How Do EV Charging Stations Work? All Solved!

To begin with, how do EV charging stations work? Below will give you the types of EV charging stations, the cost of EV charging stations, and ways to charge at EV charging stations… Keep reading.

An EV charging station supplies power for recharging electric vehicles. A smart controller board and a power socket board are required components of a typical EV charging station. The power socket board distributes and measures energy, while the smart controller controls security, services, and connectivity to a remote server.

Please read on for more detailed information.

How Do EV Charging Stations Work?

You can find public charge points in car parks, at supermarkets or just at the side of the road in residential areas, as well as at service stations and other places such as cinemas, pubs and restaurants. Numerous service providers increase the number of public charging stations each month.

Since they typically offer charging speeds between 50kWh and 350kWh, rapid and ultra-rapid charging points are the best if you’re stopping along a long journey. Returning to our MG4 EV Long Range, this means that if connected to a 150kWh+ ultra-rapid charger, charge can go from 10% to 80% in just 34 minutes.

There are also superchargers which offer speeds of up to 150kW. Tesla’s charging network for example offers this supercharging capability.

The newest generation of “ultra-rapid” chargers, however, are now appearing in locations all over the UK in the race to offer even quicker solutions. Theoretically, you could theoretically extend your range by nearly 200 miles in about 15 minutes thanks to these chargers’ 350kW charging capacity. To put this into perspective, this means you can fully charge a Mercedes-Benz EQC – which has an 80kWh battery that delivers a 230-mile ‘real world’ range – in around half an hour. By the time you return from using the restroom and grabbing a coffee or something to eat at a motorway service station, your car will be almost fully charged.

Whatever speed you’re able to get, you need to ensure the station you visit is compatible with your car’s connection.

Your EV’s manual and the website of the provider of the charging network will provide you with all the information you require, regardless of whether it is a Type 1, Type 2, CCS, Chademo, Commando, or Tesla. You can use apps for this as well, but we’ll get to that later.

Various businesses run various charging networks, and in order to use them, you might need to download an app, get a swipe card, or create an account. Planning any lengthy trips and choosing the closest charging stations to your home or place of employment are both wise moves, but they quickly become second nature. Fortunately, many public charging stations also accept typical bank cards. However, prepare in advance!

Read about:

• Who Pays for Electric Car Charging Stations?
• How Much Does An EV Charging Station Cost?

Types of EV Charging Stations

You can easily charge an electric vehicle by plugging it into a charger that is connected to an electrical outlet. But not all EV charging stations—also referred to as EVSE, or electric vehicle supply equipment—are created equal. While some only need to be plugged into a regular wall outlet to be installed, others need to be built specifically for the user. Depending on the kind of charger you use, your car’s charging time will also change.

EV chargers typically fall into one of three main categories: Level 1 charging stations, Level 2 charging stations, and DC Fast Chargers (also referred to as Level 3 charging stations).

Level 1 EV Charging Stations

Level 1 chargers can be plugged into a typical outlet and have a 120-volt (V) AC plug. Level 1 chargers don’t require the installation of any additional hardware, in contrast to other chargers. These chargers typically deliver two to five miles of range per hour of charging and are most often used at home.

Although level 1 chargers are the least expensive EVSE option, they also take the longest to fully charge your car’s battery. These chargers are typically used by homeowners to charge their cars overnight, and 24% of EV owners charge their vehicles at home using Level 1 chargers.

Manufacturers of level 1 EV chargers include evCHARGEsolutions, Leviton, and MEGEAR.

Level 2 EV Charging Stations

Both residential and business charging stations employ Level 2 chargers. They require a 240 V or 208 V plug, respectively, and unlike Level 1 chargers, they cannot be plugged into a regular wall outlet. Also, an electrician with experience should install them. Additionally, level 2 home EV chargers can be installed to link to a solar power system.

You can charge much faster than with a Level 1 charger thanks to the fact that Level 2 EV chargers typically deliver ranges of 10 to 50 miles per hour. Ford and Tesla are just two of the many electric vehicle producers who have their own Level 2 chargers. Other Level 2 EVSE manufacturers include ClipperCreek, ChargePoint, Enel, Grizzl-E, and Lectron.

