There’s a unique joy in imagining your EV charging quietly in your garage while you sip your morning chai. No petrol pump queues, no waiting – it feels like a small personal victory every time. Home charging is one of the biggest perks of owning an EV.

Or so it seems.

As someone working in the EV space, I started exploring the actual ground reality of home charging setups in India – not just as a user but through the lens of R&D and product strategy.

On the surface, it’s a fascinating space. There’s a growing list of vendors, cool tech features, smart charging capabilities, and even integration with apps.

I was genuinely curious: what does it really take to set this up at home?

Digging deeper, I quickly realized it’s not as frictionless as it looks. Sure, if you’re going through a one-stop solution provider, things are easier – they handle the charger, installation, approvals, and even app connectivity.

But if you want to build your own stack or mix and match hardware and software? That’s where the cracks start to show.

Let’s talk cost first. Level 2 chargers in India typically range from ₹40,000 to ₹90,000. Installation? That could set you back another ₹30,000 to ₹60,000 depending on wiring complexity, site conditions, and local labor. And while white-labeled chargers are cheaper, many lack long-term reliability or proper software support.

Now comes the tricky part – software onboarding and utility integration.

The government mandates a separate meter for home EV charging, which makes sense for billing clarity. But for that meter to talk to your charger – and your charger to talk to your app – the data layer needs to be tight.

If you’re using a charger from a known OEM, it might just work via a simple QR code scan.

But try connecting a third-party charger to a third-party eMSP app? Good luck. Unless there’s a shared SDK or OCPP compatibility with clear parameter mapping, you’re stuck.

From a user’s perspective, this is where things get frustrating. You don’t want to dive into SDKs, protocols, or OCCP command sets. You just want your app to show charging status, track energy usage, and maybe schedule a session. And yet, the lack of standardization forces many users to either compromise or overspend.

But here’s the opportunity: this is fixable. India’s EV ecosystem is still young, which means there’s a window for companies to build open, interoperable systems.

Standardizing key data points, simplifying integration, and prioritizing user experience over hardware lock-ins can change the game.

And some players are starting to move in that direction—especially in public networks where roaming is beginning to emerge.

I’m optimistic that with time, better cooperation among OEMs, eMSPs, and utilities will bridge the current gaps. For now, if you’re planning a home charging setup, my advice is simple: either go all-in with a bundled solution provider, or be prepared to spend extra time aligning the hardware-software-utility triangle.

It might not be plug-and-play just yet, but the direction we’re headed gives me real hope.