Electric car: Buy the right wall box now

Dhe electric car will soon be in front of the door, and now the next question arises: A wall box for your own home or a rented apartment? Do you need it, is it worth it? The number of publicly accessible charging stations for everyone is exploding. In February, the Federal Network Agency counted almost 70,000 charging points with alternating current and an additional 12,300 fast charging stations with direct current. You can actually do without your own wall box at home or in the underground car park and use the public infrastructure on the go: the idea is to stop for quick charging on long journeys on the motorway and park at a normal charging point in the city.

However, there is a lot to be said for the private wall box, and German electric car drivers also think so. 85 percent of all charging processes take place at home. It’s cheaper if you fill the vehicle’s battery at the price of your own electricity tariff, which is currently an average of 47 cents per kilowatt hour. If you charge publicly, you pay significantly more, you can count on 60 cents up to almost one euro, and as in the mobile phone market, the prices differ according to provider, charging capacity and other tariff items such as a monthly basic fee and penalties for not disconnecting the car in time after the end the refueling. The market is not transparent, and those who load at random without studying the small print can experience nasty surprises.