Everything About Electric Vehicle Charging Station

Having the option of charging your electric car at home is crucial. This ensures that you are all fuelled up and ready to go wherever you want to and whenever you want to. If you have been paying attention around you, you must be knowing that the buzzword currently is electrical. Automakers are either introducing new electrical vehicles or are currently working on the ones that are already there in the market.

A lot of companies claim that by the year 2030, half or even more than half of these vehicles that are being sold will be electrical electric car charger installations. Air pollution is currently at a rising rate and this is due to the huge volume of petrol and diesel vehicles that are on the road today. And this level of pollution is responsible for shortening the lives of people around.

You must also be aware of the fact that a lot of people have already purchased an electric vehicle. And many of them are also liking it. According to most of these customers, electrical vehicles are smooth, reliable, quiet, and the most important of them all is that they do not want their drivers to stop at any of the gas stations.

All of the above-mentioned features are beneficial but the most important one, never stopping at the gas station, is something that we cannot miss out on. The electricity to recharge has to come from somewhere, hence electric car charge installations are important.

What is an electric vehicle charging station?

First of all, we need to understand what an electric vehicle charging station is. A simple way to understand it is by taking an example of the smartphone that you own. Just like your phone, electric vehicles also have a battery that enables them to operate. If your phone does not have any electricity, it will not charge. In the same way, if your electric vehicle does not have a battery, it will not move. And the battery stored in your car will only be consumed when it is used. In the same manner, the power is converted into a form that the battery of the electric vehicle can accept and this is exactly what the charging station does. It will take the electrical current that is available in your house and will convert it into a current flow that your electric vehicle can accept. The commercial charging stations that we see in the mall are the ones that utilise a much higher voltage and thus help to charge the batteries at a much faster rate as compared to that at the home. However, they are expensive too.

What types of electric vehicle charging stations are available?

There are three types of electric vehicle charging stations. They can be basic ones to more complex ones.

1. Level 1 charging station – This is the simplest of all three types. The charging cable that comes along with it is a level 1 charger. These chargers also use the basic house current which is 110 – 120 volt AC and a lot of them simply plug into a standard grounded wall socket using a three-way plug. The best part about this charging station is its simplicity and low cost and the downside is slow charging. However, it is advisable to charge four miles of battery range for every hour of charging. We suggest using this only with plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, and with that, you can easily recharge the battery overnight.

2. Level 2 charging station – They use 240-volt circuits, this is the kind of electrical circuit that is used for electric clothes dryers. Some of them are portable and also use multi-pronged plugs. A lot of homes do have this circuit and outlet in their laundry rooms. But, at the same time, it is inconvenient to unplug the dryer all the time. So, to avoid that hassle every time, all those people who install this hire an electrician to do the job. Once the power is accessible, consumers can easily have the charging station set up done. We do know that hiring an electrician can be costly, but at the same time, the charging rate is much faster.

3. Level 3 charging station – This type of charging station is designed for commercial use. It enables DC fast charging, which also provides you with a much faster charging time. Some charging stations can bring up the electric vehicle from zero to full charge in no time. However, the installation cost of this level of charging station is too much.

How long does it take to charge an electric car?

We have given you a fair idea as to how much time it takes to charge an electric car. However, it still depends on a lot of factors. One very important thing that you need to consider is that recharging is a different process as compared to that of filling up the car. Also, when you have a charging station at your home, the battery never depletes the electricity. Keep the battery always full and recharging time will never come and won’t be your concern. Recharging time depends on the overall capacity of the battery, its state of charge, and also the type of charging station that you use.

In addition to this, if you plan to go for a fully electric car then you may require some initial investment in terms of purchasing and installing an EV work charging point.