How to Charge an Electric Car?

It is one thing to fill a diesel or petrol vehicle with fuel at the fuel stations and a whole other experience plugging in your EV to charge whenever you park. Many people find it excellent that you could park your car, plug it in and go to a restaurant nearby or go into the office. The best part is that when you come back, your car’s battery will have partially or fully recharged meaning you can complete your journey.

Some people move around with hybrid internal chargers where the EV charges en route. High powered rapid chargers also come in handy for people who find that they need a quick boost when still on the road.

The best place to start when looking at how to charge electric car is your home. This is where you stay for most nights of your life, and so does your car. Even if you travel a lot, your home is your most comfortable destination, and so your EV should enjoy the same comfort. For this to happen, you need to install a dedicated home charger.

With a home charging point, you can charge your EV overnight without any disturbance. You will also give time for the battery to get to the advised capacity more often, which is useful if you want it to last longer.

You can hire 50five for installations which will ensure that you also enjoy all the built-in safety features. If you go for a smart charger, you will even get Wi-Fi and intelligent features to make electric car charging at home more convenient. Most such chargers come with cables where you plug-in the moment you alight your EV.

If you have a separate cable, go for the type 2 socket charger which allows one to use a different cable from the one that comes with the charger.

Find the right EV charger for your home

The second most convenient charging point for an EV is at work, especially if you have a parking lot for your work’s building that has EV charging points. Many companies are installing these charging points to promote sustainability in their working environment.

Since this usually is a public space in as much as you have your own parking space, you will need to carry your cable. Depending on the mode of charging your company decided to go for, you will need an RFID swipe card or an app on your smartphone. If your company is able, they can install 50KW powered chargers which are much faster.

Whether it is a charging point at a fuel station, a public parking lot, a supermarket’s parking lot, gym, retail shop or cinema, all these can be in the public charging points category. With more people buying EVs and companies trying to keep their customers happy, charging stations sprout from different public locations. Some spaces are specially designated for this purpose while others are set as a plus for parking there.

For such public charging stations, always ensure you have your cable just like charging from work. With a 7KW charger, you can get at least 20 to 30 miles top-up. Some businesses give these services for free as an incentive for visiting their premises while in other places you will need RFID cards to access them. For more convenience, use a POD point map to find electric car charging stations near you.

Sometimes you have or want to go travel long but your battery may not last that long. This does not mean you cancel the trip or opt for a public means. By knowing how long the EV’s battery can last, you can tell when to stop for a quick boost. Check your route map in advance to find a place that has a high-power rapid charger. Power for such chargers ranges from 43 to 350KW. Motorway service stations in the UK have such charging points.

Note that this might cost you more than other regular chargers. They are usually available on a paid-for basis, so you also need to factor in that cost. The chargers have cables tethered the 43KW plus unit, and so you will not need to have a personal one. These power chargers are beneficial since at times you might have had to do a local drive around a town and consumed some power you had not accounted for.

To charge your EV, you will need a charging point and a cable. An RFID card or charging app is also necessary depending on where you are charging your EV. Try as much as possible to always have your cable with you as you can never tell if the public charging station one will have one or not. However, it will always be cheaper and easier to charge at home with your own home car charger.