Charging An Electric Car On Long
On long-distance journeys, you will find that there are times when the remaining range in your battery wont get you to your destination.
In this scenario, you can make use of the network of high-power rapid chargers found in motorway service stations and other locations across the UK. This is known as en-route charging.
Because they are expensive and dispense a lot of electricity in a short period, rapid chargers are usually offered on a paid-for basis. The cables are always tethered to the 43kW+ units, so you do not need to bring your own cable to them.
There are 3 rapid charge connector types, depending on your car. Modern rapid chargers offer either all 3 or at least both DC standards. In some situations, you may find that you have run low on battery from lots of local driving and need an emergency charge.
Rapid chargers are also great for this purpose and if youre not near a motorway service station, they can be found in convenient places like supermarket car parks.
How Long Does It Take To Charge An Electric Car
We’ve given you an idea of how long it takes to charge an electric car in our descriptions of the various charging stations available, but again the real answer is, “it depends.”
One important thing to consider is recharging an EV is a different process than filling up a conventional car with gasoline. With a home EV charging station, and especially if you also have the ability to recharge your car at work, many EV owners never come close to depleting their vehicle’s supply of electricity. Keep the battery topped off and recharging time should never become a concern.
Now, lets say youre away from both home and the office, and your EVs battery is almost empty. How long does it take to charge an electric car in this scenario?
Use a public DC Fast Charger and you could recharge your EV in an hour or less. Connect to a more common Level 2 public charging station, and you can recoup 25 to 35 miles of driving range for each hour the EV is plugged in. If youre visiting friends or relatives, it could take as long as four days to trickle-charge the longest-range Tesla by plugging it into the same household wall socket youd use to charge your phone.
Recharging time depends on the battery’s overall capacity, its state-of-charge, and the type of charging station you use.
What Is Top Up Charging
Most electric car drivers plug-in to charge whenever they park, be it at home overnight or during the day at the supermarket, gym or their workplace. This is called top up charging.
- Instead of letting the battery run empty and waiting while it fully recharges, drivers make use of the time their car is parked to keep the battery topped up.
- Public and workplace charging points typically range from 7kW to 22kW, making them ideal for top up charging.
- Combining daytime top-up charging with overnight charging at home is an effective way to keep your electric car charged and ready to go.
Tip: Electric car drivers dont worry much about how long it takes to charge from empty-to-full. Its more useful for them to know how many miles of range theyll get when they plug-in to top up.
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Electric Car Charging At Home: Everything You Need To Know
If you’re thinking of investing in an electric car, here’s what you really need to know about charging it at home
ByLaura Crombie2021-04-30T20:00:36Z
Thinking of upgrading your car for an electric version? Youre not alone. Sales of electric vehicles and hybrids are expected to rise from two per cent of the new car market today to 25 per cent by 2030. And it’s no surprise when research shows the total cost of owning an electric car is now less than a comparable gas vehicle, with fuel savings alone almost $5,000 / £3,600 over the first seven years.
But investing in an electric car also means taking the time to think about how you’ll charge it. The most common method is an electric car charging point attached to your home’s mains power supply. In fact, adding an electric vehicle charging point to your house is one of the green home improvements guaranteed to give your home’s value a boost.
This article explains everything you need to know, from where to locate your home charger to how much it’ll cost, the grants available and design considerations.
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Charging An Electric Car On The Road
- There are over 35,000 charge point connectors in over 13,000 locations across the UK
- There are 3 main types of charger: Slow, Fast and Rapid
- Public charge points are owned and operated by different network providers which means there are different access methods
Whatâs available?
The 35,000+ public charging stations in the UK are broadly categorised as follows:
- Slow â charge at speeds of around 3kW . Mostly âuntetheredâ so you need to provide your own cable .
- Fast â charge at speeds of 7kW or 22kW. Mostly untethered.
- Rapid â charge at speeds of 43kW, 50kW, and 100+kW. Always tethered, so no need for your own cable.
