As the cost of fuel continues to rise, drivers around the world are now resorting to driving electric vehicles. But these cars require you to have a home electric vehicle (EV) charging station. While there are many public EV charging stations, they are not enough to allow you to charge your car fully whenever you want. That’s why a residential charging station is necessary. This article tells you what you need to consider when purchasing and installing an electric car charger in your home.
What to Consider When Installing an Electric Vehicle Charger in Your Home
Installing an EV charging station at home is a significant investment requiring several critical decisions. Here are some important considerations you have to make when installing a residential EV charger.
How Fast It Charges
Different EV chargers offer different charging speeds, depending on how fast you want your car charged. Most public vehicle charging stations have quick charging systems in order to serve as many drivers as possible. So, if you only charge your vehicle up overnight, your car is a plug-in hybrid with a limited electric range, or you don’t drive long distances between charges, then you won’t need a very fast EV charger.
Most plug-in hybrid vehicles (apart from the Volt) have a limited electric range, which enables them to charge fully in less than five hours using the included level 1 (120V) charger connected to a typical household power outlet. In fact, most owners of these hybrid vehicles don’t need a level 2 charging station.
Circuit Size
One thing that might limit the size of your residential EV charging station is the capacity of the electrical circuit you need to use. If you try to charge your car at the same rate or higher than your electrical system’s capacity, it will flip your circuit breaker. Therefore, limit your charging rate to about 80 percent of your circuit’s capacity.
The second reason you should charge at a slower rate is efficiency. The electricity lost (known as line loss) is relative to the square of the current (the amp’s number in the charging rate) and inversely equal to the capacity of the wiring. Line loss also increases with temperature, and the lost energy turns into heat in the wiring, further reducing efficiency.
Features
Different models of EV chargers come with varied features. The features you choose depend on your charging needs. But some of the standard features include permanency, charging cords, and charging speed. For more information on installing EV chargers, talk to Mr. Electric of SW Missouri.