Types of chargers for electric cars

Electric car charging stations are increasingly available not only in some shopping centers, but also in many other places, such as office buildings, hotels and public city parking lots. What types of chargers can be found in public places and is it worth using them?

Increase in the number of electric cars

Although it is still difficult to compare Poland in this respect to Scandinavia or even neighboring Germany, the number of electric cars in our country has significantly increased. According to data from the end of February 2021, there were over 20.5 thousand electric cars on Polish roads. Of these, approximately half were hybrid vehicles.

With the growing number of electric vehicles, there is also an increasingly developed infrastructure of car charging stations. According to statistical data from the above-mentioned period, there were approximately 2,750 charging points in Poland. One out of three stations offered charging with direct current (DC), and the rest were equipped with chargers for electric cars with alternating current (AC). What are the differences between both types of charging stations and which ones are worth using?

AC (alternating current) chargers

To precisely explain the operation of the available types of chargers, it is worth recalling the types of current we distinguish: alternating current and direct current. The most frequently used one is the first one, which can be found in wall car chargers, at some charging stations, and in private homes.

AC chargers use single-phase (230 V) or three-phase (400 V) voltage. In the case of chargers using alternating current, the maximum charging power is from 2 to 12 kW. In the case of models equipped with an EVSE module that protects against overloads, the charging power can be increased to approximately 22 kW.

The operating speed of chargers powered by alternating current is not very fast, and the charging time is approximately 2-3 hours, depending on the capacity of the battery in a given vehicle. A definite advantage of AC chargers is their relatively low price, which makes them a common choice, among others. owners of shopping centers and parking lots surrounding them.

DC chargers

Chargers powered by direct current (DC) are also called fast chargers. They can offer power of up to 150 kW, which in practice means that the vehicle’s battery can be fully charged even within 20 or 30 minutes. In practice, there are very few of these most powerful chargers in Poland, but there is a good chance that the situation will change as the number of electric cars in our country increases.

Since DC chargers for electric cars generate much more heat during operation, they should be cooled with liquid. In addition, they usually require the installation of a transformer. Both of these issues make the construction of DC charging stations much more expensive compared to AC chargers. Depending on the selected model, its power and other parameters, a DC station may cost from PLN 60,000 to even PLN 250,000.

The costs are definitely higher when it comes to maintaining such a charger for electric cars. Due to the very high power consumption, AC car charging stations are connected to the C21 tariff (tariff for companies powered by low-voltage networks). These issues make DC chargers much less popular in Poland compared to AC chargers.

Types of plugs in electric cars

Electric cars have different types of plugs, which could potentially cause problems when charging them in public places. There are four types of plug-ins:

• type 1 – they were created mainly for North American countries and are generally not supported in Europe;
• type 2 – this is the standard plug in European Union countries, selected by the European Commission. These types of plugs are found in most electric cars in Europe;
• type 3 – this plug-in was intended by the creators to be the basis on the European market, but it was replaced by type 2 due to the much better level of security of the latter. However, Type 3 is used in Tesla, and due to the marginal number of chargers with this type of plug in Poland, owners of vehicles of this brand should have appropriate adapters;
• type 4 – this is a type of plug from Asia and intended for local vehicles.

Different division of chargers

Chargers for electric cars can be divided not only by the type of electricity used, but also by the speed of their operation. Therefore, the following stations can be indicated:

• slow – using alternating current with a power of less than 11 kW,
• medium fast – operating on the basis of current from 11 to 22 kW AC,
• fast – with current from 22 to approximately 50 kW DC,
• ultra-fast – with a power of 100 or 300 kW. There are still no chargers of this type in Poland, but it is only a matter of time, as their installation is fully justified in places where owners of electric vehicles only appear for a moment and want to charge their car during this time (including on highways, at shopping malls, etc.).

Settlement for charging electric cars in public locations

Chargers for electric cars charge fees either for each minute of use or for each kWh consumed, and efforts are being made to standardize the basis for charging the fee to the latter type, as it is more objective and reliable. There may be differences in prices for charging a car depending not only on the power of the charger, but also on the place where it is located. Stations located in the centers of large cities charge much higher fees compared to devices located on their outskirts.

As for the method of toll collection – in the vast majority of stations, the amount due is paid by the vehicle owner via a payment terminal.

Sources:

https://www.muratorplus.pl/technika/instalacje-elektryczne/stacje-ladowania-szkolow-elektricznych-rodzaje-stacji-ladowania-osoby-rozlichen-aa-AsuM-ME8B-93W8.html

https://e.autokult.pl/35701,rodzaje-wtyczek-do-zdrowiew-elektricznych

https://moto.pl/MotoPL/7,176355,26942119,rodzaje-ladowarek-do-zdrowiew-elektricznych-stacje-kosztuja.html

https://pspa.com.pl/2021/informacja/licznik-elektromobilnosci-liczba-osobch-zdrowiew-z-napedem-elektryczny-w-polsce-przedrożyla-20-tys-sztuk/