This video looks at charging with the most basic equipment, a lead that connects your domestic supply to the car's on board AC charger with an ordinary domestic plug.
This unit is affectionately known as the "granny lead" due to the slow rate of charge, and possibly also because your granny wouldn't have a wall box, you'd have to use this if you wanted to charge at her place! It is also sometimes known as the "charging brick"
The correct terminology for this unit is EVSE which stands for Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment. In the early days of Electric Vehicles, many homes didn't have a wall box, and this would be the only way of charging your car, from your outdoor domestic plug socket at 2KW. With a tiny 20KWh battery, the car could be fully charged at 2KW in 10 or so hours. As a result, pretty much every EV came with one of these, but it is now becoming less common due to larger battery sizes and cost cutting by manufacturers.
As batteries have got bigger, the need to charge using a 2KW supply has decreased, and most EV owners have a dedicated 7KW wall box fitted. However, there are 3 common scenarios where a granny lead can be handy:
1) Overnight charging at friends / family / holiday cottages etc. - make sure you have permission to plug in at any destination you are visiting, because legally, if you don't, it is theft! It is also good manners to offer a contribution towards the electricity bill. If they say no, it means NO, and you'll have to find somewhere else to charge.
2) Using your low (sub 4KW) output solar to charge the car for free - basically using a 2KW EVSE allows you to put excess solar energy off your domestic solar panels in to the car without also drawing lots of power from the grid, as a 7KW wall box would do. Many modern wall boxes like the Zappi can do this for you automatically.
3) Desperation - you've run out and need some power form anywehere you can get it - knocking on doors might get you an hour or 2 of top up if you can find a friendly home owner to agree to helping you out, at least 2 hours on the granny lead will give you 10-12 miles to find a faster charger!
Granny leads also often come with quite short cables. There are 2 reasons for this:
1) Voltage drop - the longer the cable, the less power reaches the car due to internal resistance.
2) The manufacturers are cutting costs everywhere they can.
Always make sure the plug socket and domestic wiring are up to supplying 2KW CONTINUOUSLY. If in doubt get an electrician to check the socket for you.
Most important rules if using an extension cable:
1) Make sure it has high quality plugs and sockets
2) Make sure the cable conductors are at least 2.5mm to not get hot
3) Always fully uncoil your lead, no matter what
4) Use a DriBox or similar in wet conditions for the plug/socket