Complete guide to BP Pulse (formerly BP Chargemaster) home chargers

Known as BP Chargemaster before the company rebranded in December 2020, BP Pulse is among the UK's largest and best known providers of home wallbox chargers for replenishing electric-car batteries. It's the preferred partner of a number of major car manufacturers for installing wallboxes to go with an electric or plug-in hybrid car purchase.

BP Pulse has you covered when driving away from home, too, as it also runs the BP Pulse network of public fast, rapid and ultra-rapid chargers (known as the Polar Plus network before the rebrand), as well as offering workplace charging points to companies.

BP Pulse home chargers

Until a new model (pictured at the top of this article) was introduced in mid-2022, BP Pulse home chargers all looked much the same: a rather boring but inoffensive-looking, beige, oval box measuring around 35cm at its widest point and 12cm deep.

You can choose to have the box with a 4.7-metre cable tethered permanently into the unit, or with a simple 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 below) 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 20p these days, 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.