Understanding EV charging stations is crucuial because in less than 5 years, there will be over 10,000,000 Electric Vehicles (EVs) on the road. By 2030, almost 30% of new car sales are expected to be EV.

As electric vehicle adoption accelerates, EV drivers need to know how they’re going to charge and how charging works – this means understanding the EV charging station basics.

Chargers differ based on the level of charging and type of vehicle. In your charging station research, you may have come across the terms kilowatts, volts and amps. So, what do these terms mean? And how do they help you identify the right charging solution?

In this article, Sona breaks down these terms and helps explain how EV charging stations function so that you can choose the charging solution that best fits the needs of your business.  

How do EV charging stations work?

To understand how EV charging works, think of electricity flowing into your car like in a plumbing system. The voltage, measured in volts, is like water pressure, and pushes an electrical current to the vehicle’s battery. The electrical current flow, measured in amps, is like the water’s volume. The maximum amount of electrical current that can be delivered to your vehicle’s battery is the amp rating. Volts and amps deliver kilowatts (kW) of power to your EV’s battery, which means the kilowatt value listed in the charging station specifications is the rate at which your vehicle will charge.

To determine how much power will flow to your car’s battery, multiply the volts by the amps and divide by 1,000. For example, a 240-volt, Level 2 charging station with a 30-amp rating will supply 7.2 kilowatts per hour. After one hour of charging, your EV will have an added 7.2 kilowatt hours (kWh) of energy.

To calculate how long it will take to charge your entire battery based on your EV charging station, take the vehicle’s battery capacity, in kWh, and divide that by the charging station’s kW output. For instance, take a fully electric EV model that has a 42-kWh battery capacity. As mentioned, the EV charging station output is 7.2 kW, so a full charge will take approximately six hours.

How do you decide the power requirements for your charging station?

Each EV also has a charging rate which indicates the maximum amount of power the battery can safely accept regardless of the amount of power being delivered by the EV charging station. You can find your vehicle’s charging rate in your manual or by entering the make, model, year, and type maximum charge rate into Google search.

When deciding how many amps your home charging station should have, consider your average miles driven per day, how often you would be able to charge at home, and your vehicle’s charging rate.

 For example, using a 16-amp charging station for eight hours would provide you 95 miles of range each time you charge. If you normally drive 30 miles per day, then you would only need to charge your EV overnight three times a week. If you drive longer distances more often, you might consider a higher amp charging station for fewer charges per week.

Be sure to think about any future changes you might have, such as transitioning from a plug-in hybrid to an all-electric EV, owning multiple EVs, or any potential changes to your driving habits.

Likewise, in a commercial charging station, factors like how long customers are likely to stay for a charge, their average charging energy requirement, and the common types of EVs charged need to be factored into the charging solution. Availability of power from the utility and the amount of space accessible for charging stations should also be considered.

Source Credit: pgevideo

Understanding EV Charging Stations: Watts, Amps, and Volts – YouTube