Which types of electric vehicle chargers are available on the market?

Along with the New Mobility comes electric vehicles and a variety of questions around this, the way of charging is a very popular one. Today we will throw some light on the subject.

In recent times, the electric car has become the preferred choice for sustainable mobility. However, we find different opinions regarding some components of these vehicles that might not be so positive, such is the case of batteries for electric vehicles.

EV chargers come in different shapes and sizes. There are residential, commercial and even portable chargers. But, to begin to dig into the subject, we must distinguish between two fundamental aspects of EV chargers: charging levels and charging modes.

Charging levels are used to classify the power rating, voltage and current of the charging system.

There are 3 levels of charging:

LEVEL 1: Charging from 120V household sockets, with a maximum current of 12 to 15 A and a maximum power rating of 1.44kW or 1.92kW. At this level, charging is very slow.

LEVEL 2: 240V socket with a maximum current of 80A and a maximum power of 19.2kW. This level is more common in households. Although it requires special equipment, the charging time is significantly faster than level 1.

LEVEL 3: Also known as direct current (DC) overload, they typically operate at 400V, the highest that most homes can have. This level would be optimal for road travel. These chargers provide a quick burst of power, being able to charge the battery in half an hour or less.

Charging modes are used to categorize the mode of power supply, protection installation, communication and control of the charging system.

There are 4 different EV charging modes:

MODE 1 – Shuko mode: Refers to domestic power outlet charging with a simple extender cable, without any safety device in the middle.

MODE 2: Also refers to charging from the household socket, but with a control and protection device inserted in the cable. This charging mode is safer than the previous one, but the charging capacity will be limited to the maximum rating of the socket, usually 2.3kW maximum.

MODE 3: Refers to the dedicated charging point with appropriate control and protection. This is the most widely used charging mode worldwide.

MODE 4: Refers to DC (direct current) charging, the charging station provides DC voltage directly to the battery through its connectors.

Next week we will talk about TYPES OF CHARGERS, we don’t want to bog you down with so much information, if you found this interesting, we welcome your recommendations and comments.