EV Charging Station

An EV charging station is a piece of equipment that connects your EV to a power supply. Charging stations are fundamental for EVs, as they are what provide the “fuel” for the vehicle; just like gas stations do for conventional vehicles.

How to use an EV Charging Station?

In general, the majority (80%) of charging will take place at home, so it’s likely you will use a home charging point. For an at-home charging station, you simply need to plug in your car.

A public charging station would require more checks before using. You would need to:

1. Determine the charging level – You should aim to use either a level 2 or 3 charging station. Level 2 charging stations are, in general, readily available. Level 3 may be used, but are more expensive; better for when you need a quick top-up.
2. Check the plug type – This should not be an issue, as these are typically consistent across EVs; unless you have a Tesla and you would need to use Tesla’s superchargers.
3. Check the provider – Charging stations are operated by private companies, local governments, or public-private partnerships. You may need a physical card for some or just use your mobile phone. Many providers collaborate, and stations can be easily found via online maps, such as at PlugShare and ChargeMap. Some users did find issues with public charging stations, such as poor charging station design, charging cables not reaching ports, and poor station maintenance. 

Solar-Powered EV Charging Station

Is EV Charging Stations Safe?

Safety is of paramount importance for the use of charging stations, so users must be aware of the potential safety hazards.

Fire

Fire is the primary hazard for charging stations. The key fire hazard is due to outdated electrical wiring and power supplies within the building where the charger is installed. Thus, it is essential that the building meets the charging station’s technical requirements.

Without the proper electrics, the charger could overheat and cause a fire. Some EV chargers may have a temperature sensor to detect overheating.

Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter Failure

Standard EV charging stations are connected to their power source via a GFCI, in order to prevent electrical shock occurrences. However, reports have revealed a 57 percent failure rate for GFCIs, around the globe. Reasons for this are understood to be associated with lightning, age, wear, and ineffective inspection policies.

Types of Electric Vehicle Charging

1. Level-1 EV Charging (120 Volts): Level-1 electric vehicle charging upholds 120 volts and should be possible utilizing a power line and a control box that accompanies most electric vehicles. Level-1 charging is exceptionally helpful and should be possible at home. Level-1 EV chargers don't bring about any establishment cost and can essentially be connected. The main disadvantage with level 1 chargers is that it requires around 16-18 hours to charge a 60-kWh vehicle.
2. Level-2 EV Charging: Level-2 electric vehicle energizing hardware upholds flows to 240V AC and requires introducing electric vehicle supply gear (EVSE) and electric wiring equipped for taking care of higher voltage power. The time taken to charge a battery relies upon its ability and the speed at which it is charged. Charging through Level-2 chargers is a lot quicker than Level-1; a 7 kW EV charger requires 7 to 8 hours to charge a 60-kWh vehicle. Level-2 chargers can be utilized for homegrown or work environment conditions like homes and lofts, little work environments, accommodation, and retail locations.
3. Level-3 EV Charging (480 Volts): Level-3 EV charging, likewise called DC quick charging, can energize viable vehicles to 80% in just 30 minutes. Level 3 chargers convert high voltage AC power into DC power for direct capacity in EV batteries. DC quick charging is principally intended for public charging stations. These frameworks are very costly when contrasted with level-1 and level-2 EV chargers. It takes around 20 to 30 mins to re-energize an electric vehicle utilizing DC (level-3) charging. DC (level-3) EV chargers have business applications as they are an ideal choice for vehicle armadas and public vehicles, for example, electric transports, that require quick charging and can oblige an enormous number of vehicles all the while.

EV Connector Type

Understanding the Components of EV Charging Station

The EV charging station comprises an Electric Vehicle charger, Power Grid, Facility Meter, Energy Controller, Software platform, Network operating center, and other relevant components.

The power storage system at Electric Vehicle Charging Station consists of three main units: Battery, Power Conversion System, and Software. Let’s discuss them in detail:

1. Battery: At EV charging stations, the batteries are primarily lithium-ion batteries, consisting of cells, packs, battery management system (BMS) to manage control of the charge and discharge of the battery.
2. Power Conversion System: The power conversion system for the EV charging station comprises an inverter, its enclosure, and thermal management (HVAC) for batteries to maintain the battery at a specific temperature.
3. Software: Electric Vehicle Charging Software is an integral part of EV charging infrastructure. It helps charge point operators and e-mobility service providers to manage EV charging stations and their customers. EV charging software (web or mobile-based) helps in managing the EV chargers at charging stations. Some of the key features of the EV charging software are: connect and monitor the charger, automatic fault detection, live meter display, billing and payments, track costs, manage users, interactive dashboard, and more.
4. Vehicle inlet – The socket on the EV which receives the charging power.
5. Connector – The end of the charging cable which plugs into the EV.
6. Cable – A flexible bundle of conductors which connect the EV to the charging station.
7. Plug – The end of the cable which plugs into the charging station. This can vary per region – in the U.S., the plug and socket-outlet are permanently connected.
8. Socket outlet – The socket on the charging station in which the cable is plugged

EV Charging Station TESLA

Use Cases of EV Charging in Different Environments

EV arrangement suppliers focus on a wide range of clients with cutting edge more brilliant, more dependable, more available, and outflow free arrangements. The most recent EV charging arrangements have a minimal plan, great AC divider boxes, DC quick accusing of vigorous availability, and separate on-request EV charging answers for EV armadas. A portion of the business use instances of the Electric Vehicle Charging Solutions are:

Residential Charging: EV Charging arrangement sellers give simple to introduce EV chargers for individual houses, lodging social orders, and private structures. Home chargers are very much incorporated with appropriate wellbeing highlights for individuals and electric vehicles. These chargers are conservative, lightweight, have connected AC input links and DC yield links, and give adaptability to be utilized as versatile chargers or to be divider mounted. These chargers have over 95% change effectiveness, bringing down the absolute expense of responsibility for controlled vehicles.

Public Charging: Public charging stations use AC Type 2 chargers, which are appropriate for general applications like work environments, organizations, shopping centers, inns, and public business charging. These frameworks are powerful and sturdy and can be overseen by unified administration programming. EV charging arrangements introduced out in the open spots offer straightforward attachment and-play gadgets and charge all the sorts 2 viable vehicles. The administrator can utilize RFID labels for client validation and remotely deal with the applications and energy costs through the product related to these chargers.

Fleet Charging: EV Fleet charging arrangements require a DC charger to help a wide range of vehicles and charging needs. These quick DC chargers accompany state-of-the-art advancements in equipment plan and application programming. They additionally permit consistent combination with installment stages and are equipped for firmware and programming up-degree over the air. These DC chargers can oblige 30KW - 300 KW of EVs.

EVSE-Table

The Future of EV Charging

Electric vehicle charging infrastructure is moving towards using renewable sources of energy like sunlight based and wind, and vehicles to the lattice (V2G) or Bidirectional chargers are steps toward this path. Then again, to diminish range nervousness among EV proprietors and to make utilizing EV chargers more straightforward, remote charging of electric vehicles is likewise making a buzz in the car market space.

With the electric vehicle framework falling set up, the business is anticipating conveying e-versatility arrangements that are not confined to autos and creating capacities to invigorate our parkways, modern armadas, organizations, urban areas, and utilities.