Renault 5 E-Tech Home Charging UK: Cost per Charge, Time & Best Chargers
Vehicle guide
The 52 kWh Renault 5 fills in about 7 hours on a 7 kW wallbox and costs under £4 on an off-peak tariff. Both cables are in the boot, Intelligent Go is buggy through the car, and the deep-sleep quirk is worth knowing.
Battery
52 kWh
20–80% at home
~4h 35m
AC limit
11 kW
20–80% at 7.6p
£2.37
Range
~205 mi
Charging time estimates
Approximate AC charging times
| Charge window | 3-pin (~2.3kW) | 7kW | 11kW max |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20–80% | 14h 40m | 4h 50m | 3h 5m |
| 0–100% | 24h 25m | 8h 0m | 5h 5m |
Assumes 8% charging losses and rounded 5-minute estimates. 3-pin assumes about 2.3kW; 7kW uses up to 7kW; three-phase only appears when the vehicle can accept more than 7.4kW AC.
Vehicle-specific tariff cost
Renault 5 E-Tech (52 kWh) charging cost at 10,000 miles.
EV electricity only, using 3.9 miles per kWh and assuming every charging kWh reaches the listed lower rate. Household electricity and the postcode-dependent standing charge sit outside these figures.
Compare the full household bill, eligibility and achievable off-peak share in the EV tariff decision guide.
Charger picks
Renault 5 E-Tech (52 kWh): 3 chargers we’d pick
Picked for the trade-offs that matter most when you’re buying for Renault 5 E-Tech (52 kWh) specifically.
Best fit for Renault 5 E-Tech (52 kWh)
Tesla Tesla Wall Connector (Gen 3)The Renault 5 dislikes being woken by a charger, so a reliable plain wallbox with the car's own timer is the low-stress pairing; the 7.3 m cable reaches the front-left socket.
- Price
- £475
- Power
- 7.4kW / 22kW
The cheapest OZEV-approved unit at £480, which suits the renters and flat owners this car sells to.
- Price
- £480
- Power
- 7.4kW
Intelligent Go through the charger as a backup to Renault's patchy integration, paired with a car-side schedule so the car is awake for it.
- Price
- £559
- Power
- 7.4kW
The hardware
The Renault 5's Type 2 inlet is on the front left wing, so the socket is at the nose; park nose-in and a 5 m tethered cable reaches from most walls. The on-board charger is 11 kW on every version, which is unusual at this price, so a UK single-phase wallbox gives the full 7.4 kW and three-phase gives 11. Renault supplies both a 6.5 m Type 2 cable and a UK 3-pin lead in the boot, which almost nobody else does.
DC peaks at 100 kW on the 52 kWh car and 80 kW on the 40, enough for a city car's occasional long run.
Variants (2026)
| Variant | Battery (usable) | Max AC | Max DC | WLTP range |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Urban Range (120 hp; Evolution, Techno+) | 40 kWh | 11 kW | 80 kW | 194 miles |
| Comfort Range (150 hp; Techno+, Iconic Five+, Roland-Garros+) | 52 kWh | 11 kW | 100 kW | 258 miles |
Usable capacities; the Comfort Range pack is 55 kWh gross. Real-world range is about 150 and 205 miles. Prices start at £21,495 with the Electric Car Grant applied.
How long it takes to charge the Renault 5
The figures below are for the 52 kWh Comfort Range, the version most people buy, with its 52kWh usable battery.
20% to 80%, the everyday window
| Supply | Charge time (20–80%) | Range added |
|---|---|---|
| 3-pin socket (~2.3 kW) | ~14 hours | ~122 miles |
| 7 kW wallbox | ~4 hours | ~122 miles |
| 11 kW three-phase | ~2.8 hours | ~122 miles |
A full charge fits in an evening on three-phase and comfortably overnight on single-phase; the 40 kWh car is about an hour and a half quicker. A 20–80% top-up on 7 kW is a dinner-to-bedtime job.
0% to 100%
| Supply | Charge time (0–100%) | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 3-pin socket (~2.3 kW) | ~22½ hours | Emergency use only |
| 7 kW wallbox (single-phase) | ~7 hours | The standard overnight charge |
| 11 kW wallbox (three-phase) | ~4½ hours | Only if the house has a three-phase supply |
Costs
The tariff does most of the work. The Renault 5 returns about 3.9 mi/kWh in real-world UK driving.
