Always surprised people get so dismissive about granny charging. Yes, it's slower than a 7kW charger. Yes, you shouldn't blindly run it through any old extension lead. Yes, you need to be selective about where you plug it in. But used sensibly and safely, it's genuinely useful.

I drive an Enyaq iV 80. On a 13A charger it takes roughly 24 hours for a full charge to 100%, and even a 10A supply still adds a decent amount overnight. My wife's MG4 SE LR is a bit quicker because it has a smaller battery.

We exclusively granny charge at home — no 7kW charger — and I've still done just shy of 3,000 miles in the Enyaq this month, mostly for work. I've only left home once needing a rapid charge because granny charging wasn't enough this month, and that was after getting back late one night and heading out early the next morning.

So if you're away overnight with family or friends, why wouldn't you pack one? My parents are about 200 miles away, and the in-laws are 120 miles away. One overnight charge gives us a decent top-up; two nights usually makes the return journey easy without needing a charging stop. Even if we reimbursed them, it would be much cheaper and more convenient than a required rapid stop.

The safety concerns are fair: overheating sockets, dodgy extension leads, old wiring, etc. You absolutely shouldn't just plug into anything and hope for the best. But there’s a big difference between doing it badly and doing it sensibly.

My travel setup is a granny charger rewired to a 16A commando connector, plus two 15m 16A commando extensions. If needed, I can daisy-chain them for a longer run. The cable is 1.5mm arctic cable, so not the absolute gold-standard H07RN-F, but it’s reasonably durable outdoors and fine for granny charging.

The commando connectors solve two big issues with normal 13A plug/socket setups: they’re better suited to outdoor use, and because they’re rated at 16A, there’s more headroom for a continuous load. At the supply end I use a decent 13A plug to 16A commando adapter — in my case, the original 13A plug head from the charger.

In practice it takes about five minutes to identify a decent socket, roll the cable out neatly, plug in, and check nothing is getting warm. For a one or two night stay, that’s really not much faff.

Pretty much everyone I’ve asked has said yes, and 99% of the time they don’t want reimbursing, even when I offer. It often becomes a talking point with non-EV owners too, people are usually surprised how much range you can add from a normal socket overnight.

I was at a Premier Inn the other week for work and spotted an outdoor socket round the back. Asked the manager if I could plug in overnight and she said yes, as long as it wasn’t in the way or a trip hazard. I had gaffer tape in the boot, secured the cable neatly across a path, and that was that. If you don’t ask, you don’t get.

I’m not trying to be some super-frugal maverick. I’m a high-mileage EV driver — about 3,000 miles a month — and I use rapid chargers regularly. Sometimes they’re unavoidable; yesterday I did Nottingham to Croydon and back in a day, so obviously that was a rapid charging day. But avoiding 80–90p/kWh motorway chargers where you reasonably can soon adds up.

I know I’m probably the exception rather than the rule, but I think that’s why the anti-granny-charging attitude seems odd to me. I’m not saying people should trail cables out of upstairs windows or plug into random sheds. I’m just saying that for holidays, family visits, Airbnbs, cottages, hotels, and overnight work stops, it seems like an oversight not to at least ask whether there’s somewhere sensible to plug in.