Charging electric cars

Every day there is more and more information that comes to you concerning electric vehicles. Whether it's about healthy air, cheap miles, lithium mining or the like, it's clear to everyone that electric vehicles are the future and that we need to familiarize ourselves with this topic in small detail.

There are several types of electric vehicles (types of electric vehicles), but only two types use a charger for electric cars and these are: battery electric vehicles, or only electric vehicles (BEV – Battery Electric Vehicle) and Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle (PHEV).

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Charging electric vehicles

Charging electric vehicles can be realized in many ways, some are less and some are more popular. Of course, depending on the location, the available infrastructure, the power available at the charger connection and your needs as a driver at that moment, it also depends on how you charge your electric vehicle. We distinguish 4 ways (modes) of filling:

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Charging to the outlet

This is the easiest way to charge and represents charging at a shuko electrical outlet. The maximum charging current is 16A and is limited by the socket itself, which is designed for this value. The advantage of this method of charging is certainly the price because you do not need an additional charger or cable.

The disadvantage is the charging speed because you limit your charging to 3.7kW, but also the safety of such installation. The classic socket is not intended to work with such a load for such a long period of time, so it can easily happen to melt or even catch fire. We do not recommend this method because we believe that safety must come first.

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MOD 2 is an upgraded MOD1 charge.

It presents an upgraded MOD1 charge. Unlike mode 1, it is equipped with a security system (control box – control box) located on the cable.

This charging method is recommended for households because it does not require large investments, while at the same time contributing to safety. The disadvantage is certainly the slower charging time (about 12h for an average electric vehicle battery) and the inability to monitor the charging session.

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AC chargers

This is the most common charging method and is suitable for all types of installations. This charging mode is the basis of every AC charger. In Europe, it is operated by type 2S (type 2 cable) cable and unlike mode 2, the protection system is integrated into the charger itself, not into the cable.

These chargers are also equipped with a communication system with which it is possible to control and monitor the charging flow. This system is important because when such a charger is connected to the platform (the eDrive charging app) it allows charger owners to see all sessions and allows easy charging and finding it. Since dc voltage is necessary for charging the battery of an electric vehicle, the conversion of the AC/DC power supply is done in the car itself using an onboard charger.

It is important to emphasize that the charging speed of the electric car depends not only on the power of the AC charger, but also on the power of the converter in the car, so it can happen that you charge with a power of 11 kW (power of the AC / DC converter of your car) even though you are connected to the AC charger with a power of 22kW.

It should be noted that in 3-charge mode it is possible to charge an electric car with a power of up to 43kW but since it is difficult to find a car that has a converter larger than 22kW, chargers are produced mainly for power between 7.4kW and 22kW.

Our recommendation is to use these chargers at every opportunity and in every location where charging time does not play a critical role. Charging time depending on the type of car on the 22kW AC charger and for the average battery can vary between 2h and 10h

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The 4-charging mode is characteristic of DC chargers.

This charging mode is characteristic of DC chargers. The difference compared to AC chargers is that the conversion of AC/DC power is not done in the car (onboard charger) but in the charger itself. This means that by connecting your electric vehicle to the charger, you get all the available charger power and you are no longer dependent on the converter in the car because you are directly connected to the battery.

DC chargers use three types of connectors CCS, CHAdeMO and Tesla. Depending on the type of electric car you own, it depends on which cable you need. In the European market, the most common electric vehicles that come with CCS connectors, while CHAdeMO connectors are characteristic mainly for some of the Asian models. Of course, Tesla connectors are reserved for Tesla cars.

The power of DC chargers that you can find on the market are between 24kW and 360kW. The decision which DC charger is best for your business (these chargers require a lot of available power on the connector so they can't be used in households) depends on the time you want the user to spend at your location. For example, for restaurants and shopping centers, we recommend a charger up to 50kW where the charging time is up to 2h, while for gas stations and busy parking spaces we recommend faster chargers where the charging time is between 10 and 40 minutes for an average battery (more on that - Business Solutions).

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Conclusion

Whether you are buying an electric car for personal use or the needs of a company, or you want to improve your business location and raise the value of office space, restaurants, hotels and the like, you need to pay a lot of attention to choosing a charger. In addition to saving a lot of money by using an electric car, you can also boost your primary business but also make money from charging as a charger owner.