Worth knowing on electric mobility

You should only charge your car from a normal household socket using a suitable (emergency) charging cable. The condition of the installation should be checked by a registered electrician in advance.

Electric vehicles can be charged from a professionally installed household socket, provided it is designed for a continuous load of 16 amperes, an output of 2.8 kW is not exceeded, and no other electric devices are connected in the same circuit. Only a registered electrician can verify if these requirements are met. However, since these requirements are not always met, it is mandatory to install an individual charging station on a separate circuit with an approved residual-current circuit breaker (RCCB). You should only charge your car from a normal household socket in an emergency.

Owing to the high power consumption in comparison to other household appliances over a period of several hours, the household socket as well as the cabling behind it will heat up when a vehicle is being charged from a normal household socket. If using a technically unsound installation or older cable, heat generation could lead to cable fires or melting household sockets. Moreover, due to the low charging output, charging from a household socket takes longer than from an installed charging station – such as a wallbox charger or a free-standing charging column.

Modern (emergency) charging cables have a control and protective device built into the charging cable. This limits the charging current to 13 amperes (approx. 2.8 kW) and monitors the temperature of the Schuko plug, which can lead to a further reduction of the charging current. In other words, charging with these (emergency) charging cables is safe, but relatively slow compared to charging via a wallbox.

The charging output for private charging infrastructure ranges from normal household sockets at ≤ 2.8 kW up to 22 kW. For charging outputs above 2.8 kW, charging takes place from an installed charging station – such as a wallbox or free-standing charging column.

Charging outputs of 3.7 kW up to 22 kW are generally used for private wallboxes, which make direct use of the alternating current or three-phase (AC) current from the grid. Direct current charging columns (DC fast charging, from 50 kW to 150 kW) are not suitable for the requirements of private charging. They are comparatively more expensive and exceed the capacity of normal mains connections on account of their high power consumption.

The maximum possible charging output is not only limited by the wallbox; it is also dependent on the vehicle type. The compatibility of the charging station with the vehicles to be charged should therefore be established before the charging station is purchased.

Please contact a registered electrician for a cost estimate for a wallbox (purchase cost, installation cost, etc.).

You can find information on our grid fees, metering fees, levies, charges and services in our price sheets.

to the pricing leaflets grid fees

to the pricing leaflet measurement operation (meter)

In addition to many energy providers, other market players such as the electrical trade offer suitable charging stations for any application. Stromnetz Berlin does not sell wallboxes.

Yes, you can take advantage of our reduced grid fees for charging your electric car and save money on every kilowatt-hour purchased.

You can benefit from these reduced grid fees by allowing us (the network operator) to suspend the power supply to your charging infrastructure during fixed periods. This can reduce your grid fees by more than half, for example, if you only charge your car outside the period from 6 pm to 8 pm.

You can find an overview of the reduced grid fees in our Grid Fees price sheet under 1. Grid fees for load profile customers.

to the pricing leaflet grid fees

A control device simply has to be added to your wallbox and a separate metering point with a tariff switching device installed.
Please note: not every car or charging station supports this. Please contact us for more information.

You can receive advice from an electrician or technical planner.
The State of Berlin launched an additional funding programme for small and medium-sized enterprises in Berlin to promote e-mobility for business (WELMO: wirtschaftsnahe Elektromobilität). Advice about how to maximise potential and implementation is also provided as part of this funding programme. The full funding conditions are available (in German) at www.welmo.de.

Stromnetz Berlin offers advice about how to maximise potential and implementation within this framework.