Cost per full charge (52kWh)
| Tariff | Rate | 0–100% | 20–80% |
|---|---|---|---|
| EDF GoElectric | 6.66p/kWh | £3.46 | £2.08 |
| Octopus Intelligent Go | 7.6p/kWh | £3.95 | £2.37 |
| Octopus Go | 9.5p/kWh | £4.94 | £2.96 |
| British Gas EV Power | 9.5p/kWh | £4.94 | £2.96 |
| Standard variable (Ofgem cap) | 26.32p/kWh | £13.69 | £8.21 |
| Public rapid charger | 79p/kWh | £41.08 | £24.65 |
Annual charging cost at 10,000 miles
| Tariff | Cost per mile | Annual cost |
|---|---|---|
| Octopus Intelligent Go | 1.9p/mile | £195 |
| Octopus Go | 2.4p/mile | £244 |
| Standard variable | 6.7p/mile | £675 |
| Public rapid only | 20.3p/mile | £2,026 |
| Petrol equivalent | ~19p | ~£1,900 |
Petrol assumes 40 mpg at £1.45 a litre. The electricity figures are charging only: no standing charge, and no allowance for the 5–10% lost between the wall and the battery.
The gap between the standard rate and a good EV tariff is several hundred pounds a year on typical mileage, and it costs nothing to close. The interactive savings calculator runs the numbers for your mileage; the UK EV Charging Cost Index compares every tariff per mile.
NMC battery, and a car that sleeps too well
Both Renault 5 packs are NMC, so the 80% daily limit applies, with 100% for trips; the My Renault app has a "ready by" scheduler and a charge-limit setting.
The quirk that matters more is the car's deep sleep. Several owners report that once the Renault 5 has been plugged in and gone to sleep, it will not wake for a charger-initiated start, so a smart charger or Octopus trying to begin a session at 1am finds the car unresponsive; some report the 12V battery flattening after repeated wake attempts (SpeakEV, OVO forum). Pressing the charge-port button can also override a schedule (Renault 5 forum). The reliable pattern is to set the schedule in the car, so it is the car that wakes itself, and treat the wallbox as a dumb socket.
Smart tariffs and the Renault 5
Renault is on Octopus's car-side list for Intelligent Go, and owners do get the Renault 5 working through the Mobilize link, but the reports are of a bumpy ride: failed starts, slots missed while the car sleeps, and one car per account (PistonHeads thread). Run Octopus's checker before you switch, and be ready to fall back to the car's own "ready by" schedule on Octopus Go or EDF GoElectric, which it handles well. A charger with its own Octopus link does not fix the sleep problem on its own, because the car still has to accept the start.
Choosing a charger
Every home charger on this site works with the Renault 5: Type 2 is universal for UK AC charging. For once the advice is the reverse of usual: because the car dislikes being woken, a simple, reliable wallbox plus the car's own scheduler is the low-stress setup.
- Tesla Wall Connector at £475: a plain, well-made socket with a 7.3 m cable; let the Renault's own timer run the show.
- Easee One at £480: the cheapest OZEV-approved unit, which matters for renters and flat owners, who are a large part of this car's market.
- Ohme Home Pro at £559: if you want Intelligent Go via the charger as a backup to the Renault link. It still needs the car awake, so pair it with a car-side schedule.
The 3-pin lead in the boot is a genuine bonus: it means a new owner can live with a socket for a few weeks while the wallbox is fitted.
Full head-to-heads are on the charger comparison page, and the smart-tariff chargers guide covers which units talk to which supplier.
Common questions
Can I charge a Renault 5 from a 3-pin plug?
Yes, and Renault includes the lead. At about 2.3 kW, a full 52 kWh charge takes most of a day, so it is a stopgap rather than a plan. 3-pin guide.
Does the Renault 5 work with Intelligent Octopus Go?
On paper yes, through Renault's integration; in practice owners report missed starts because the car sleeps. Check Octopus's eligibility tool and keep the car's own schedule as the fallback.
Does the Renault 5 have Vehicle-to-Load?
Yes: 3.7 kW through a £100 adapter. The 11 kW on-board charger is also bidirectional-capable, but no UK vehicle-to-grid service is live for it yet.
Is 7 kW enough?
Easily. A full charge is 7 hours, a typical night's top-up is under two. The 11 kW charger only pays off if you already have three-phase.
Getting set up
- Switch to an EV tariff before anything else; the saving starts the day it goes live.
- Choose a charger, or compare them all.
- Get installation quotes: up to three local installers, no obligation.
- Read the installation guide so the day itself holds no surprises.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions.
Your next useful step: compare the recommended home chargers.