DC Fast Chargers (also Known as Level 3 EV Charging Stations)

In just 20 minutes, a DC Fast Charger, also referred to as a Level 3, Combined Charging System (CCS), or CHAdeMO charging station, can extend the range of your electric vehicle’s battery by 60 to 80 miles. They need highly specialized, powerful equipment to install and maintain, and are typically only used in commercial and industrial applications. Since they are used for long-distance and road trips, you can find them on major roads. The Tesla Superchargers, Electrify America, and EV Connect Level 3 charging networks are a few well-known examples.

Level 2 and Level 3 chargers can be used to charge the majority of EVs, though some may need an adapter and some, like Tesla Superchargers, are currently only available for Tesla models.

How Much Does EV Charging Cost?

EV charging costs vary as much as fuel prices from location to location. Here, when the vehicle is charged and the applicable tariffs are key variables. Fully charging an EV at a public EV charger can cost up to 15 pounds, saving drivers a significant amount on gas and diesel.

This is due to the various commercial electricity tariff prices, as well as the length of time it takes to charge. It can cost anywhere from £7 to £10 to get to 80% charge at a rapid public EV charging station. You can see the savings right away when compared to the price of gas at the pump, and that’s even before you take into account intelligent EV charging.

One way to further reduce costs is with smart charging for electric vehicles. Additional savings for EV owners result from this feature’s ability to charge a vehicle at the lowest possible cost.

How Long Does It Take to Charge An Electric Vehicle at a Public Electric Vehicle Charging Point?

The time it takes to charge an electric vehicle mostly follows a simple equation:

Battery size (kWh) ÷ Charger power (kW) = Charging time (hours)

This means that a 52kWh battery would take just over an hour to charge using a 50kW charger. There are different charging powers available, and lower power is frequently used at stations where cars will be parked for several hours at a time, like at home or possibly at the office.

Public EV chargers frequently operate at higher speeds, allowing for quicker vehicle charging times before moving on.

How Do You Charge An Electric Car at Home?

Home charging usually takes place in one of two ways. The first method is slow charging, which involves connecting your EV to a standard 3-pin plug socket. With a maximum charge speed of 3kW per hour, this means you can charge something like a MG4 EV Long Range which has a 64kWh battery in around 30 hours., when charging from 0% to 100%.

Although having a 3-pin plug option is sometimes useful, DriveElectric does not advise using a 3-pin plug socket as your primary home charging option.

In its place, we advise that the best way to recharge an electric vehicle is, if you have off-street parking at home, a professionally installed home charger. This provides roughly 7kWh of power in the majority of UK situations. Using the same MG4 EV Long Range with its large 64kWh battery a full charge from 0% to 100% takes around 10 hours. quicker than a typical 3-pin plug, by a wide margin.

There are other benefits of using a dedicated home charger, such as:

• Ability to pair up other low/zero carbon technologies such as solar panels and/or home battery
• Ability to monitor and manage your charging via the smart chargers’ phone app
• using energy providers’ variable or flexible electricity prices (i.e. take advantage of cheap overnight electricity tariffs)

EVs are typically kept in the “sweet spot” of having between 20% and 80% charge, with drivers topping it off while they are sleeping. It is probably also important to note that it is extremely uncommon for drivers to need to recharge from 0% to 100% consistently.

If you’re taking a long trip, you’ll need to find a place to plug in along the way because sometimes it’s not possible to have a home charging station.

FAQs

Want to Know More About EV Chargers?

As more people switch to electric vehicles, the need for EV chargers will grow, necessitating a continuous expansion of the infrastructure that supports them. These vehicles improve each year, in terms of how far they can travel between charges and how long they take to fully charge, but we can’t let anyone end up stranded because there aren’t enough charging stations.

While increasing the number of EV chargers in residential areas, properties and developments helps with this, there will always be a need for public electric vehicle charge points, too. Understanding the needs of staff and customers can not only help with the transition to electric vehicles, but increase a business’ value to them, too.

If you have any questions, please leave a comment. KV Auto tries to give you the best car industry information. Thank you for reading.