Would you like to mainly charge your electric car at home at a charging station? Or are you out and about a lot and want to use a mobile charging station?
Link to EraCharge
A wallbox is a powerful socket for your electric car. Once it has been installed, you can use it to charge your electric car both quickly and conveniently.
With a mobile charging station, you don’t have to spend a long time on installations: a mobile charging station can be used immediately at any industrial or high-voltage socket. Unlike when buying a wallbox, you don’t need to spare a thought for how many kilowatt hours you’re allowed to charge for – the charging power is detected automatically.
According to a study conducted by the General German Automobile Club (ADAC) (in September ), the vehicle electronics’ self-consumption is lower with a wallbox compared to a Schuko® socket since the battery is charged much faster using a wallbox. The operating time is shorter, meaning there are far fewer charging losses.
Apart from that, the wallbox also resumes charging independently after unexpected errors or even a total power failure. That way, you won’t be surprised by a low battery level when you start your next trip.
How quickly your electric car is charged depends not only on the battery capacity, but also on the charging power. This is determined by three factors:
The weakest link specifies the charging power that can ultimately be used. If you have decided that you’d like to use a wallbox, we recommend that you also consult an installation engineer. That way, you can rest assured that your house connection can provide this service.
You can flexibly manage how long you charge your electric car for. Anything between half an hour and 12 hours is possible, depending on several influencing factors. For instance, the charging time is influenced by the outside temperature and the battery’s aging process. A state of charge of between 20 and 80% is generally best for the battery.
However, you can also set the charging power based on your charging behavior:
You can find out about the advantages of each charging power in the article published in our Knowledge Center: Checking the facts – 11 or 22 kW charging power?
A key question we often ask our customers, and that is often underestimated too, is the necessary charging cable length.
Charging stations now offer a range of additional functions that make charging your electric car even more convenient. Decide for yourself what else you’d like to do with your wallbox at home – apart from charging the battery.
If you’d like to continuously keep track of how much electricity you’ve used for charging purposes and control your charging processes, the best way of doing so is with a charging station that comes with an app, such as by the manufacturers NRGkick or wallbox.
If you charge your electric car in an apartment building, you might want to be able to lock your charging station. This works very well with an RFID function or using an app.
Do you have a company car, and would you like to bill the charged electricity through your employer? In that case, we recommend using a charging station with a calibrated electricity meter, an app and an RFID function, from the likes of ABL.
If you’d like to charge your electric car with 100% solar power straight from your own roof, we recommend solar packages like the ‘Sun Tank Set’ with NRGkick or the SMARTFOX PRO Solar Energy Management System wallbox.
Once you know what you want your charging station to do, you can choose how it communicates best. Choose from WLAN, LAN, Bluetooth and mobile data.
You can get a reliable charging station as a basic model from about €600. The price may increase depending on the equipment and additional functions. Additionally, do take into account the costs of professional installation by an electrical installation company.
The conditions at the planned charging site in particular play a role in this regard:
The waiting times for a wallbox vary at present depending on the model. Due to high demand, you may have to wait a little longer to receive your desired charging station. The waiting times in question can be found on each product page.
Contact us to discuss your requirements of Ev Charging Solutions. Our experienced sales team can help you identify the options that best suit your needs.
There aren’t any long waiting times for an installation partner, though. If you use our installation check (available in Germany only), our Service Team will contact you shortly. We determine your charging station and electrical installation requirements.
Electric vehicle (EV) charging is only continuing to grow in demand, with the number of public EV charging stations in the U.S. reaching over 61,000 in February (Pew Research). BloombergNEF predicts that EVs will reach 45% of global passenger-vehicle sales by , and with an existing discrepancy between EVs and public chargers, increased demand for electric vehicle charging ports is already here. So, with technology and industry developing at such a quick rate, how do you future-proof your investment into commercial EV charging stations? Let’s dive into six things to consider before you buy.
There are three types of EV charging stations: Level 1, Level 2, and DC fast charging.
