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How to recharge your electric car: what you need to know.
How to recharge your electric car: charging stations, sockets, connectors, and services. What are the best and most reliable solutions for recharging your electric vehicle even if you do not have a charging station or wallbox at home?
The electric world undoubtedly is the future of mobility, even though it may seem complex to understand in all its aspects today. A few hints and tips will help you find your way around the best battery management and use, the standards available today, recharging times, and everything you need to know to make the right choices and never run out of battery power.
Electric cars and charging: does the future start today?
In recent years, interest in electric cars and charging systems has multiplied, paving the way for a sustainable future in mobility. To first-time buyers of an electric car, the process of charging the vehicle may seem complicated. Still, it is actually much easier than it looks. It is essential to understand the basics: where, how and when.
One of the main factors to consider when owning an electric car is how to charge it if you do not have a charging station or wallbox at home. Today, this is no longer a problem, as alternative on-demand charging services, known as mobile charging, allow you to charge your vehicle wherever you are, easily and quickly.
With electric mobility constantly evolving, it is the perfect time to take a step into the future. Are you ready for your new electric car?
Infrastructure, services, costs, charging points, wallboxes, sockets, cables, and connectors… but it all has to start with a dash of technological knowledge.
Cables, connectors & Co. What standards?
With the increasing popularity of electric cars, one of the crucial factors for the large-scale deployment of this technology is the availability of reliable and compatible charging infrastructure. The cables and connectors used for charging electric cars are essential to ensure a safe and efficient connection between the vehicle and the charging point. So, let’s start with an overview of the cables and connectors currently most widespread and used.
•CCS (Combined Charging System) Combo:
The Combined Charging System (CCS Combo) is one of the leading global standards for charging electric cars. It combines an alternating current (AC) charging connector with two additional direct current (DC) poles, allowing users to use the same socket for both types of charging. The CCS Combo connector itself can be of two types: CCS Combo 1 (CCS1), in which the AC connector is Type 1, and CCS Combo 2 (CCS2), in which the AC connector is Type 2
•Type 1:
The Type 1 connector is a standard used mainly in North America and Japan for AC charging of electric cars. Its characteristics are defined by the international standard IEC 62196.
•Type 2:
Connector Type 2 is a standard mainly used in Europe for charging electric cars in alternating current. Its characteristics are defined by the international standard IEC 62196
•NACS:
The NACS (North America Charging Standard) connector is a connector developed by Tesla for AC and DC charging of its vehicles. To ensure compatibility between Tesla vehicles and charging stations that do not have the NACS connector, Tesla has also developed an adapter to adjust the connector to other charging standards (CCS Combo and CHAdeMO).
•CHAdeMO:
The CHAdeMO connector is developed by several automotive companies in a consortium (CHAdeMO consortium) and is mainly used on Japanese and some European cars. With this connector, DC charging of vehicles is possible, while AC charging requires a second connector. Using two different connectors on a vehicle makes the CHAdeMO connector a less commonly used connector type than other DC charging standards.
Electric car charging: how long does it take?
One of the questions that most interest and concern owners of electric cars, or those about to buy one, is how long it takes to recharge.
The charging time of an electric car varies depending on several factors, including battery capacity, charging power and environmental conditions. There are three modes of charging: home charging (via wallboxes), public charging (via so-called fixed charging stations), and on-demand mobile charging, a practical service with which the electric car can be recharged through a special van that reaches the vehicle wherever it is, even at home.
• Home charging:
A home wall charger (wallbox) supplies charging power up to a maximum of 22 kW. Considering an average battery capacity of a 60-kWh electric car, the charging time can vary from about 3-4 hours to 9-10 hours.
• Public charging:
Fixed columns can supply more charging power than domestic wallboxes up to 50 kW. In this case, the charging time may be shorter than domestic charging. Charging takes an average of 1 to 4 hours. Still, ultra-rapid charging stations can supply much more power, up to 350 kW, taking the battery from zero to 80 % of its capacity in about 30 minutes.
•Mobile charging:
Complementary fast and mobile charging solution to existing ones, reaching charging in areas not covered by infrastructure. The service is available wherever needed, even at home, by a special van that gets the vehicle and provides fast charging (up to 90 kW).
Mobile and home fast charging
As seen above, mobile recharging is one of the most innovative types available for recharging one’s electric car directly at home.
A pioneer in this field is the E-GAP Delivery Fast service, the first of its kind in Italy: in practice, it is an “on-demand” fast recharge, i.e. available at any time, wherever the vehicle is, even at home.
A fast and mobile solution complementary to existing ones and which can recharge in areas not covered by the infrastructure.
An innovative example of “energy delivery” in support of electric mobility: the recharge requested by the user will be delivered by a dedicated van with the same power as a fast-charging station.
The entire process, from booking to payment, occurs via an app.
You book the charge directly from your smartphone, activating geolocation or indicating a future location where the vehicle will be parked. Then you choose how long the recharge is needed, the van reaches the car, and the operator provides the energy within the required time, even if the owner is not physically present. Again, via the App, it is possible to follow the progress of the recharge in real time. Then, the system automatically charges the recharge cost to the credit card at completion.
Recharging your electric car with E-GAP Delivery Fast is also a 100% green choice because the vans are all Full Electric and use batteries that provide energy from certified renewable sources.
This solution allows you to recharge your car directly at home, offering convenience and practicality without installing a fixed domestic charging station with related problems.
Before installing a fixed station, it is essential to check the available electric power. It may be necessary to upgrade the home electrical system to support the charging station. Still, with E-GAP Delivery Fast, the problem is solved.
