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EV chargingTethered or untethered? The decision, in sixty seconds
This is the one home charger decision you cannot change later without replacing the unit. It is also simpler than the internet makes it look, and it comes down to where you park and who else might use it.
Updated 4 August 2026 · written by the Clearline guidance team
The difference, plainly
A tethered charger has the cable permanently attached to the unit. You walk up, plug the end into the car, and that is it. An untethered charger is a socket on the wall, so you keep a cable in the boot, plug one end into the wall and the other into the car, then put it away afterwards.
Both deliver the same 7.4kW on a single phase supply. Neither is faster, safer or smarter than the other. The choice is about handling, appearance, flexibility and who is going to use the charger over the next ten years.
| Tethered | Untethered | |
|---|---|---|
| Daily handling | Plug in and walk away, nothing to fetch or store | Fetch cable from the boot, connect both ends, stow it after |
| Cable length | Fixed at purchase. Zappi 6.5m, Ohme Home Pro 5m with an 8m upgrade, Hypervolt 5m, 7.5m or 10m | Your choice, and changeable later |
| Extra cost | None, the cable is included | A decent Type 2 cable runs £100 to £200 |
| Vehicle compatibility | Matched to the connector you buy, in practice Type 2 | Serves Type 1 and Type 2 cars, as the Ohme ePod does |
| Appearance | Busier on the wall, the cable is always visible | Neater, a small unit and nothing hanging off it |
| If the cable is damaged | The unit needs a repair or a cable replacement | Buy another cable |
Cable lengths from manufacturer pages and datasheets, checked August 2026. Cable pricing is a market range and varies by length and current rating.
The case for tethered
Convenience compounds. Charging a car at home is something you do most evenings, often in the dark, often in the rain, often with shopping in one hand. Removing the step where you open the boot, unwind a heavy cable and coil it back up afterwards is worth more than it sounds on paper.
Tethered also removes the cable from the theft and forgetfulness equation. It cannot be left at a service station, it cannot be lent to someone and not returned, and it does not take up boot space. If your parking is directly beside the house and one car uses the charger, tethered is usually the right answer.
The case for untethered
Flexibility is the argument, in three forms. Cable length can be changed later, which matters if you rearrange the driveway or the next car has its charge port on the other side. The unit is neater on a front elevation, which matters on a period property or where the charger is visible from the street. And it serves both Type 1 and Type 2 vehicles, which the Ohme ePod explicitly supports, so a household with an older Type 1 car or a visiting second car is covered.
There is also the physical reality of a long tethered cable. A 10m fixed lead is a substantial thing to manage and store on a wall bracket, and in a small parking space it becomes clutter. If you need real reach, untethered plus a long cable is often tidier than tethered at the same length.
The question that settles it
Where does your car's charge port sit when the car is parked as you normally park it, and how far is that from the wall you can mount on? Measure it, add slack for the door swing and for parking a foot short. If the answer is comfortably inside 5m and one car uses it, take tethered. If it is marginal, awkward or likely to change, take untethered and buy the cable length you need.
Cable length is the real decision underneath
Most tethered regret is length regret. The standard fitted cable across the market is 5m, which is generous for a car parked nose-in beside the house and tight for anything else. The Zappi tethered option is 6.5m, the Ohme Home Pro ships at 5m with an 8m upgrade available, and the Hypervolt Home 3 Pro offers 5m, 7.5m or 10m, the last of which is the longest fitted cable in its class.
Longer is not automatically better. Extra cable is extra weight to lift and extra length to coil, and on a short run it sits on the ground getting wet and dirty. Buy the length that reaches with a little slack, not the longest available.
The hybrid, for people who genuinely cannot decide
The Easee One sits between the two categories. It is untethered with a lockable Type 2 port, which means you can leave a cable permanently plugged in and locked so it behaves like a tethered unit, or unplug and take the cable with you when you want the wall clear. It is the only unit in the mainstream UK lineup that does both properly, and if the decision genuinely is 50:50 it removes the need to make it.