The type of cable youâll need for untethered charge points will depend on the charge point and your vehicle.
If you want to find out about your specific car, check out Zap Mapsâ guide here.
How to use Public Charging
There are 4 main ways to access public charge points:
The elmo Option
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Is Tesla Charging Free
Tesla wants to curb the rush on its Superchargers by offering free charging during off-peak hours at certain locations. It announced the promotion in a tweet on Monday. Over the last nine years, Tesla has built out a vast and growing network of Superchargers that now encompasses more than 1,000 stations in the US.
If You Have Two Evs To Charge But Only Planned For One This Guide Is For You
We didnt mean to get a second electric car. After purchasing a Tesla Model 3 earlier this year, my wife and I began asking ourselves, Why are we still burning gas at all when we dont have to? Plus, we discovered we like the way electric cars drive even the non-Tesla ones more than gas-powered cars. When we found a good deal on a 2016 Chevy Spark EV, we pulled the trigger and welcomed a second EV into our happy home.
The only problem was we had never planned to charge two electric cars at home. When we bought the Model 3, we had an electrician install a 240-volt outlet in the second bay of our two-car garage. This was a considerable expense, as the heavy-duty wiring had to exit our homes basement, travel along the exterior of our house, go through our garages seriously thick cinder block wall, and then travel across the ceiling of our garages first bay to get to the second. Did I mention our garage bays are also separated by a brick wall?
So we were faced with a question that will become increasingly common as more and more households go completely electric with two EVs how do we charge two electric cars at home?
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What Is An Electric Vehicle Charging Station
First, it is helpful to define what an electric vehicle charging station is. A simple way to explain that is to look at the smartphone in your pocket or purse as a surrogate for the electric vehicle.
Just like your phone, an EV has a battery that enables it to operate. If there is no electricity stored in your phone’s battery, it won’t work. Similarly, if there is no electricity stored in an EV’s battery pack, it won’t go anywhere. And just as with a smartphone, the electricity stored in the EVs battery is consumed when you use the car. You must replenish that electricity by charging the cars battery.
How do you charge your smartphone? Why, you plug it in, of course. But in reality, you use a charger that converts the 120-volt alternating current available from a typical wall outlet into current that your phone can use to charge its battery.
That conversion of power into a form that an EV’s battery pack can accept is exactly what an electric vehicle charging station does. It takes the type of electrical current available in your house 120-volt or 240-volt AC and converts it into a current flow the EV battery system can accept.
Using A Public Charging Station
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Electric Vehicle Solutions For Business
With expert advice, a selection of charge points, vehicle leasing and energy supply all under one roof, the move to electric vehicles has never been easier.
There are cost benefits to your business going electric. From fuel savings to tax incentives and financial benefits.
See how much your business could save by making the transition to electric vehicles.
What Are The Costs Of Charging An Electric Car At Home
We look at the cost of charging a car and using different electricity tariffs in more depth here, but broadly speaking it depends on the cost of your electricity.
You can calculate the cost using a simple sum. You will need to know the battery size of your electric vehicle or the one you are considering buying/leasing, plus the price per kilowatt hour for your electricity this should be on your energy bill. For example, 14p per kWh.
Size of battery x Cost of your electricity = the cost of charging your car from zero to full41 x £0.14p = £5.74
If you switch to a cheaper energy supplier, or one with a cheaper overnight rate for example, then the cost to charge your car becomes even cheaper.
You can find out more information in our guide to EV energy tariffs.
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What Power Rating Should I Use For My Home Socket
In the UK 3-7 kW chargers are the most popular and are widely recommended. Some homes have a single-phase electricity supply and can support the additional 7 kW load. There are some homes with three-phase supply that can use a more powerful charger up to 22 kW. You always need to check with the installer that your fuse board has enough spare capacity to support the additional load of a home charging station.
