Everything You Need to Know About EV Charging Stations
An electric car charging station is that place where vehicles that are plug-in (electric or hybrid) obtain their energy to be able to function, in the same way, they need gasoline for propulsion they do with gasoline.
This time we will tell you everything you need to know about the EV charging stations if you plan to purchase an electric car:
Types of charging for electric cars
Conventional recharge
This type of recharge is one of the most common for people who use the car for domestic use, the vehicle must be connected for approximately 4-8 hours to complete its charge. When this charge is carried out at home, an intensity and an electrical voltage that the owner has contracted is used, for example, if it is a 16 amp and 230 volts one. This indicates that the electrical power to support this type of load is generally 3.7 kW, completing the charge in approximately 8 hours
The optimal recharging, seen from an efficiency point, is to carry out this type of charge at night hours when energy is used less, this type of recharging point is adaptable to be installed in the garage.
Semi-fast recharge
This type of recharge is optimal for recharges that are carried out in any work center or in areas where you are going to stay for an hour and an hour and a half while being parked (either in shopping centers, supermarkets, etc.). The vehicle must remain connected between 1 to 3 hours, to obtain a full charge, depending on several factors such as the battery of your vehicle or the power that is available. Calculating that the parking time in a car park is one hour, during that time approximately 80% of your car battery can be charged.
Semi-fast charging requires 32 amps of current and 230 VAC of electrical voltage. This implies that its electrical power can give you a point for this type of load ranging from 7.5 kW to 22 kW.
Fast charge
This charging solution is the one that, according to the users' point of view, is most closely resembles their charging habits. That is why it is the ideal type of recharge for service stations or some restaurants since the person will last waiting for short periods, the vehicle must remain connected for approximately 30 minutes to obtain a charge of 80% taking into account that the battery medium allows up to 30kWh.
The fast charge allows you to deliver the energy in a continuous way obtaining an output power of 50kW, although you can also find recharging equipment that will offer you fast alternating current charges with a maximum power of 43kW. The connectors in this type of station are different from the previous ones since they have security systems adapted to the high amperage that circulates through these connectors. The two types most used for this type of recharging are the CCS Combo connector and the CHAdeMO.
Ultra-fast recharge
The latest trend in recharging is the closest thing to what we know as recharging at gas stations, these ultra-fast points; have an output power of 150kW and are capable of charging the vehicle's battery in just five minutes. The type of connectors used in these recharging equipment is practically the same as those used for fast chargers since they are the most suitable and safe for direct current charges.
How do the electric car charging stations work?
Once you have selected your electric car charging stations in which you will charge your vehicle, its operation is very simple, you just have to extract the cable that goes from the vehicle and connect it to the plug of the charging station and wait.
The charging stations pass the energy directly to the network of the battery of the vehicle that is recharged depending on the type of charger you have selected.
Where are the charging stations?
Today, most of the charging stations for electric vehicles available are for public use. And you can find them in gas stations, shopping centers, car parks, dealerships, workshops, supermarkets.
Connector types
An important element for the operation of an electric car charging station is the type of connectors it offers to its customers. At the moment, in European countries there is no standard model that allows you to load all types of vehicles, so each brand must choose the one that seems most appropriate. The problem is that users may find that the charging station in which they go does not have the connector that their car needs.
Today, there are six types of connectors in electric vehicles, here we tell you more about them:
Schuko plug: This is the plug that you will find the most and the most it is used. This is compatible with European power outlets and responds to a CEE 7/4 Type F standard. It has an earth connection and two terminals. It is only compatible with slow charging stations. This connector is used by the Renault Twizy
SAE J1772 connector (Type 1). It is a type of Japanese standard connector (used by Americans and valid in the EU), it is used for recharging in alternating current. It contains a total of 5 terminals, two of them are current, two are complementary and the last one is ground. It has two levels so it will allow you both fast and slow charging. This connector is suitable for vehicle models such as Opel Ampera, Nissan Leaf, Nissan ENV200, Mitsubishi Outlander, Mitsubishi iMiev, Peugeot iON, C-Zero.
MENNEKES connector (Type 2). This connector of German origin, although it is not specific to electric vehicles, is very common to be used in them. It contains seven terminals, of which four are for current, another for ground, and two for communications.
Combined single connector or CCS. It is a proposal that was created by Germans and Americans to be a standard solution. It has five terminals that are distributed for current, grounding, and communication with the network. This type of connector allows both recharge, that is, slow and fast. Car brands such as Audi, BMW, Daimler, Porsche, and Volkswagen are already incorporating this type of connector.
Scame connector: there are currently five and seven terminals, depending on whether the current is single-phase or three-phase, and they are generally used for semi-rapid recharging.
CHAdeMO connector. It is the standard connector for Japanese car manufacturers. It is designed for fast recharging in direct current, therefore, it contains 10 terminals, ground connection, and communication.
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