ChargeMakers delivers to companies and individuals. We therefore accept iDeal payments and payment by bank transfer (SEPA). These are both available at the checkout of the order in the ChargeMakers Store. In front of foreign customers can be used bank transfer or bank contact.

At iDeal, the payment is immediately processed and received by us. We'll get started right away. With the bank transfer you have up to 14 days to make the payment. After ordering you will receive an email with the details of how to make the payment from our payment partner Mollie. A day after payment, it is received by us and we start working with the order.

If you are in a hurry, order and pay with iDeal. This way your order is completed the fastest.

Settlement is the reimbursement of the electricity charged at home (kWhs) by the employer. A smart charging station with a back office subscription is the most practical for this. This combination ensures that the charged kWhs are charged to the employer on a monthly basis and paid out to you.

Collection and payment is done by the back office supplier, who charges a monthly fee in the form of a subscription. The costs of this subscription are usually between €4 and €5 per month.

Which charge card is required depends on your goal: charge at home (with settlement via the business), public charge or fast charge.

Loading at home: If your employer or your own business reimburses your charging costs, you have a back office provider that keeps track of your charging sessions and pays you monthly (and invoices to the business). In general: take a charge card from your back office provider. This way you avoid any additional costs (roaming) that are charged if you charge with a different card at your own charge point. For example, with E-Flux, the business pays 2 cents per kWh on top of the cost of your electricity to E-Flux because you do not charge with an E-Flux charge card. This also applies to NewMotion, EVBox, etc.

Public loading: There are charge cards with and without a monthly subscription. The passes with a subscription (a few euros per month) usually give the most favorable price at the public charging station. The difference lies in a roaming rate per kWh of 1 or 2 cents and/or an average starting rate of 35 cents for the free charge card, while the subscription pass charges the basic kWh price and no starting rate. For example, E-Flux provides both types of passes, while NewMotion (Recharge) only provides the free pass. It's up to you to calculate whether you're loading enough publicly to take out those monthly subscription costs.

Fast charging: Fast charging (DC charging) is done on the road if you don't have enough range to get to your destination. Fast charging speeds up to 350kW, but is also more expensive than AC charging (at home or public). Different charge cards have more favorable rates for this, but that changes regularly, so check which card is now the most advantageous for fast charging – and with which network. Fastned, Ionity, Shell Recharge are some of the big names in fast charging land.

A number of passes/apps that we have been using for years to our satisfaction:

NewMotion: Request Shell Recharge (formerly NewMotion) pass through their app. Good to have on hand for public charging (just charging on the street) and a cheap pass for fast charging at Shell stations (without subscription, free pass): https://newmotion.com/nl-nl/landing/shell-recharge-laadpas

Fast charging at Fastned along the highway:  https://fastnedcharging.com/nl/app Just create an account, add payment method and you can load. No card needed and you only pay for the electricity used – no subscription (but you can get a discount).

Request an E-Flux charge card (at the office). Needed to settle on your own charger at home without penalty, also a good card for public charging. With subscription, free pass: https://dashboard.e-flux.nl/signup

Maingau offers a discount of 5 cents per kWh for Fastned (along the highway) fast chargers. So 54 cents per kWh instead of 59. Pas currently costs a one-time money (9.99), but no subscription costs. https://www.maingau-energie.de/service/kontaktformular

Here you can read more about which charge card is suitable for which situation and the costs: https://laadpastop10.nl

Keep an eye on; fast charging is about twice as expensive as slow charging at the street pole. Still cheaper than diesel or petrol by the way 😉

A frequently asked question to ChargeMakers; can't I just always charge from the wall socket with the mobile charger (granny charger) that I got with my car?

It is possible to charge on 220v via a regular plug and a granny charger is included with most new electric cars. At first glance, this seems like an attractive way of charging.

However, we do not recommend the structural use of this 1-phase 220v charger because it is connected to an ordinary socket. An outlet and the wiring to it is not designed to withstand a maximum load of 5-10 or even 15 hours. The risk of heat development in the socket and the wiring (with all branches in the walls and ceilings to possibly other consumers) is real and it can even start a fire.

That is why a charging point with 1 cable is directly and permanently connected to the meter cupboard and it gets its own group that is fused to the power of the charger. This eliminates the risk of overload. The charger itself, unlike the 220v charger, is designed to be used at full power for a long time without overloading. 

Then there is the issue of charging speed. A recent EV such as the Q4 (or e.g. Enyaq, ID.4, etc) has a battery capacity of 52 to 78 kWh. If you want to charge it from 10% to 90%, it will take 52 * 0.8 / 3.7 = 11.5 hours with the 52kWh battery. With the 78kWh variant, that is even 17 hours. Not ideal in terms of charging time and it becomes even longer, because the car is 'awake' all the time and also consumes part of the power that comes in to control the computers, battery cooling / heating and charging unit.

Conclusion: Put safety and comfort first and charge via a charging station.