car charging taking place at home, it’s important to make sure you choose the right charger for you and your vehicle. This guide will look at the two styles of home charging points, tethered and untethered. If you’ve just brought or are planning to buy a new plug-in electric car and want to charge it at home, you will need to decide which charger is suited best to you.
Let us know in the comments below which one you’ve chosen if you already have a charger installed. We’d love to know the reasons why you’re choosing one over the other. One of the advantages of tethered chargers is that they come with a future proof own charging cable.
One of the most important things to consider is whether you need a tethered or untethered EV charger. Compare this to Untethered, where the cable is a lot easier to steal as it’s not permanently attached to the wall box, which then gives criminals an opportunity. Installation is up to 20% cheaper than Tethered, this is because the installers are not having to fix the cable to the unit. So once, the Untethered charging station is set up, the cable is down to the owners. The cable comes as one with the unit so you won’t have to pay an additional price to buy the cable. With all chargers that are tethered, the cable is part of the package so you don’t have to worry about additional costs.
Some units have the cable coiled around them, whilst others have a holder fitted which makes for neater storage and aesthetics. Neither a tethered nor untethered charging point is better than the other but there are some advantages and disadvantages to consider when having one installed. Ultimately, the charger you choose will depend on personal choice and convenience. Before we look at the differences in more detail, however, it is worth mentioning that there are also two types of charging sockets; simply referred to as Type 1 or Type 2.