Understanding Electric Vehicle Chargers
Electric Vehicles (EVs) can be quite confusing if you are new to the idea of ditching your petrol or diesel and switching to electric. Trying to get your head around kilowatts can have you experiencing some childhood trauma of physics class. Some of the most common questions that we get from people looking to lease an EV is "what charger do I need?" and "how does the charging work, can I use a public charger?" Just as there are specific pumps at the services for petrol and diesel, there are specific plugs and chargers for different EVs. But don't worry, nearly all of them are the same and compatible. The majority of EV owners opt to have a charger installed at the home, with 68% of EV owners in the UK having a home charger (source: evbox.com/uk-en/). For those who do not have that as an option, whether that is due to living in an apartment or purely down to budget, nearly 50% of people use chargers at work, service station or retail locations. Despite EV chargers seemingly appearing on every street corner, particularly in larger cities, a mere 24% of people in the UK use public parking chargers.
So, lets take a look at how charging an EV works and what sort of chargers are out there. This is not intended to be an endorsement of any specific brand of charger, as there are so many out there for all budgets.
EV Chargers Unravelled
Charger types are broken down into three levels: Level 1, 2 and 3. The higher the Level, the higher the power output, the quicker the charge. Simple.
Hmmm, kind of. How quick your vehicle charges does not depend solely on the Level of charger. The type of battery your car has and its capacity will also come into play here.
Level 1
Some new EVs come with a standard charger with an AC plug that can be plugged into any regular 3 pin plug at home. With an extended cable to give you a reasonable distance, this is slowest option for charging your EV and not recommended for extending periods of charging. As a word of warning, this method of charging has no communication between the power outlet and the vehicle itself. Consequently, it can be dangerous and should really only be used in emergencies where you need a few extra miles to get you on your way.
The maximum output from a Level 1 charger is 2.3kW which equates to around 5 miles of range per hour.
Level 2
This is the Level that most people will recognise and may have experienced if you are an EV driver. These are AC charging points that you can find mounted to a wall, in a car park, installed into street lighting etc. Nearly all home chargers are Level 2. A Level 2 charger can produce anything from 3.4kW to 22kW per hour, which equates to a very reasonable 75 miles of range per hour. Again, this depends on your vehicle and battery.
There are many different versions of Level 2 chargers that can be installed at your home address. We recommend that you conduct your own research into what model is best for you, and speak to an expert. These must also be installed properly by some trained to install EV chargers to avoid any risks to you or your property. Please, don't YouTube it. Some models also offer advanced features, such as smart phone connectivity to keep start/stop charging and to keep track of your charging progress.
Level 3
These are DC fast chargers are typically only found at service stations. For those driving a Tesla, Tesla have a whole network of Superchargers that are Level 3 DC across the world, with over 50,000 superchargers worldwide. Other EV cars can use these, but check that your vehicle and its battery is compatible.
A DC charger bypasses the converter that is in place to convert electric from AC to DC when using a Level 1 or 2 charger. This allows for rapid charging as the electric is going straight to the vehicle's battery. An impressive amount of charge and range can be achieved in a few minutes.
We hope that has helped you understand a bit more about the types of chargers that out there. Keep an eye on our latest blogs as we will soon be doing a post on the different types of plugs.
As the UK moves towards Net Zero, it is safe to say that the automotive industry is going to undergo a huge change. Some argue that this has already started. Therefore, it is important that we all familiarise ourselves with the workings of EVs. Who knows if we really will be driving all EVs beyond 2030?
