Congratulations! You are either the proud new owner of a planet-saving, neighbour-impressing electric car, or you are thinking about owning a planet-saving, neighbour-impressing electric car. Either way, this is big news.

And presumably if you’ve clicked on an article headlined ‘How do you charge an electric car?’, you’re more likely to be in the latter camp at the moment. If not, well… that is an interesting move on your part.

Vauxhall Ampera Charging (Image: OLEV)

You see, switching from petrol or diesel to a ‘leccy-driven car means you’re about to embark on a number of changes. None more fundamental than how you put the energy in the things to make ‘em move.

So without further ado, here’s our explainer on how to charge an electric vehicle (EV). You could say it’s EV-peasy… yep, bad joke. We’ll up our game now.

How do I charge an electric car?

You charge an electric car by plugging a special charging cable into a special socket. That’s it in a nutshell. What, you want more?

Okay, if you’ve got your own driveway or garage space, the vast majority of the charging you do will take place at home. This is good news because it’s convenient (no more queuing at the forecourt) and where you’ll usually find the cheapest electricity. Yes, even in these financially troublesome times.

Read more: TopGear