6 Months Living With an EV with no Home Charger!

There’s one question I get asked constantly whenever people find out I drive an EV:
“But what do you do about charging if you don’t have a charger at home?”
After just over 6 months with my MG4, the honest answer is surprisingly simple:
I just charge it publicly. And it’s been fine. No crazy major issues!

Now technically, I do have a driveway. Which instantly makes me sound like one of those smug “just install a charger” people. But despite having the option, I decided not to install one. I rent my house and although my landlord gave permission, the physical setup between the house and the driveway would have required more work and expense than I felt comfortable investing into a rented property.

Instead of forcing it, I made a different decision. I took the money I would have spent on installing a home charger and simply built public charging into my monthly budget instead.

And honestly? It’s worked better than I expected.

Public Charging Really Isn’t as Scary as People Think

I think one of the biggest barriers to EV adoption is how intimidating public charging sounds before you actually do it.

People imagine complicated apps, broken chargers, huge queues, and planning every journey like a military operation.

The reality, at least for me, has been far less dramatic.

Most of the time charging simply happens alongside my normal life. If I’m going somewhere for a few hours, I’ll usually check whether there are chargers nearby. If I know I’ve got a longer drive the next day, I might top the car up the evening before.

That’s genuinely the biggest lifestyle adjustment I’ve had to make.

Not difficult.
Not stressful.
Just slightly different.

I think what helped me personally is that I’d already spent a lot of time driving different EVs before committing to my own. By the time I got the MG4, using public charging already felt normal to me.

The “where can I charge while I’m there?” mindset had already become second nature.

The Apps and Services That Have Made It Easier

One thing that definitely helps is having the right tools.

I obviously use Paua regularly, which makes managing charging incredibly straightforward. The Paua card means I’m not juggling endless apps and accounts, and Paua Reimburse has genuinely been useful for separating business and personal charging costs without creating spreadsheet chaos.

I also have a Shell Recharge subscription because I’m lucky enough to have Shell chargers close to where I live. The discounted charging rate works really well for my driving habits and helps keep charging costs predictable.

That combination has made public charging feel much more seamless than I expected when I first got the car.

Would a Home Charger Be Better?

Absolutely.

I don’t think there’s any point pretending otherwise.

Being able to plug in overnight at home is obviously the easiest and most convenient version of EV ownership. If installing a charger was simple and cost-effective for me, I probably would have done it.

But I also think there’s a huge misconception that home charging is essential for EV ownership.

It isn’t.

Could it make life easier? Definitely.

Is it the difference between EV ownership being possible or impossible? Not even close.

There are thousands of people living perfectly happily with EVs while relying on public charging, workplace charging, destination charging, or a mix of all three.

And as the charging network continues improving, that experience only gets easier.

The Biggest Thing I’ve Learned

The biggest surprise over the last 6 months is how quickly charging stopped feeling like “an EV thing” and just became another normal habit.

You adapt incredibly quickly.

You learn your local chargers.

You learn which locations are convenient.

You naturally start combining charging with shopping, work, coffee stops, or longer trips.

And after a while, you stop thinking about it altogether.

If anything, this experience has made me realise that we sometimes overcomplicate the conversation around EV ownership.

Yes, home charging is brilliant.
Yes, it’s convenient.
But no, you absolutely do not need it to enjoy owning an EV.

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About Paua

‍Paua is a UK EV charging payment platform for fleets. We help businesses pay for electric vehicle charging across public networks, home charging and shared depots, giving fleet managers control over time, cost and data as they electrify.‍

Read more about out EV charge card here.

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