There’s a whole industry built around convincing you that you need the fastest possible charger at home. And for some people — sure, a 7 kW wallbox makes sense. But the honest truth is that most EV and PHEV owners, most of the time, don’t actually need one. Especially PHEV owners, whose batteries are often 18–30 kWh — a portable charger handles that easily overnight.

Yes, Level 1 is slow. Slower than a wallbox. But here’s the thing nobody mentions: you’re charging while you sleep. You don’t experience the slowness. Your car doesn’t care. And the electricity cost is identical — because you pay for kilowatt-hours, not speed.

Level 1 can also be an ideal starter for Airbnb and Guesthouse Hosts

Let’s run this properly. A 40 kWh battery, starting at 60% on Monday morning. You drive 100 km every day (typical Cape Town commute and errands). You plug in your 2.3 kW portable charger when you get home and unplug when you leave — 10 hours overnight. That’s it. No wallbox. No planning. Just plug in and sleep.

Your car uses roughly 16.7 kWh per 100 km (typical for a modern EV at 6 km/kWh). Your charger adds 23 kWh per night. Here’s what actually happens:

Here’s the part that surprises most people. Charging speed has absolutely no effect on what you pay. You buy electricity in kilowatt-hours — not hours. Whether you add 23 kWh in 10 hours (portable) or 23 kWh in 3.3 hours (7 kW wallbox), the electricity cost is identical: 23 kWh × R3.50 = R80.50. The wallbox just gets there faster.

Level 1 is not a compromise — it’s the right starting point for most people. But there are real situations where a wallbox is genuinely worth it. The smart approach is to start with a dedicated 16A socket, and upgrade the circuit to a wallbox later without any rework.