How to Use EV Charging Stations ?

The revolution of electric vehicles has already begun and research shows that more and more people are going to switch to electric than traditional gasoline-powered vehicles in the near future. One of the major perks of EVs is that rather than filling your car up with gallons of gas, you can simply plug it into a charging station to fuel up. But, as an average car owner has spent their life driving a gas-powered car, charging one’s EV takes a little more planning and knowledge.

What is EV Charging?

Just like a cell phone, electric vehicles need to be charged in order to run. EV charging is the process of using an EV charging equipment or station to deliver electricity to the EV’s battery by tapping into the electrical grid. An EV charging station converts the 120-volt or 240-volt AC of the electrical current available in your house into a current flow the EV battery system can accept.

Different Types of EV Charging Stations:

There are mainly three types of EV charging, levels 1, 2, and 3. As the number of level increase thus increases the speed of charging, but they have their own limitations.

• Level -1 EV Charging:

This is the one that you plug into the wall at your home. This charger draws a small amount of power from the outlet and is the slowest when comes to EV charging. The maximum output of a Level 1 charger is 2.3 kW, which will offer you approx. 6 – 8 km (4 – 5 miles) of range with an hour of charging. But, this is the most affordable option for EV charging.

• Level – 2 EV Charging:

This is the most opted EV charging as it is faster, safer, smarter, and more cost-efficient than level 1 charging. It delivers power between 3.7 kW and 22 kW, which means it can fully charge an EV within 4 – 14 hours, depending upon your home’s power output. On average, level 2 EV chargers are 15 times faster than level 1 chargers.

• Level – 3 Charging:

This is the fastest option to charge an EV with speeds between 50 and 250 kWh. It can fully charge an EV within minutes. However, level 3 charging stations require a lot of space and costs around 50 times more than level 2 charging station as it delivers high power output. This is why you can find these stations mostly at public setups such as malls or commercial buildings.

How to use EV Charging Stations?

Before buying an EV, it is very important to know how to use EV charging stations. Most public charging stations will require you to sign up for the payment and from there it is simple enough.

• Pop open the EV’s charging port
• Grab the charger from its holster
• Plug in and leave it for a while

A display at the charging station will show you how much electricity (and how much you will have to pay) you’ve added to your EV. Also, there will be a marked phone number that you can call if you need any assistance.

Buy the Best Home Charging Station for EV

Installing and learning how to use EV charging stations should be done by every EV user. Charging Shop brings you the best-charging stations for private use or for public charging. Most of our charging stations are compatible with our proprietary CHRG Network station management system. We work with fleet operators, installation companies, energy suppliers, and electric car drivers to provide the best product and service in the EV charging business.