Can I charge an EV at home on a single-phase supply and run my night storage heaters?
My Kia Sportage is ready for changing this year and I am considering ordering an EV. My problem is that my 3 bed bungalow is heated by night storage heaters using Economy 7. This will use a lot of power at the same time that I would need to charge a car. Will my single phase supply be able to support and cope with both systems. None of the EV charge installers will answer this question until I order a charger. Clearly I don't want to be stuck with an electric vehicle that I cannot charge at home on cheap overnight rate.
Asked on 23 February 2026 by Mr jeffrey Argent
Answered by
David Ross
It is possible to charge an electric vehicle overnight on a single-phase supply, even with your night storage heaters operating. However, different chargers will have different operating methods and safeguards which may alter how both operate together. One solution would be to schedule the charging of the car and operating the storage heaters at different times during the night, so they are not operating at the same time. A smart charger that has load balancing would allow you to run both at the same time without exceeding the capacity of your main fuse, while a less sophisticated charger might limit the power going to the car if the heaters are running at the same time.
Tags:
electric cars
charging an ev
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