Charging an EV from a Swiss socket: T13, T23 or CEE, which one to choose?

You can charge an electric car from an ordinary socket in Switzerland, but the sockets are very different: the standard T13 (10 A) is for emergencies only, at about 1.8 kW; the T23 (16 A) gives about 3 kW with a mobile charger; and the red three-phase CEE16 industrial socket reaches 11 kW. For most commuters, a T23 or CEE socket on a dedicated circuit is enough, without a wallbox.

If you have just moved to Zurich, Geneva or Zug, Swiss plugs can be confusing. This guide explains each socket, the power it really delivers, how many kilometres you get back overnight, what installation costs in francs and which rules apply (NIV, NIN, safety certificate, condominium and rental). If you drive a company car, note that Voltaback, the software your employer can use, reimburses each charge at real cost on any socket, with no wallbox and no special cable.

Swiss sockets for EV charging at a glance

Switzerland has its own domestic sockets, standardised for Switzerland and Liechtenstein: T13 and T23 single-phase, T25 three-phase. You will also find industrial CEE sockets (blue 230 V, red 400 V) in garages, workshops and car parks. On the car side, every recent electric car sold in Europe has the same Type 2 inlet: the cable or mobile charger makes the link.

*Values of the Swiss adapters made by Juice Technology, which deliberately reduces the current on household sockets. Sources: T13 adapter, T23 adapter, T25 adapter, CEE16 adapter; socket ratings: Electrosuisse brochure "Anschluss finden" (in German).

Why 13 A on a socket rated 16 A? Because charging lasts for hours. Mobile charger makers keep a margin so the contacts do not heat up over a whole night.

What Swiss experts say about charging from a socket

Electrosuisse, the Swiss professional association for electrical engineering, is clear: Swiss household sockets are not very resilient, mechanically or thermally. CEE industrial sockets cope better, but the brochure says they are not designed for continuous operation either. For daily charging it recommends a charging station (wallbox), and a separate circuit breaker for each vehicle or socket.

The grid operators' technical rules (Werkvorschriften) add a typically Swiss constraint: above 3.7 kVA single-phase, only three-phase connections are allowed, and charging at 32 A single-phase is not permitted (16 A maximum on one or two phases). So the "7.4 kW single-phase" home charging common in other countries is not the Swiss way: to go faster than 3.7 kW, you move to three-phase (T25, red CEE or an 11 kW wallbox). Source: Electrosuisse, chapter on utilities.

In practice, this gives three levels:

• Existing T13: for emergencies, not as a habit, and never with an extension lead or multi-plug.
• T23 or CEE16 on a dedicated circuit: the affordable option for anyone driving less than 100 km a day.
• 11 kW wallbox: comfort, load management and room to grow, especially in a shared underground car park.

What about the "reinforced sockets" sold abroad?

Some countries sell so-called reinforced EV sockets designed for their own household plug format. They do not fit the Swiss T13/T23/T25 system. The Swiss equivalent is a T23 or CEE socket on its own dedicated circuit, with its own breaker and residual current device. Ask your electrician for a T23 or CEE16 for charging, not for an imported product.

How to choose the right socket

Four criteria are enough to decide, in this order.

1. Usable power. It is capped by the weakest link: socket, mobile charger and the car's on-board charger. A car with an 11 kW on-board charger still charges at about 3 kW on a T23.

2. Dedicated circuit and protection. A charging socket needs its own line from the distribution board, its own circuit breaker (LS / disjoncteur) and a suitable residual current device (FI / DDR). Good mobile chargers also detect DC fault currents (6 mA DC), as the Juice Booster 3 air does according to its data sheet.

3. Ingress protection. For an outdoor parking space or a damp underground car park, choose a socket in a weatherproof housing with a lid (IP44 minimum, IP54 to IP67 if exposed to rain), mounted at a convenient height.

4. Total price. Hardware, a new line from the board, any wall drilling and a compatible mobile charger. The socket itself is almost always the cheapest item.

How many kilometres do you get back overnight?

For daily use the question is not "how many kW" but "how many kilometres by tomorrow morning". Assumption: 20 kWh per 100 km measured at the meter (about 18 kWh in the battery plus charging losses), and 8 hours of charging on the night tariff.

Example: an employee commuting from Zug to Zurich and back, plus a couple of client visits, drives about 70 km a day, or roughly 14 kWh at the meter. A T23 puts that back in under five hours. A T13 would need almost eight hours at full load, night after night: exactly the use Electrosuisse advises against.

Which cars are happy on a T23? Plug-in hybrids (10 to 25 kWh battery, full overnight) and compact EVs up to about 60 kWh used for commuting. A high-mileage SUV with an 80 to 100 kWh battery is better served by a CEE16 or an 11 kW wallbox. To work out the time for your own battery, see our guide to EV charging times.

The cable matters as much as the socket

A socket alone charges nothing: you need a Mode 2 cable, a cable with a built-in control and protection box that talks to the car. The "granny cable" supplied with many new cars is designed for a household socket and often limits the current to 8 or 10 A. To use a T23 or CEE socket properly, you need a mobile charger that can exploit it.

