Charging electric car
Electric car
More and more electric cars are coming onto the market. This also means that there are more and more ways and places to charge your car. With the right resources, this is an easy job. You can choose to use a public charging station, but you can also purchase one yourself so that you can charge your car at home. Nowadays, more and more fast charging stations are also becoming available. Handy for on the road if you want to have enough battery capacity in a short time to be able to drive further. Of course, each method of charging has its own advantages and disadvantages.
Public charging of an electric car
If you want to charge your electric car at a charging station in a public space, you will need a number of tools. First, you need a charging plug that is suitable for your car. It can be a type 1 plug or a type 2 plug. To activate a public charging station, you will also need a charging card. This can be used to register where you have charged and how much you have charged, or in other words, how much electricity you have used to charge your car. As soon as the contact with the plug is broken, the registration also stops. Do you want to continue charging because the plug has accidentally been disconnected? Then you will have to present your charging card again. You can recognise a public charging station by the special sign.
Charging station for car charging at home
If you have an electric car, it can be useful to purchase a charging station yourself. You can then always charge your car at home when necessary. Before you buy one, you should consider what features it should have. Think of a single or double charging station, a fixed plug or wall socket, the charging capacity and what type of plug it is suitable for. If you have a lot of space around your house, you can opt for a charging station. If space is limited, a charging station that you can attach to the wall is a good option. The disadvantage of your own station is that you of course have to invest in it yourself. On the other hand, you do have the convenience and that you can always have your battery charged!
The options you can choose from when purchasing a charging station yourself are:
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Charging capacity: Instead of the station, this is determined by the car. The charger is located in the car. This converts the alternating current that comes from the charging point into direct current. The battery can only be charged using direct current. The charging capacity is expressed in kilowatts (kW).
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Charging connection: It is possible to buy a charging station with a wall socket, to which you connect your own plug, or with a fixed plug type 1 or type 2. The type of plug you need depends on the type of car you are going to charge.
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1 phase or 3 phase: A 1 phase uses a standard 230 volt connection. A 3 phase uses 3x230 volts. The advantage of this is that the car then charges faster. Your car must be suitable for this, otherwise it will not work and the car will not charge faster.
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Single or double: The difference is that it concerns one connection or two connections. In a public space, a double charging station is often desirable. At home, a single connection may be sufficient.
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Pass system: You can choose whether you want a charging station with or without a pass system. As previously described, you can activate the station with a pass. You will need a pass anyway if you want to use a public charging station.
Use of type 1 or type 2 plug
The table below shows the differences between the type 1 plug and the type 2 plug.
Fast charging
There are also more and more fast charging stations. These have the advantage that they have a shorter charging time. The disadvantage is that there are not many of these types of stations at the moment. It is also only useful if your electric car is suitable for fast charging. By using a fast charging station, the charging time is only 30 minutes. The battery is then only charged to 80%.
