In our customer stories series, we shine a spotlight on Indra customers and the real-world benefits they’ve discovered from charging smarter at home.
Meet Gill Nowell, a true EV pioneer. With more than two decades in sustainability, she’s worked across smart charging and grid integration — even trialling one of the earliest versions of smart charging. We sat down with Gill to talk about her 13-year EV journey and what she loves about her Indra Smart LUX.
We were privileged to have the opportunity to chat with Gill about her experience in all things EV and energy integration, from her first test drive in an EV to her favourite feature of the Indra Smart LUX.
Gill told us, “I’ve been driving electric cars and charging electric cars and working in e-mobility since about 2012. I’ve worked on a series of EV grid integration projects to really understand the impact of clusters of electric cars on the local electricity network.
I trialled a very, very early form of what was essentially smart charging, although it wasn’t known as smart charging then. The aim was to really understand how EV drivers would accept having their charge essentially remotely managed to benefit the low-voltage electricity network.
Of course, from that has sprung all sorts of amazing innovation and off-peak energy tariffs, and we now know that the very cheapest, most convenient and greenest way to charge is at home overnight, which is how, of course, I use my Indra charger.”
“My first electric car was a second-hand Nissan Leaf. It was supposed to have a range of about 124 miles, I remember, but I’d be lucky if it ever touched 100 miles. But that was fine, because they say that 99% of all journeys in the UK are under 100 miles and on average, we drive about 30 miles a day.
But, when I decided to switch up to a Kia Niro, with a range of 282 miles at least, that was a kind of a game changer. It just enables those longer journeys really, really easily.”
“It’s the Kia Niro, and I’ve now had it for five years. I’ll share this with you because I found it incredibly exciting. Last week, I plugged it in to charge at home using my Indra charger, of course, and I couldn’t believe it, because the range fully charged was 306 miles, and that’s the most I’ve ever, ever seen it.
It was chilly; it wasn’t a warm and sunny day, because we are in the middle of October. I think on the hottest day in the summer, it reached 300 miles, fully charged, but this was 306 miles, and this is in, basically, cold weather!
We know that batteries like warmer weather, so it’s just fantastic! And that’s after five years!”.
“Well, I got to make my Indra LUX myself, which was a phenomenally exciting experience for me, in Malvern. But I just love the longer cable. I opted for the 10-metre cable, and it’s just brilliant and so convenient that you don’t have to move one car off the driveway to charge the second EV.
It’s sort of a first-world problem, isn’t it, because it wouldn’t really be that big a deal, but everybody’s busy. Everybody’s got 10 million things to do and juggle, so by not having to swap cars around on the driveway, because the cable is so incredibly long, it stretches to reach the car behind my car in the driveway, and I just think that’s great.
It’s honestly such a lovely sort of bonus feature which I really appreciate. I also appreciate that the Indra charger is super smart and can integrate seamlessly with Octopus Intelligent Go and all that side of things, which is absolutely great.
As with so many other EV drivers, I’m charging my car overnight for less than £5 fully charged, which last week meant well over 300 miles, as I mentioned. But the fact it has a really long cable just gives it that added extra, I suppose, and makes life that bit easier.”
“EVA England, Electric Vehicle Association England, of which I’m a co-founding director, offers loads of support for both new electric car drivers and people who are just thinking about making the switch.
Women Drive Electric is another great group that offers a really safe space to ask all those questions you might not feel comfortable asking in another setting.
There are lots more out there that are more local and regionally based driver groups as well. Depending on what electric car you’re looking at, there are also specific EV groups out there on social media as well.”
“Well, you need to just think about how you’re going to charge your car. If you have access to off-street parking, then using a smart charger like Indra’s is absolutely the way to go. You can then charge your car super cheaply off-peak overnight.
If you don’t have access to off-street parking, then think about more local solutions. There are some really fantastic and innovative on-street charging solutions out there now.
One is cross pavement gullies, where you put your charging cable through a gully cut through the pavement outside your home, and then you can benefit from your domestic electricity tariff at the same time.
Or there are other on-street charging solutions, like local charging hubs, where they offer cheaper overnight tariffs, because that’s starting to happen these days as well.
There’s also workplace charging, which I think is a really convenient and cost-effective way to charge.
I think it’s a good thing to remember as well that, unless you do really high mileage on a regular basis, you might only need to top up your car with a charge once per week - or even every other week.”
Why not take Gill’s advice and try out an EV, test drive one or borrow a friend or family member’s and find out what Gill and others are so keen to share.
View our range of EV home chargers and discover how an Indra Smart charger could save you money when paired with some of the best EV tariffs available. Begin your EV journey today.
 | About the author: Sonya joined Indra in July 2025 as Senior Content and Marketing Executive. She is a content writer with many years of experience who is now using her expertise to help Indra communicate their branding, products, and the benefits of EV driving for both individuals, society and the planet. |
