Completely Guide To Choose An EV Charging?

Many EV owners charge at home regularly, while people without off-street parking rely on public chargers or chargers at their workplaces. On top of that, there’s no shortage of businesses, big and small, investing in EV charging. Though, the charging process might challenge drivers who’ve been topping up a diesel or petrol tank for years. 

Generally, charging an electric car is as simple as plugging it into a charge point. However, the details can be more complex than this. This EV charging station guide will explain everything you need to know about charging an electric vehicle, including the different EV charging cables. 

Popular Places To Charge An Electric Car

Typically, anywhere you can park your car is a potential charging location. Charging stations are steadily increasing following the rapidly growing adoption of electric vehicles worldwide. As such, it’s effectively possible to install an EV charge point anywhere there’s an electric supply. Usually, the best and cheapest place to charge an electric car is at home. 

Luckily, governments, cities, and private entities like Electrly are creating legislation and sponsoring the growth and development of charging infrastructure networks globally. For instance, the American government laid out a $ 15 billion investment pledge to build a national network of 500,000 charging stations, of which 100,000 are already in place. 

Otherwise, besides charging your car at home, below are some common places to charge your electric vehicle today. 

Home EV Charging 

Home charging accounts for 80% of all charging done by EV drivers. Not surprisingly, EV charging at home allows you to control your energy usage and save money. Most likely, you won’t need to charge daily, and it’s easy to plug in at the end of the day and recharge overnight. 

You only need a 220-240V outlet connected to a dedicated circuit breaker to set up a home charging station. Additionally, you can install smart home charging stations that allow you to control everything, including initiating or stopping charging, setting up reminders, charging schedules, and viewing charging history. 

Workplace EV Charging

Due to the growing demand for sustainable business practices, companies are installing electrical charging points for their staff and visitors. If you have a willing boss, you could charge your car daily for free, even though some employers will charge you for using their chargers. 

Nonetheless, you’ll need to own a charging cable while you work, as these charging points tend to have a universal socket that allows any EV to charge at them. Workplace charging is a convenient and very time-efficient option for EV owners as it allows them to charge their EVs slowly while they work. 

Public Charging Stations

Public charging stations are rising, with local authorities and cities investing heavily in charging infrastructure. Also known as Level 3 or DC charging, these chargers will get you back on the road in no time, typically 20-50 minutes. You can use the Electrly locator to find your nearest charging station. 

These public chargers are often located near restaurants, shopping centers, parking spots, and public spaces. Today, there is a ratio of 7.5 electric cars per public charging point. The exact charging rate and miles added will depend on your electric vehicle model and the rapid charger rating.

Retail Locations Chargers 

An estimate shows that 26 percent of EV drivers charge their cars at supermarkets, while 22 percent prefer shopping malls or department stores. As such, numerous retail locations are discovering the growing need for this service and are installing charging stations to meet the demand and acquire new customers.

Supermarkets, restaurants, and retail stores are attracting EV drivers as customers by installing free electric car charging points. If you need personal shopping, you can arrive, plug in, shop, grab a quick bite, and benefit from a fast, free top-up. But, some retail locations require you to pay or need a subscription. 

EV Charging Networks

Car makers worldwide are trying to play catch up with Tesla Superchargers. Hence, unveiling joint projects such as the Ionity charging network rolled out by Mercedes, BMW, Ford, Hyundai, and Volkswagen. Due to this, there are networks of rapid chargers around the country owned and operated by different companies. 

The trick with electric vehicles is to combine charging with other activities during the week if you can’t charge up at home. A fee between $0.2 to $0.5 per kWh is usually set, which is generally more expensive than your home electricity tariff. In most cases, registration is free, and fees only apply when you use one of their chargers, although you can use some free.

Electrly – Find EV Charging Station Near You

You can find an EV charging station near you just by searching your preferred location. Knowing charging station locations in advance can help you map out the route for your drive. In case you’re wondering how, Electrly’s charging station finder is unmatched. It’s easy to use and provides real-time information regarding the charger’s speed, cost, and availability. 

How It Works:

1. Open the Electrly website on your browser. 
2. Navigate to the bottom of the site.
3. Tap EV Chargers Near Me.
4. A map will appear displaying EV charging stations near you. Enter your preferred location and use the provided filters such as charger type, connector, network or charging speed, and payment method.  
5. Hover over an icon to view more details or click on the station icon to view full details regarding the station such as the contacts.  

Charging Solutions Explained

Electric vehicle charging can be categorized in multiple ways, the most common way being charging levels. There are three main classifications of EV charging, and the one you’ll want to install or use depends on how far you’ll be going and how much time you have. Other times, your car’s capabilities also come into play, such as the car’s type of battery and charging capacity. 

