Charging a company car at home: 5 options

There’s more than one way to charge at home

When an employee gets an electric company car, one of the first questions is usually: which charger goes in at home? The answer isn’t always a wallbox. Home charging setups range from a standard socket with a mobile cable to a charging station connected to a charge point operator (CPO). Each one charges at a different speed, comes at a different cost and records different data.

Below, we compare the five most common setups, look at the charging speed a company car really needs and explain why the charger no longer decides how you reimburse home charging.

Five home charging options, from lowest to highest cost

1. Standard socket with a mobile charging cable

The car charges from a regular household socket using a mobile charging cable (Type 2 to Schuko). It’s the slowest option, but also the cheapest: there’s no charging station to buy or install. For many drivers, one night on the socket adds enough range for the next day. The socket itself records nothing, though, so this setup gives you no charging data.

Safety first: charging for hours on a household socket puts a long, continuous load on the circuit. Have an electrician check the circuit before the car is charged there regularly.

2. Smart charging cable

A smart (or connected) charging cable is a mobile cable linked to a CPO platform, so it can log home charging sessions for reimbursement. It doesn’t charge any faster than a standard cable on the same socket, and it lacks the energy management features of a smart charging station, such as load balancing. It costs more than a standard cable, usually comes with a subscription and ties you to one supplier.

3. Standard charging station

A standard charging station charges faster than a socket. It’s plug-and-play: plug in, and it keeps charging until the battery is full or the cable is unplugged. There’s no app, no remote control and no charging data. It costs more than a cable and has to be installed by an electrician.

4. Smart charging station

A smart charging station lets you follow and control charging from an app. You can schedule sessions for off-peak hours, keep an eye on consumption and, on many models, use load balancing so the car and the household don’t overload the connection. Smart stations often link up with a home energy management system (HEMS) or solar panels, and some have an RFID reader to identify users. They work without a fleet platform or CPO, but cost more than a standard station.

5. Connected charging station via a CPO

A connected charging station is a smart station linked to a CPO platform through a SIM card or internet connection. That makes split billing possible: home charging sessions are recorded and settled with the employer. Large fleets often work this way. It’s also the most expensive option, usually with a monthly subscription on top, and it ties you to one operator. And it adds links that all have to keep working: the charging station, its connection and the operator’s platform.

What charging speed does a company car really need?

A fast charger at home feels reassuring. But a company car usually stands still for most of the night, and those hours do most of the work.

• Household socket (around 2.3 kW): roughly 100 to 150 km of range in a night of 8 to 10 hours.
• Charging station (7 to 11 kW): roughly 150 to 300 km of range in about four hours, depending on the power.

For most commutes and private trips, a night on the socket is enough. A faster charging station mainly makes sense for drivers who cover long distances every day or rarely spend a full night at home.

In Belgium, there’s one more reason to think about charging speed. In Flanders, the capacity tariff (capaciteitstarief) bases part of the grid costs on the household’s monthly peak in electricity use. Charging at high power while the oven or heat pump is running pushes that peak up. Charging more slowly, or with a smart charging station that spreads the load, keeps it down.

Reimbursement no longer depends on the charger

For a long time, only a smart cable or a connected charging station could record home charging sessions for reimbursement. That’s no longer the case.

EEVEE Mobility reads charging data straight from the vehicle, through the manufacturer’s API. It works with 20+ car brands and needs no extra hardware: no smart cable, no connected charging station. Every session is classified as home, work or public charging, and the data is processed in line with GDPR.

For you as an employer, that means:

• Employees can charge on a socket, an existing charging station or a new one.
• Every setup is reimbursed in the same way.
• You only reimburse the company car’s sessions, because the data comes from the car itself.
• A house move, a shared charging point or a charger from a previous employer doesn’t change the process.

Which measurement the tax authorities accept does differ by country. Belgium, for example, asks for a separate, verifiable measurement per company car with class B accuracy or equivalent. Read more in our article on charging data accuracy.

Which setup makes sense for your drivers?

• Short daily distances and a full night at home: a socket with a mobile cable is often enough, once an electrician has checked the circuit.
• Long distances every day: a standard or smart charging station gives extra margin.
• Solar panels or a limited grid connection: a smart charging station helps manage the load.
• Reimbursement: no longer a reason to choose one setup over another.

Choose the charger that suits the driver

The right home charging setup depends on how far someone drives, where they park and what their home installation can handle, not on how you reimburse. With charging data from the vehicle, each driver charges in the way that suits them, and you still reimburse every home session accurately.

Want to see how EEVEE Mobility handles home charging reimbursement, whatever the setup? Book a demo.