Size matters!
Plugging in your EV at home into a standard 240V AC wall socket - via an EVSE - whilst it's convenient, it is the slowest method of charging possible - offering only about 2kW of charging power through a normal 10A socket. This method will be able to 'top up' your charge, however it is not realistic to rely on it for more than an average daily commute.
EV charging times for distance
To work out how long you will need to charge your car to travel a certain distance - take the charging capacity in kW as the same value as the kilometres you’ll get from 10 minutes of charging. For example, if you are using a 2kW Level 1, charger (standard household socket) you will get around two kilometres for every 10 minutes of charging.
The average vehicle in New South Wales travels approx. 13,272 kms a year or 36.4 to 70 kms a day (www.budgetdirect.com.au). You would therefore need to charge your EV every night for up to 3 to 6 hours, on a standard 2kW Level 1, charger, for just average daily use.
For a further distance comparison, a return trip from Brisbane City to Noosa (plus a bit of exploring) would be approx. a 350km trip. Utilising a standard 2kW Level 1, charger, your vehicle would require an uninterrupted charge for approx. 29+ hours - that is, if the battery capacity allowed for it. Thus leaving your reliant on access to DC Fast Charging infrastructure.
EV Charging time / Battery Capacity
To calculate how long it would take to fully charge your vehicle, just divide the battery capacity of the vehicle by the kW of the Charger that you are using, to gain an approximate time. For example:
- The Nissan Leaf’s 40kWh battery (with a range of approx. 270km), will take approx. 20 hours for a full charge on a 2kW Level 1, charger.
- The Audi E-Tron 95kWh battery (with a range of approx. 400km), will take about 47 hours for a full charge on a 2kW Level 1, charger.
- The Tesla Model S 100D has a 100kWh battery (with a 537km range), will take approx. 50 hours on a 2kW Level 1, charger.
Level 2 - AC Chargers
The good news is that there are quicker options available to you, by installing a Level 2 AC EV charger (supplied by EV Hub), which will increase the power and enable you to charge your EV faster.
Using the Tesla Model S 100D, with the 100kWh battery, as an example:
- EVBox Elvi or BusinessLine Single Phase 32A, 7.4kW, will take approx. 14 hours to fully charge.
- EVBox Elvi or BusinessLine Three Phase 16A, 11kW, will take approx. 9 hours to fully charge.
- EVBox Elvi or BusinessLine or Iqon Three Phase 32A, 22kW, will take approx. 4.5 hours to fully charge.
Note - A one hour charge, whilst shopping at Harvey Normans or Bunnings, from the award-winning EVBox Iqon will provide enough charge to drive approx. another 119km.
Level 3 - DC Chargers
These are the public DC chargers (AC & DC) for quick turnaround petrol stations and service centres, that are crucial in making EVs viable for driving long distances with little downtime for charging. Rapid charging capacity ranges from 50kW DC and ultra-rapid chargers with a 350kW DC capacity.
It’s worth noting that lower capacity EVs, such as plug-in hybrids and the Nissan Leaf, Hyundai Ioniq and Renault Zoe, are unable to use ultra-rapid charging, but are okay with up to 50kW charging. Even the higher-capacity models such as Tesla Model S, Mercedes-Benz EQC and Audi E-Tron will have a maximum charging capacity of around 110-150kW.
Note - Your car and charger speak to each other via the cable to only draw the maximum charge capacity.
In the context of our example:
- A Tesla Model S 100D, with the 100kWh battery, would be able to fully charge in just 15 mins on a EVBox Ultoniq 350kW charger, or 2 hours with a EVBox Troniq 50 charger.
How Long would it take for my EV to Charge?
There are a number of websites available that can assist you to understand the following:
- How long your EV would take to charge on different size kW EV Chargers
- What is the Internal invertor limitation of your EV - i.e. limitation of AC charge that your EV can take. What this means, is that you will not receive the full benefit of charging time reduction from a 22kW EV Charger (for example), if the limitation of your Nissan Leaf is only 6.6kW
One such website that could assist is - EVCompare
Levels of EV charging
Level 1 - AC
- Existing power point (10-15 Amp, single phase) used in combination with a specialised cable which is typically supplied with the vehicle.
- Typically used in domestic homes and businesses.
- This method will add between 10 and 20km of range per hour plugged in.
- It will top up daily use but will not fully recharge a typical pure electric vehicle overnight.
- 1-2.4 kW
- 7-15 km/hr of charge
Level 2 - AC
- A dedicated AC EV charger at up to 7kW (32 Amp, single phase).