Level 1 Charging

When a driver plugs their car into a standard wall socket, that’s Level 1 charging. Level 1 charging equipment is typically provided with all new EVs. It’s the most basic and slowest type of charging at 2.3 kW, giving only 4 to 5 miles of range per hour. This type of charging is best for people who don’t drive a lot daily and can charge their vehicle at home since it doesn’t involve installing a new charger station.

Level 2 Charging

Level 2 chargers are standard AC charging stations commonly found mounted on walls, a pole, or standing solely on the ground. These charging stations can deliver between 3.4 and 22 kW, which takes about 5 to 6 hours to charge your car fully. This is much faster than Level 1 charging and fairly attainable, especially for homeowners. 

In addition, their range of intelligent functionalities, smart connectivity options, and safety features make them ideal for residential and commercial locations. Level 2 chargers such as Electrly Level 2 chargers cost more to purchase and install since you’ll need the services of a professional installer to get it working, but it’s worth the penny. 

Level 3 Charging

Also known as DC or fast charging, Level 3 charging delivers DC power directly to your vehicle’s battery as the chargers do the AC to DC conversion internally. By bypassing the AC/DC onboard converter, Level 3 charging stations can deliver more power faster. 

Charging times vary between different vehicles and power outputs. As a result, EV battery sizes have increased to provide a greater driving range. Level 3 chargers are ideal for short-stop locations like gas stations and fleet depots due to their cost and maintenance.  

Typically, the level 3 charging outlet supplies an electric charge of over 400V. Thus, it can charge your EV from 0-80% in 45 minutes at a charging rate of up to 350 miles of range per hour. There are three primary standards adopted by different manufacturers, namely; 

• Tesla Superchargers
• CCS chargers – Combine Charging System
• CHAdeMO – CHArge de MOve chargers

How To Choose An EV Charging Cable

If you open an electric car’s charging flap, you might see different shape sockets. Some vehicles have two sockets rather than one. As socket shapes vary, so do the plugs to charge an electric car. 

The Different EV Charging Cables

• Tethered cables

A tethered cable is hardwired to an EV charging point. All rapid public chargers are tethered, while public fast chargers, and home wall boxes, can be tethered or untethered.

• Untethered cables

An untethered cable means a charger has a socket into which one can plug a charging cable. These cables are most commonly used in Level 2 chargers. 

What Connector Type Should The Cable Be?

Most charging points are AC chargers that use a Type 1 or Type 2 connector. So there is no need to get a cable for a DC connector like the CCS connector or the CHAdeMO connector. Otherwise, the connector your EV uses depends on the model of your car and its age. 

Type 1 Connector

Type 1 connectors charge at around 3 – 7 kWh and are only found in older EVs. 30 minutes of charging can give you around 12 miles of range. Sadly, they don’t have a locking mechanism to secure your EV to the power source while you charge.

You will struggle to find a tethered charger you can charge as Type 1 connectors aren’t the standard AC connector. If you have a Type 1 connector, you must buy a charging cable to charge at most locations. 

Type 2 Connector 

Type 2 connectors charge between 3 – 42 kWh. From this, a max speed of around 30 minutes will get you around 75 miles worth of charge. Type 2 connectors are the European standard AC connector and the most common. 

Their inbuilt locking mechanism secures your cable to your power supply safely. With a universal socket, you can use a type 2 connector cable to charge at untethered home, work, or public charging points.

Recent Trends In EV Charging

Technology involving electric mobility has evolved rapidly. Innovation in EV charging such as intelligent charging and the use of bi-directional charging, offers more sustainable charging practices. We discuss them in detail below.

Smart Charging

Smart charging is an energy-efficient way of charging your electric vehicle. This form of charging allows you to set your charging preferences including, the desired charge level, charge time, and minimum charge level. 

The connection allows users to monitor and manage charging progress and energy usage in real-time, saving them huge energy bills. At the same time, they receive insights about their electric vehicle and charger. 

Vehicle-To-Grid(V2G) Charging Technology

The idea of V2G is to balance variations in energy production and consumption. By utilizing bi-directional charging, V2G technology allows one to charge an EV and also push the stored power back to the grid. V2G enables us to make the best of EV batteries by using them as a form of energy storage. 

One basic requirement is that the EV driver must communicate when they want to unplug the car and what the battery percentage should be at that time. Besides V2G, other use cases that utilize bi-directional charging include Vehicle-To-Home(V2H), Vehicle-To-Building(V2B), and Vehicle-To-Load(V2L) services. 

Conclusion

As discussed above, the batteries in electric cars work on the same principle as any other battery. Also, how long it takes to charge an electric vehicle depends on the power of the charger you are using, the car’s charging rate, and the size of the battery pack. Otherwise, when shopping for chargers, focus on the cable length and the location of the charging station, whether inside or outside.