A charging station at home: everything you need to know

Is it still worth having an electric charging station at home, even if your employer will not (fully) reimburse the cost of purchase and installation? We think so. Read on to find out the costs and benefits involved as well as a few tips.

On Belgian roads, you will increasingly encounter private charging stations in people's homes. Thirty percent of drivers who lease a car with Arval now have a charging solution at home. Of course, not everyone can install a charging station just like that. For people living in a terraced house without a driveway or garage, this can be a real challenge. If you live in an apartment building and the co-owners do not allow it, it's nothing short of impossible..

How much does a home charging station cost?

If you have the option to install one and you have an electric company car (or if you might have one in the future), it is still advisable to install a smart charging station at home. The cost is approximately €2,000. When electric driving took off a few years ago, many companies decided to assume this cost in full in order to accelerate the transition.

Some companies are still doing this. Other companies offer their employees the option of purchasing a charging station through their cafeteria plan. Another increasingly common alternative (also offered by Arval) is for the cost of the charging station to be included as an option in the leasing contract. This makes sense, as spread over the duration of a 48-month lease period, a charging station worth €2,000 has a minimal impact on the lease price.

Opt for a smart charging station

From an employer's point of view, charging a car at work is preferable (because the cost is lowest). Home charging is the second-cheapest option. Public charging is usually the most expensive option. The car policy tells you the maximum amount you are allowed to charge at public charging stations.

For you as a lease driver, a smart charging station is very useful, as it can monitor your charging activity and forward this data to other systems, such as those of your employer, your payroll service provider or your leasing company. This allows them to quickly reimburse you for the costs of charging at home and reduces the administration involved.

There are also a number of other advantages that come with a smart charging station. If you have solar panels at home, for example, you can use the energy you generate as effectively as possible in combination with an energy management system, thereby enabling you to avoid peak consumption. The latter is already being encouraged in Flanders through the capacity tariff.

If you're changing your job or leasing company, you can continue to use your smart charging station and recover the electricity costs if the car policy allows it. You can also have your partner charge at the same charging station, even if they are with another leasing company. The provider will then make your charging station semi-public so you can use it to charge multiple vehicles, each with their own charging card.