EV Basics

 An electric vehicle charging station, also called an EV charging station, electric recharging point, charging point, charge point, electronic charging station (ECS), and electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE), is an element in an infrastructure that supplies electric energy for the recharging of plug-in electric vehicles—including electric cars, neighbourhood electric vehicles, and plug-in hybrids.

For charging at home or work, some electric vehicles have converters onboard that can plug into a standard electrical outlet or a high-capacity appliance outlet. Others either require or can use a charging station that provides electrical conversion, monitoring, or safety functionality. These stations are also needed when travelling, and many support faster charging at higher voltages and currents than are available from residential EVSEs. Public charging stations are typically on-street facilities provided by electric utility companies or located at retail shopping centers, restaurants, and parking places, operated by a range of private companies.

 The charging time depends on the charging power (load in kW of the charging station) of your products, the maximum power accepted by the vehicle’s charger, the type of cable used, and, of course, the capacity of the onboard storage system and the current charge level.

Usually, a medium car with a 25 kWh battery takes:

• 8 hours to charge at home (with an average power of 3 kW)
• 2 hours to charge at faster-charging stations (with power between 7.4 and 22 kW)
• 30 minutes to charge at even faster-charging stations (with power between 43 kW and 50 kW)

 Charging stations can be found and will be needed where there is on-street parking, at taxi stands, in parking lots (at places of employment, hotels, airports, shopping centers, convenience shops, fast food restaurants, coffeehouses, etc.), as well as in the workplaces, in driveways and garages at home. Existing filling stations may also incorporate charging stations. As of 2017, charging stations have been criticized for being inaccessible, hard to find, out of order, and slow; thus reducing EV expansion.[34] At the same time, more gas stations add EV charging stations to meet the increasing demand among EV drivers.[35] Worldwide, hotels are adopting a policy of providing their guests with electric car charging.  

 Charging equipment for plug-in electric vehicles PEVs—which include plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) and all-electric vehicles (EVs)—is classified by the rate at which the batteries are charged. Charging times vary based on how depleted the battery is, how much energy it holds, the type of battery, and the charging equipment. Depending on these factors, the charging time can range from less than 20 minutes to 20 hours or more. Charging the growing number of PEVs requires a robust network of stations for both consumers and fleets.

For information on currently available EVSE models, see the Electric Drive Transportation Association’s GoElectricDrive website, which includes information on charging networks and service providers. When choosing equipment for a specific application, many factors, such as networking, payment capabilities, and operation and maintenance, should be considered. For additional information on selecting the right charger, see the California Energy Commission’s (CEC) EV Charger Selection Guide.

 Level 1 Charging

 J1772 charge port

Alternating Current (AC) Level 1 equipment (often referred to simply as Level 1) provides charging through a 120-volt (V) AC plug. Most, if not all, PEVs will come with a Level 1 cord set, so no additional charging equipment is required. On one end of the cord is a standard NEMA connector, (for example, a NEMA 5-15, which is a common three-prong household plug) and on the other end is an SAE J1772 standard connector (often referred to simply as J1772, shown in the above image). The J1772 connector plugs into the car’s J1772 charge port, and the NEMA connector plugs into a standard NEMA wall outlet.

Level 1 charging is typically used when there is only a 120V outlet available, such as while charging at home, but it can easily provide charging for all of a driver's needs. For example, 8 hours of charging at 120V can replenish about 40 miles of electric range for a mid-size PEV. As of 2019, less than 5% of public charging outlets in the United States were Level 1.

Level 2 Charging

 J1772 charge port

AC Level 2 equipment (often referred to simply as Level 2) offers to charge through 240V (typical in residential applications) or 208V (typical in commercial applications) electrical service. Most homes have 240V service available, and because Level 2 equipment can charge a typical PEV battery overnight, it is commonly installed at PEV owners' homes for home charging. Level 2 equipment is also commonly used for public and workplace charging. This charging option can operate at up to 80 amperes (Amp) and 19.2 kW. However, most residential Level 2 equipment operates at lower power. Many of these units operate at up to 30 Amps, delivering 7.2 kW of power. These units require a dedicated 40-Amp circuit. As of 2019, over 80% of public outlets in the United States were Level 2.

Level 2 charging equipment uses the same J1772 connector and charge port that Level 1 equipment uses. All commercially available PEVs have the ability to charge using Level 1 and Level 2 charging equipment. Although Tesla vehicles do not have a J1772 charge port, Tesla does sell an adapter.