Home charging is where most EV owners in India do the bulk of their charging, and it's also where the electric two-wheeler and electric car experience diverges the most.
Two-wheelers: often just a wall socket
Most electric scooters can charge from a standard 5A or 15A household socket using the charger that comes in the box — no dedicated equipment needed. Several models (Hero Vida, Honda Activa e:) go further with removable batteries, letting you carry the battery indoors to charge rather than needing to park the scooter itself near a socket. This is one of the more underrated conveniences for apartment dwellers without dedicated parking-adjacent power.
Cars: a dedicated circuit matters
A car's battery is far larger, and charging it from a standard household socket (even a 15A one) is slow — often 15-20+ hours for a full charge — and puts sustained load on household wiring that isn't necessarily rated for it.
The practical setup for a car is a dedicated Type 2 AC wallbox, typically rated 3.3 kW to 7.4 kW, installed on its own circuit by a qualified electrician. This cuts a full charge down to roughly 6-10 hours depending on battery size and wallbox power — realistic for an overnight charge.
Most manufacturers include a basic home charger with the car purchase, though installation (wiring, a dedicated MCB, sometimes a meter upgrade) is usually a separate cost, and varies by how far the parking spot is from the electrical panel.
Electricity tariffs: check for an EV-specific rate
Several state electricity boards, including Punjab's PSPCL, have introduced separate EV charging tariff categories, sometimes priced lower than the standard domestic slab rate specifically to encourage home charging. Whether this applies depends on your state and whether you've registered your connection under that category — it's not automatic, and worth asking your local DISCOM about directly rather than assuming your existing domestic tariff already accounts for it.
Apartment/society charging
For those without a private parking spot with power access, installing a charger in a shared parking area typically needs the housing society's approval and a dedicated sub-meter, so the cost is billed to the individual owner rather than the society's common electricity account. This is a governance/logistics hurdle more than a technical one, and worth raising with your RWA well before you need the charger installed.
Facts above checked via web search 2026-09-24.