Cheapest Ways to Charge an EV Without a Driveway

How Can You Charge an EV Cheaply Without a Driveway in the UK?

The cheapest driveway-free charging options are council-installed lamp-post chargers (44–50p/kWh), cross-pavement channel systems like Kerbo Charge paired with a home smart tariff, and destination charging hubs at supermarkets or car parks, all significantly undercutting rapid motorway charging at 65–85p/kWh.

Option 1: On-Street Lamp-Post and Bollard Chargers

Over 30,000 on-street chargepoints have been installed across the UK via the On-Street Residential Chargepoint Scheme (ORCS), funded by the Department for Transport and delivered through providers like ubitricity, Char.gy, and Connected Kerb. These retrofit existing lamp posts with 5.5kW–7kW sockets.

1. Typical cost: 44p–50p/kWh (roughly comparable to standard variable home electricity)
2. Charging speed: 5.5kW–7kW — a full charge on a 60kWh battery takes 9–11 hours, suited to overnight parking
3. Availability: Search your local authority's EV charging map; coverage is concentrated in London boroughs, Oxford, Milton Keynes, and other early-adopter councils

Option 2: Cross-Pavement Cable Channels

If you have off-street parking but no direct driveway connection (e.g. a car parked on the street outside your property), a gully or channel system lets you run a cable safely from your home socket across the pavement without creating a trip hazard, avoiding public charging entirely.

Council permission is required, and not all local authorities currently approve channel installations — check with your highways department before purchasing.

Option 3: Multi-Car Charging Hubs and Supermarket Tariffs

Destination hubs at Tesco (via Volkswagen/Pod Point), Lidl, and dedicated forecourts like GRIDSERVE offer AC charging at 22p–35p/kWh while you shop, considerably cheaper than rapid DC hubs. Combine a weekly supermarket top-up with occasional lamp-post charging to avoid rapid charging altogether for most driveway-less EV owners.

Cost Comparison Table

*Based on an average consumption of 3 miles/kWh.