The most widespread in Switzerland is the Juice Booster 3 air, a mobile charger with Swiss design and development, up to 11 kW, waterproof to IP67. It recognises the adapter you plug in and sets the current automatically: 8 A on T13 (adapter with temperature sensor), 13 A on T23, 3 × 13 A on T25 and 3 × 16 A on CEE16. The manufacturer lists the Basic Set at CHF 1'299.– and each Swiss adapter at CHF 79.– (Basic Set). Other mobile chargers exist (NRGkick, go-e): check that the adapters offered are approved for use in Switzerland before buying.

We compare these models, their meters and their limits for fleets in our article on smart charging cables and mobile EV chargers. To pick the right cable for your socket, see also our charging cable page.

What does a charging socket cost compared with a wallbox?

The amounts below are orders of magnitude. The real cost depends mainly on the distance between the distribution board and the parking space: only an installer's quote is binding.

Hardware ranges: Electrosuisse, table "Investition und Unterhalt".

In short: a dedicated socket is much cheaper to install but requires a good mobile charger. If you already own one, the saving over a wallbox runs into thousands of francs. For a fuller comparison, read our article on the cost of installing a home charger.

The socket does not change the price of a kWh. With the 2026 median household tariff (ElCom H4 profile) of 24.8 Rp./kWh excluding VAT in the canton of Zurich (ElCom), 100 km cost about CHF 5.– of electricity. In Basel-Stadt (33.2 Rp./kWh) it is about CHF 6.60, in Zug (21.9 Rp./kWh) under CHF 4.40. A night tariff lowers the bill further.

Who may install the socket? NIV, NIN and safety certificate

In Switzerland, a charging socket on a new circuit is an electrical installation under the Low-Voltage Installation Ordinance (NIV / OIBT). It must be carried out by an electrician holding an installation licence (NIV, SR 734.27, in German).

The usual steps:

1. Site visit and quote: the installer checks the board, the connection capacity and the cable route to the parking space.
2. Installation notice (Installationsanzeige / avis d'installation) to your municipality's grid operator, such as EKZ, ewz, SIG, IWB or Romande Energie, plus a connection request depending on the power.
3. Installation to the low-voltage standard NIN (SN 411000), with a dedicated circuit, breaker and residual current device.
4. Safety certificate (Sicherheitsnachweis, SiNa / rapport de sécurité) handed to the owner and grid operator after testing.

The safety certificate is not a formality: it proves the installation complies, which matters to your household or building insurer after a claim. Voltaback does not install sockets or wallboxes, but helps you obtain comparable installer quotes through our charging socket installation page.

Condominium or rented flat: you always need consent

Even a simple socket in a shared garage touches common parts or the landlord's property. You need permission before ordering the work.

• Tenants: any alteration to the rented property requires the landlord's written consent (Art. 260a of the Code of Obligations). The Swiss Federal Office of Energy publishes a guide for tenants (in German) to help you prepare the request.
• Condominium owners (Stockwerkeigentum / propriété par étages): the installation is a building measure. According to the guide by the Federal Office of Energy and property associations, a "useful" measure generally requires a majority of co-owners who also hold the larger share of the property (Art. 647d of the Civil Code), unless the condominium rules say otherwise.

The framework is changing. In June 2025 Parliament adopted motion 23.3936 on charging electric cars in residential buildings. From 19 June to 12 October 2026, the Federal Council consulted on an amendment to the Energy Act: owners of residential buildings could be required to provide a basic charging installation when tenants or condominium owners request it (federal press release, in German). It is not yet in force. We explain the steps in our article on the right to charge in condominiums and rented homes.

Company car: socket charging is reimbursed too

A common misconception: your employer does not need to install a wallbox to reimburse the electricity for your company car. Charging on a T23, a CEE or even a T13 is reimbursed in exactly the same way.

Voltaback records each charging session of the vehicle (date, duration, kWh), applies the kWh price of your electricity contract and produces a monthly statement for payroll. Voltaback relies on the home's MID-certified meter, not on a standalone cable meter. The measurement was audited by an independent third party, with a relative error of 1.22 %.

On the tax side, documented actual expenses are not salary, for income tax or for AHV/AVS social security. The model expense regulations of the Swiss Tax Conference (SSK/CSI, Spesenreglement) offer a flat-rate alternative of at most CHF 60.– per month for an electric vehicle (SSK model 2026, in German). Real-cost reimbursement follows your actual consumption and your municipality's tariff instead. Your employer never receives the vehicle's location data, in line with the Swiss Data Protection Act (nDSG / nLPD). More in our guide to charging an electric car at home.

Get your charging reimbursed, whatever socket you use

A dedicated T23 or CEE socket is enough for most company car drivers in Switzerland and costs much less than a wallbox. Reimbursement does not depend on hardware: it depends on reliable measurement and the price of your own contract.

Driving a company car? Mention Voltaback to your fleet manager. Managing a fleet? Contact our team to see how to reimburse your employees' home charging at real cost, in line with your expense regulations.