- Typically installed in homes, apartment complexes, workplaces, shopping centres, hotels, etc – anywhere the vehicle will be parked for a while.
- This method will add up to 40km of range per hour plugged in.
- It will top up average daily vehicle use in an hour or deliver a full recharge overnight.
- 3.6-22 kW
- 15-100 km/hr of charge
Level 3 - DC
- A dedicated DC EV charger at power levels from 25kW to 350kW (40 – 500 Amp, three phase)
- Typically used in commercial premises and road-side locations to provide for faster recharging than Level 1 and 2 can achieve.
- At the lower end, this method will add up to 150km of range per hour plugged in
- At the upper end, this method can fully recharge some electric vehicles in 10 to 15 minutes.
- A high-powered public DC Fast Charger
- 10-150 kW
- 60-800 km/hr of charge
How much does it cost to charge an EV?
Petrol and diesel-powered cars are rated by how many litres of fuel they use per 100km (litres/100km). With electric vehicles it’s how many kilowatt hours (kWh) used per 100km.
The lower the kWh/100km value, the less you’ll need to spend to travel a given distance. With power also being priced per kWh, figuring out how much an electric car’s energy will cost is as simple as checking your electricity rate.
For example, the Nissan Leaf consumes 10kWh/100km. If you’re paying 0.28c per kWh (an average grid connected price during peak periods within Victoria) it will cost you $2.80 (10kW x 0.28) to charge it enough to travel 100km. The Leaf has a claimed 400km range, which means a full charge will cost you $11.20 ($2.80 x 4).
modes of EV charging
Different Types of Cable Connections
The IEC 61851-1 standard, that deals with electric vehicle conductive charging systems, describes four different charging modes:
Mode 1: With this mode, the EV is directly connected to a household socket. Mode 1 is the simplest possible charging mode and does not support any communication between the EV and the charge point.
Mode 2: Connecting an EV to the socket-outlet for a long time with no control and safety functions can increase the risk of electric shock. To solve this problem, specialists developed charging Mode 2 that uses a special type of charging cable equipped with an in-cable control and protection device (IC-CPD), to perform the required control and safety functions. The EVSE (special cable - see image) can perform functional switching as it detects connection to the EV and analyses its charging power demand.
Mode 3 (Level 2 Chargers): The AC current from the charging station is applied to the on-board circuitry to charge the battery. Several control and protection functions are employed to guarantee public safety. These include verifying the protective earth connection and the connection between the cable and the EV. Moreover, this mode can adjust the charging current to the maximum current capability of the cable assembly.
Mode 4 (Level 3 Chargers): This is the only charging mode that incorporates an off-board charger with a DC output. The DC current is delivered directly to the battery and the on-board charger is bypassed. The high power level involved in this mode mandates a higher level of communication and stricter safety features.
Types of Plugs
For AC Charging, the industry are now using the Type 2 Mennekes plug. The earlier version, the Type 1 J1772 plug are still used by some vehicles - i.e. 1st generation LEAFs, iMievs and BMWi3. Adaptors are available for Type 1 to Type 2, and visa versa.
Typically AC charging is done at the lower Levels 1 or 2. When you do this there is an AC to DC inverter inside the car that converts the AC power into DC power allowing it be stored in the battery.
A very important point with EV’s is that they can charge via both AC and DC. The battery inside is DC but depending on where you’re charging you might charge it with AC or DC.
Currently you have to use a different plug for lower speed Level 1/2 charging and the higher DC Level 3 charging. The industry in Australia is moving towards Type 2 Mennekes as the standard AC charging plug in Australia, with a mixture of CHAdeMO and CCS 2 for DC charging.
Having some fun - EV Supertrucks!!
General Motors debuts all-electric 2022 Hummer EV, and it’s a beast
General Motors is bringing back the Hummer “super truck”, but this time in all-electric, zero emissions form – and reservations are already open. For a princely sum of $A159,358.
”Best-in-class” 1,000 horsepower (746kW) from the Edition 1’s three motors, plus a phenomenal 15,591Nm torque. Providing approx. 563km driving range, and capable of accelerating to 97km/hr in about 3 seconds - thanks to its “Watts to Freedom” feature.
The Hummer EV Edition 1 will also come with an industry-topping 800 volt electric architecture that will allow it to achieve charging rates of 350kW – so far the only vehicle technically capable of this is the Porsche Taycan (although it is software limited to 270kW).
Driven article - https://thedriven.io/2020/10/21/general-motors-debuts-all-electric-2022-hummer-ev-and-its-a-beast/