Finding The Right Plug To Charge An Ev
Voelcker explains the difference sounds more complex than it is. The vast majority of fast-charging locations have both kinds, with a different cable on each side of the station. Its like the same gas pump could dispense both regular gasoline and diesel fuel from different hoses.
As for the price, a 240-volt recharge could cost you anywhere from zero dollars to a fixed hourly rate. Charging networks often provide membership programs to minimize your recharge cost. Thats something especially useful if you cant regularly charge your vehicle at home.
The EVgo network charges rates by state and it varies for Level 2 charging. Checking the companys website, the pay-as-you-go approach costs 30 cents per minute in Georgia for its rates effective September 2021. However, if youre an EVgo Plus member, the rate per minute drops to 24 cents.
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Equip Your Home With A Level 2 Charging Station
If you plan on charging your EV at home, the next key step is to equip your home with a level 2 charging station. These vary more and more in response to the increase of electric vehicle models available today. Youâll consequently have to choose a charging station that best suits your needs and your lifestyle.
Some models are mounted to a wall, others are available as plug-in versions and can be moved. There are âsmartâ level 2 charging stations that allow you to view your charging history or even schedule charging sessions at specific times of the day. Some charging stations are better suited for cold weather than others.
Yes, there are many factors to consider when you decide to purchase a Level 2 charging station for your home. But fear not! The ChargeHub Team has prepared a guide on How to Choose Your Home Charging Station. Letâs take a look, shall we?
Charge Using A Regular Wall Socket
1 Hour of Charging ~ 8 km of Driving Range
All EV models come standard with a portable cord-set that lets you charge using any standard household outlet. This is called Level 1 charging and is the slowest speed of charging, but ensures that no matter where you are, you can always recharge.
If you are driving a plug-in hybrid, it is possible that Level 1 charging is all you really need. Level 1 will fully recharge most plug-in hybrids on the market over-night.
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Where Can I Charge My Car In Dubai
Under DEWAs Electric Vehicle Green Charger Initiative, a comprehensive infrastructure of electric vehicle charging stations has been built across Dubai. Currently, over 300 of such charging stations exist in the region, including wall box, public, fast and ultra-fast charging options. Locations of Dubai EV charging stations can be found on DEWAs online map here.
Travel Distance Per Charge
New fully electric cars can typically travel at least 200 kilometres on a single charge. Some plug-in hybrid electric cars can travel 40-80 kilometres on electric, with an additional 500-900 kilometres of gas range. The distance an EV can travel depends on:
- the vehicle technology
- battery size
- accessories in use
- an individual’s driving style
EVs do not run out of charge unexpectedly. As with gasoline-powered vehicles, the dashboard display will indicate your level of charge so you can plan your trips accordingly.
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Level 2 Charging Stations Have A 240
- It can deliver an optimal battery charge of 80% in 4 to 5 hours at a charging speed of about 22.5 km per hour for a plug-in hybrid and up to 45 km per hour for an all-electric vehicle .
- It is plugged into a special outlet or connected directly to the electrical panel.
A level 2 charging station is therefore a key element in truly enjoying all the advantages of charging at home: its practicality, ease of use, reliability and savings!
What about level 3 charging stations?
While faster charging stations exist, they cost thousands of dollars and have energy needs that surpass what is available in a home. As a result, they are currently only used for public charging. If youâd like to learn more, check out our comprehensive guide to charging an electric car.
Do All Electric Cars Use The Same Plug
These are two different kinds of connectors for charging an electric car at home.
Most likely it will be a Type 2 connector. Most cars use this type of plug as it was mandated by the EU that all plug-in cars from 2014 must have a Type 2 socket.
There are some cars that have the older, differently shaped Type 1 socket, such as the Mitsubishi PHEV. But these are rare. Type 1 to Type 2 converters are available.
Not all electric cars are created equal. Only those that pass our tough lab and road tests make it into our expert pick of the best electric cars.
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