Explained: The Different Methods of Charging An Electric Vehicle
Dipayan Dutta unpacks the nuances of electric vehicle charging.
Time-efficient charging is the cornerstone of practicality for an electric vehicle. As electric vehicles continue to evolve in pursuit of becoming the default mobility solution of the masses, it’s important that we understand the various technologies so that we can make better-informed decisions with regards to the vehicles that we are interested in. Broadly speaking, a good rule of thumb to keep in mind is that DC (Direct Current) charging technology is the faster charger, AC charging is relatively slower.
Now AC charging is further subdivided into Level 1 chargers, the kind that works on a 15A wall socket and Level 2 charging that usually comes through an AC charging box that comes with the electric car. DC fast charging is broadly categorised as Level 3 chargers, although their speed is dictated by the voltage they produce.
The next most important thing to know is the kWh rating for your car’s lithium-ion battery. The higher the number, the more charge that your car can store and therefore, the more range it can offer. Like in an ICE engine, factors like power, torque of the motor and weight of the vehicle do factor into how efficiently that vehicle uses the energy available to it.
Now that we know what to look for before we buy an EV, let’s take a closer look at some of the charging technologies available to us.
AC Charging
In this case, the car receives AC current and converts it to DC through an onboard inverter to charge the batteries. Level 1 chargers use 15A wall sockets and usually take overnight charges of up to 12 hours or more to fully charge the battery.
Level 2 chargers that come with the car and can be installed in your home are relatively faster, offering up to 20kWh. Depending on the size of your battery, this could take anywhere between 2-4 hours to recover 100 per cent of the available range.
DC Charging
Level 3 or DCFC electric vehicle charging uses DC charge to directly charge the battery, bypassing the onboard inverter. This allows for not only a much higher rate of charge but also reduces the charging time exponentially.
The most common DC charging port is the CCS 2 port that can be fitted to any electric vehicle with a 7-pin standard level 2 port. CHAdeMO ports and Tesla’s level 2 port supercharger are the only exceptions to this type.
Wireless Charging
The most uncommon type, for obvious reasons. In this type of charger, the system uses electromagnetic waves to charge the car’s battery wirelessly. This is usually done using a charging pad that plugs into an AC wall socket.
Mostly, this tech is an R&D exercise, but some cars have sport level 2 wireless charging capabilities that can provide up to 11 kWh of charge. It may still be a while before we see this technology in the mainstream though.
Source: indiatoday