Level 1 chargers are typical for homes because they can be plugged into a common 120-volt AC outlet and have the longest charge times; charging a battery from empty to 80% can take 40-50+ hours for a battery electric vehicle (BEV), and 5-6 hours for a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV)*.
Level 2 chargers deliver electric power to the EV, which then uses an onboard converter to convert the electricity from AC to DC. These are convenient for homes, as well as public locations such as shopping, dining, and office buildings. Charging a battery from empty to 80% can take 4-10 hours for a BEV and 1-2 hours for a PHEV*.
DC fast chargers complete the power conversion before it ever gets to the car. This enables much faster charge speeds, making DC chargers great options for vehicles that need to repower quickly — say, when on a road trip or operating a fleet vehicle. Charging a battery from empty to 80% can take as little as 20 minutes*, but not all vehicles are compatible, which brings us to our next factor to consider.
*Charging speed times from U.S. Department of Transportation
Compatibility varies between car models and charging stations, so it’s important to consider what type of EVs you expect to see most at your business.
Level 1 and 2 chargers work with all EVs in North America, though Tesla vehicles require an adapter. The SAE J and the North American Charging Standard (NACS), a combined AC/DC-compatible plug designed by Tesla, are the two connectors used at these AC stations.
DC charging has three plug options: SAE combo (CCS), CHAdeMO, and NACS. While capable of charging at rapid speeds, one downside of DC fast charging stations is that they are not compatible with PHEVs. For a thorough look at charger types and compatibility, visit ChargeHub’s guide.
Essentially, the cost will increase with the level of charger — but that doesn’t mean that the most expensive option is always the best for your business. Remember that not all vehicle models are compatible with all chargers.
There are multiple factors to consider in the cost: the hardware itself, infrastructure, maintenance, and electricity costs.
Broadsign gives the following breakdown for hardware costs:
Chargers need the right infrastructure to carry the proper voltage and power output, which your property may not be equipped with. Potential infrastructure costs include a feeder and cable pole, power protection system, wiring, installation labor, and more. According to Broadsign, this can range from up to $1,500 for Level 2 chargers and up to $40,000 for DC chargers.
As with most things in life, EV chargers need occasional maintenance to keep them running in top condition. Depending on who you choose as a provider (more on that later), this cost could be baked in with the convenience of a partner service.
This writes itself, but electric vehicle chargers need electricity to run, which has its own costs. According to OBE Power, this typically ranges from $0.09/kWh to $0.21/kWh.
Good news for businesses interested in EV charging: the U.S. government has begun incentivizing properties to help build EV infrastructure! According to the IRS, the Alternative Fuel Vehicle Refueling Property Credit is available to businesses and individuals that place qualified refueling property, such as EV charging stations, into service during the tax year. If all qualifications are met, businesses could be eligible for a credit of up to $100,000 for each qualified item of property.
When planning for EV charging stations, give some thought to how many you should install at your business. A few factors to consider are how many of your employees/clientele are driving EVs, specific days or times your business sees increased activity, and which type(s) of charger you want to offer (charge times will factor into port availability).
Beyond the current number of EVs at your business now, it’s wise to future-proof your investment. According to CBRE, there was “an average of 12 drivers per active port in compared with an average of eight pre-pandemic (-).” If you’re installing infrastructure to support commercial EV charging stations, you may want to add more chargers as demand grows; ensure that any work you do now will accommodate future increased electrical capacity and enough space for additional chargers. This forward-thinking approach can be illustrated by three types of building codes for EV readiness: EV-Capable, EV-Ready, and EV-Installed. Putting this infrastructure in place at the beginning can reduce costs later when you’re ready to place additional business EV chargers.
There are many options for service providers to power your EV charging system, and this is an important decision that could provide a beneficial partnership over time. Choose a provider with a good reputation and experience, high uptime, and offerings that match the services you need. The base requirement for any provider is that it meets federal and state regulations. Beyond that, potential benefits could include full-service maintenance/repair, user apps, usage reporting, in-house software platforms, and more. Providers like ChargePoint have extensive capabilities and services to make your business EV charger experience seamless from setup to scaling.
If you are looking for more details, kindly visit Type 2 EV Charging Cable.