How To Charge Car Battery With Home Electricity?

Last Updated on March 18, 2022 by

The battery of your car is one of the most important components in your car that needs to be kept in top condition.

Whether in a petrol car or an electric vehicle, without a battery you won’t be able to go anywhere.

Car batteries do regularly get drained so you need to recharge them. However, what happens if you are stranded at home, and need to charge your car’s battery?

We find out how exactly to charge a car battery with your home’s electricity.

Easy Ways To Charge Your Car Battery With Home Electricity

Now that a lot of us work from home and spend much more time in and around our home, it’s just natural that we also maintain our cars at home.

If your car battery has gone flat or run low, there are quite a few different ways to charge a dead battery with home electricity, even without a charger.

One method to charge a car battery is by using a home inverter. However, car manufacturers don’t recommend this method. They advise using a car battery charger to recharge your battery.

We will take you through both these options and find out which one is easier and quicker.

Method 1: Charging A Car Battery With A Home Inverter

A home inverter is a piece of equipment that provides power to different electric appliances.

They are also sometimes called household inverters. It effectively is similar to a battery as it consumes power and then transfers the power when you need it.

Luckily, modern home inverters have become much more affordable and they also offer more offers.

Most household inverters are 12V lead-acid batteries that can be compatible with high voltage.

This means charging your car battery with an inverter is quicker than with a battery charger.

However, home inverters were not designed for charging car batteries. If you use an inverter too often for charging your car battery, the battery will eventually get damaged.

For regular charges, you should use your supplied car battery charger. Home inverters are an emergency option and should be used in this way.

Connect The Home Inverter With The Car Battery

Establishing a secure connection between your car battery and the home inverter is important for this charging method.

You need to ensure that your home inverter isn’t connected to the wall power outlet before you set up the connection. This could otherwise lead to damage to your battery.

You will need to connect everything properly first and then plug everything into the mains power supply.

First, connect the battery’s ground cable to the black wire of the household inverter. It’s worthwhile testing the battery cables to make sure they all work fine.

Then connect the car battery’s positive cable to the red point of the output’s positive port in the household inverter.

Power Supply From The Household Inverter

If you have used a home inverter for your other electronic devices before, you might already know that it uses mains power.

Before you turn on the mains with your home inverter, double-check the connections. Once all the connections are fine, you can now plug the inverter into the wall power outlet in your home.

Battery Charging And Unplugging

If everything is set up correctly, your battery should charge. Most car batteries charged through a home inverter are usually fully charged in a couple of hours.

Method 2: Charging A Car Battery With A Car Battery Charger

The second way to charge your car battery with home electricity is the method recommended by car manufacturers. 

They usually provide advice on what modern car battery charges are suitable for your car’s battery.

The biggest advantage of an official car charger is that there is no risk of damaging the battery. Car chargers ensure that you don’t overcharge the car battery.

Prepare The Car Battery For Charging

First, you need to prepare the battery for the charge. Ensure that the surface where you place your battery on is dry and clean.

We also recommend reading the battery charger’s instruction manual so you know exactly how to connect the two.

Remove The Car Battery And Clean

Next up, you need to take the battery out of your car. If you are not sure how to do this it’s worth checking out the car manufacturer’s website and car user manual.

Most car batteries get dirty very quickly so it’s a good idea to give your battery a good clean. Use sandpaper to run the battery’s surface.

This will get all the dirt and grime off. Then put some baking soda on a wet cloth and rub it properly on the battery.

You can also mix the baking soda with some water in a jar and apply the mix onto the battery using a toothbrush.

Connecting The Battery Charger And Battery

Connecting car batteries with modern battery chargers is done in a similar way to method 1. Always ensure that your car charger is not connected to the power supply before you connect the battery.

Double-check the connections and if everything looks good, you can now plug the charger into mains power.

Charging The Battery

Give your battery time to get fully charged. With a car charger, this will take far longer than when using a house inverter.

Depending on your car battery and the battery charger, it can take up to 8 hours for it to be fully charged. 

Some car battery chargers even notify you when the battery is done with charging, which is perfect for avoiding overcharging the car battery.

Conclusion

We hope these two methods of charging your car battery with home electricity help to get your car up and running again.

It’s good to remember that while charging your car with a home inverter is a fast and easy option, it shouldn’t be used regularly as it can harm the car battery cells.

The best way for charging a car battery is the manufacturer-specified car charger.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K1bNsHsWHfI