Spark Your Interest!
Why You Need a Charger?
In short? Charging your EV with a charger is safer, faster and cheaper. Safer, because the charger is smart and will control the flow of energy through the cable. Fast, because charging with a charger is about eight times faster than with just a cable. And last but not least affordable, because you can charge your car at off-peak times when, in some countries, electricity is cheaper than normal.
How much does it cost to charge the car?
It’s difficult to answer, since the price of electricity varies hour to hour. However smart chargers are packed with technology that will allow you to set schedules and charge when the electricity is the cheapest.
How long does it take to charge the car?
An EV car charger can charge up to three times faster than in a standard electrical outlet. It utilises all the power capacity you have available, and guarantees you the highest charging power.
Why should I get a home charger for my electric car?
Using a smart home charger is safer and faster than charging from an electrical outlet.
Whats the difference between AC and DC?
There are two kinds of 'fuels' that can be used in electric cars. They're called alternating current (AC) and direct current (DC) power. The power that comes from the grid is always AC. However, batteries, like the one in your EV, can only store power as DC. That's why most electronic devices have a converter built into the plug. You may not realize it but every time you're charging a device such as your smartphone, the plug is actually converting AC power to DC.
AC charging for electric vehicles
When it comes to electric vehicles, the converter is built inside the car. It's called the "onboard charger" though it really is a converter. It converts power from AC to DC and then feeds it into the car’s battery. This is the most common charging method for electric vehicles today and most chargers use AC power.
DC charging for electric vehicles
As we've learned, power from the grid is always AC. The difference between AC charging and DC charging is the location where the AC power gets converted; inside or outside the car. Unlike AC chargers, a DC charger has the converter inside the charger itself. That means it can feed power directly to the car's battery and doesn't need the onboard charger to convert it. DC chargers are bigger, faster, and an exciting breakthrough when it comes to EVs.
What Is Smart Charging?
Smart Charging means you can intelligently manage how your electric vehicle charges by connecting it to the grid.
When a vehicle is ‘smart charging’, the charger is essentially ‘communicating’ with your car, the charging operator and the utility company through data connections. In other words, whenever you plug in your EV, the charger automatically sends them important data so they can optimize charging.
Thus, smart charging allows the charging operator (be it an individual with a charger at their home or a business owner with multiple charging stations) to manage how much energy to give to any plugged-in EV. The amount used can vary depending on how many people are using electricity at that time, putting less pressure on the grid. Smart charging also prevents charging operators from exceeding their building’s maximum energy capacity, as defined by local grid capacities and their chosen energy tariff.
What’s more, smart charging allows utility companies to define certain limits for energy consumption. So, we don’t overload the grid by using more energy than we are producing.
This saves everybody time and money and, most importantly, economises energy to help us to better protect the planet’s precious resources.