Every charger I install — Zappi, Ohme, Hypervolt, Easee — comes in two versions: tethered (cable attached, ready to plug into the car) or untethered (just a Type 2 socket on the wall, you bring your own cable). The price difference is usually £30-£60. Most customers don't know which to pick.
The Case for Tethered
Convenience, mostly. Walk up, pull the cable out, plug it in, walk away. No fishing a cable out of the boot, no risk of leaving it at home or at a friend's. For 95% of home use, it just works.
Tethered is also slightly more weather-resistant — the connector stays mated to the unit, so the wall socket itself isn't exposed to rain when not in use.
The Case for Untethered
Three real advantages.
First — flexibility. If you have two EVs with different charge port positions (one needs the cable on the left, one on the right), you can swap cables. If a friend or family member visits with their EV, they can use their cable in your charger.
Second — futureproofing. Cable standards have changed before (J1772 to Type 2 in Europe was a hardware change). If they change again, you can swap a cable, not the whole unit.
Third — replaceability. The most common physical failure on an EV charger is the cable, not the unit. On a tethered model, replacing the cable means a service call (£200+). On an untethered, you swap a £150 cable yourself. After 5-7 years of daily use, this matters.
My Default Recommendation
For 90% of customers — single-EV household, you're going to live there 5+ years — I recommend tethered. The convenience genuinely beats the small flexibility loss.
For two-EV households, frequent visitor parking, or if you're renting / planning to move — I recommend untethered.
Pricewise on a typical install: tethered Zappi 7kW is £1,050-£1,150 fitted, untethered is £1,000-£1,100. Same install time, same wiring; the difference is just the unit you select.
A Few Things People Don't Think About
Cable length matters more than people expect. A 5m cable reaches everything for most driveways; a 7.5m cable handles awkward parking but coils messily. If your driveway is tight, ask me to install with the unit 2-3m from the parking spot — gives you slack to plug in either side of the car.
Cable weight: a 7.5m tethered cable on a 7kW charger is heavy (~6kg). Worth thinking about if multiple users in the household are smaller.
Theft is rare in residential settings, but for street-side EV chargers (Pinner has a few new ones near the station), untethered does mean you don't leave a £150 cable on display.
Get a Quote
Use the EV calculator on the pricing page — it lets you pick tethered/untethered + charger model and gives an instant all-in price. Or call 07405 629 940. I cover Pinner, Hemel Hempstead, Harrow, Watford and the surrounding area.