This choice does not affect anything else
Tethered or untethered has no bearing on charging speed, on tariff integration, on solar surplus tracking or on whether your supply needs load balancing. Those are decided by the unit's electronics and your incoming supply, not by the cable format. Pick the format on handling, then pick the model on the features you actually need.
How it interacts with everything else
If solar is part of the plan, the cable question is entirely separate from the surplus tracking question, and both the Zappi and the Hypervolt offer tethered and socket variants of the same intelligence. The mechanics of that intelligence are covered in how solar aware charging works, and the wider model comparison sits in home EV chargers compared.
Twenty minutes on a video call, a look at where you actually park, and a straight recommendation with nothing sold to you. That is the free design call.
Get your free quote →The short answer
- One car, parking beside the house, charge port within easy reach: tethered.
- Two cars, mixed connector types, or a car likely to change soon: untethered.
- Charger visible from the street on a property where that matters: untethered.
- Awkward, long or changeable parking arrangement: untethered with the cable length you need.
- Genuinely torn: a lockable socket unit like the Easee One gives you both.
The charger is one piece of a bigger picture that usually includes solar panels and often battery storage, and the three interact. County pages across the site carry local calculators that model them together, reachable from the coverage map.
Clearline gives independent guidance and does not install. Installations are carried out by an MCS-certified installation team for your area.
Cable questions, answered
Is tethered or untethered better?
Neither is technically better, and both charge at the same speed. Tethered is more convenient day to day because there is no cable to fetch or store, and untethered is more flexible because you choose the cable length, can change it later, and can serve both Type 1 and Type 2 cars. The right answer depends on where you park and how many different cars will use the charger.
How much does a Type 2 charging cable cost?
A decent Type 2 cable runs roughly £100 to £200, and that cost only applies to untethered chargers, since a tethered unit includes its cable in the price. Price varies with length and current rating. Budget for it when comparing an untethered unit against a tethered one.
Should I get a 5m or a 10m cable?
Measure from your intended wall position to where the car's charge port sits when parked normally, then add slack for opening doors and for parking a little short. Most driveways are covered by 5m, which is why it is the market standard. Only go to 7.5m or 10m if the measurement genuinely needs it, because surplus cable is heavy to handle and awkward to store.
What cable lengths do the main chargers offer?
The myenergi Zappi tethered option is 6.5m, the Ohme Home Pro ships with 5m as standard with an 8m upgrade available, and the Hypervolt Home 3 Pro is offered in 5m, 7.5m or 10m, the last being the longest fitted cable in its class. Untethered units such as the Ohme ePod take whatever cable you buy, with 5m and 8m offered as optional extras.
Can one charger serve two cars?
Yes, though not simultaneously on a single unit. An untethered charger handles this better because different cars may use different cable arrangements, and the Ohme ePod supports both Type 1 and Type 2 vehicles. If both cars need charging on the same night, the practical approach is to schedule them across the off-peak window rather than to fit two chargers.
Can I change from tethered to untethered later?
Not without replacing the charger, which is why this is the one decision worth taking time over. A lockable socket unit such as the Easee One is the exception, since a cable can be left permanently attached or removed at will, giving you both formats from one piece of hardware.
See the numbers next: Duracell Dura16, installed, or what a battery costs.
Figures and specifications in this guide are sourced below and were checked on the date shown. Rates and product specifications change; we confirm the current picture on your free design call.
Sources
- myenergi Zappi v2.1 datasheet Rev 2.1.5, tethered 6.5m cable and Type 2 socket with locking system myenergi.com
- Ohme chargers page, Home Pro 5m standard cable with 8m upgrade, ePod untethered with optional 5m and 8m cables and Type 1 and Type 2 support ohme-ev.com
- Hypervolt Home 3 Pro cable options of 5m, 7.5m and 10m teslacharger.co.uk
- Type 2 cable market pricing for untethered chargers teslacharger.co.uk
- Easee One lockable Type 2 port operating tethered or untethered topcharger.co.uk
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