Complete guide to BP Pulse (formerly Chargemaster) home chargers

BP Pulse (known as BP Chargemaster until a December 2020 rebrand) is one of the biggest and best known providers of electric car chargers. It’s responsible for installing over 40,000 home chargers to date, has official partnerships with several car manufacturers and also runs the BP Pulse network of public chargers (formerly known as Polar), as well as offering workplace charging points.

BP Pulse home chargers

BP Pulse home chargers all look much the same; a rather boring but inoffensive-looking, beige, oval box measuring around 35cm at its widest point and 12cm deep. If it’s an aesthetically appealing charger you want, you’re probably going to have to pay a lot more money and go to someone like Andersen.

As it is, Pulse is one of the most affordable home-charger providers, with wallboxes starting from under £300 after the government grant has been applied, including fitting and a three-year warranty.

You can choose to have the box with a 4.7-metre cable tethered permanently into the unit, or with a simple Type 1/Type 2 socket that allows you to plug in with a Type 2 charging cable provided (sometimes optionally) with every plug-in car.

Opt for the premium wallbox (pictured) for an extra £100, and you also get a lock on the box that allows you to prevent anyone without the key from using the charger, as well as three years' access to an online service that shows exactly how much electricity the charger has used.

This makes it easy to calculate costs of charging, provided you know what your home electricity tariff is per kWh (the average is around 14p, but check with your utilities provider if you’re not sure). 

The standard charging speed is 7.4kW, which gives you roughly 30 miles of range per hour. Faster chargers of 11 or 22kW are offered, too, but these require three-phase electrics that are a costly upgrade for most UK homes; they're more commonly used for commercial applications.

Before having the charger installed, you’ll need to provide photos of your fusebox and mains electric meter, as well as the private, off-road location where you want your charger to be fitted.

If you’re applying for the government grant, you'll also need the necessary paperwork including proof of electric vehicle ownership (or proof that you're running one through a company-car scheme) and the car’s registration number to hand.