Want To Set Up An EV Charging Station? Read This First

Amidst skyrocketing gas prices and growing consumer interest in sustainability, electric vehicles have managed to gain enough steam in 2023. If you have procured an electric car for the very first time in your life, there might be several questions floating around your mind like how much it would cost you to charge the car, whether you need to install a home charging station, and if so, how it would impact your electricity bill? 

The cost of charging electric cars varies greatly from one state to another in Europe. So, it would be downright difficult to give you an exact estimate. However, we would help you explore the various options that are there. 

Here, we will be looking at the nitty-gritty of EV charging stations, including home EV chargers and public charging stations as well. 

What is the Working Principle of Electric Vehicle Charging Stations? 

All cars have batteries. However, it is just a small 12.6-volt battery primarily used for igniting the engine. However, batteries in an electric car are quite different. Electric cars are equipped with a whooping lithium-ion battery that packs the potential of storing 100- kWh of electricity. 

You need to plug these batteries for long periods to charge them to their full capacity. What most people do is that they plug their electric car into a standard 240V wall outlet for charging their vehicle. But there is a catch. It could take an entire day or even more to charge your vehicle in this method fully. 

This is where an electric vehicle charging station comes into the picture. Also known as EVSE or electric vehicle supply equipment, these stations are so designed that they can charge electric cars at faster speeds when compared to a standard wall outlet. 

How Much Time It Would Take to Charge an Electric Vehicle at a Charging Station? 

Well, the amount of time it would take to charge an electric vehicle mainly depends on two factors: – the type of EV charger you are using and how massive your car’s battery is. The public chargers and home chargers are mainly Level 2 chargers. You can also come across DC fast charging at some public places.  

A 240-volt Level 2 charger is 2 times faster than a wall outlet and can juice up @11kW rate even an extremely high-performance car in just about eight hours. 

If you want to charge your car faster than the aforementioned time, you can use a DC fast charging station in public locations. These charging stations can provide power up to 400-800 volts, thus bringing down the charging time to less than an hour. For your reference, a 15-minute charge in a DC fast charging station can charge up a high-performance electric car for 200-300 km of range. 

It must be pointed out here that frequent fast charging can be detrimental to your battery in long term. So, we highly recommend using Level 2 chargers for regular use and use DC chargers only when you are in a hurry or traveling long distances. 

How to Find EV Charging Stations in Europe? 

You can easily find an EV charging station near you in Europe with the help of mobile apps. There are also many online sites where you can find charging locations from multiple charging locations. This will help you find the number of chargers in your particular location and compare the rates of the various charging stations there. Public charging stations in parking garages, hotels, and restaurants spread all around Europe. 

Do Electric Cars Lose Charge in Cold Weather? 

It is common knowledge that overheating can be disastrous for electric vehicles. But what happens in the cold season? Well, AAA conducted an extensive study on this matter where it was found that electric cars lose almost 12-41 % of their range in cold weather. Actually, electric cars use more energy on cold days. 

If you want to get the best possible range out of your EV, even in the winter season, you can park it in a garage and turn on the heater before unplugging the car from your home charger. This method can go a long way in ensuring optimum performance of your electric car, even during the cold season. 

Should You Install a Home Charging Station? 

Public charging stations are here and there in several parts of Europe, but what about a home charging station? Should you install one? 

We would highly suggest you install a home charging station. But why do we say so? Well, most of the cities in Europe do not have a free EV charging ecosystem. So, the most practical way to keep your car’s battery topped up is to install a home charging station. 

How Much Would It Cost to Charge Your Electric Vehicle at Home? 

Now, you might be wondering whether installing a home charging station in 2023 really makes sense.  A study showed that charging your electric car at a public charging station can cost double when compared to the cost involved in home charging. However, you should always check the local electricity rates and do the math yourself, as electricity costs vary from one state to another. 

Some electricity providers in Europe offer time-of-use rates like weekends or free nights. So, you can charge your car overnight during these off-peak hours. Thus, you pay less than what you might have to if you have charged your car during the daytime.

 

Do EV Charging Stations Utilize Renewable Energy? 

Driving an electric car is certainly much more efficient than driving a gas car. However, that does not, in any way, mean that you are running on renewable energy. This is because the power of a charging station comes ultimately from the power grid, which mainly runs on coal, oil, and natural gas. 

If you want to charge your car with renewable energy, you should install a solar-power plant on top of your house roof so you could deliver green energy directly to your EV. 

Final Take: 

So, we hope, by now, you have a fairly good idea of the various nitty-gritties involved with setting up an EV charging station. You should install a home charging station if you want to charge your electric car during off-peak hours and benefit from lower electricity rates. Here @ChargingShop.EU we are ready to answer all your questions regarding home of public charger. Contact us on the form below >  https://chargingshop.eu/elements/pages/contact/

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