In our earlier post about electric vehicle (EV) car charging, convenience was cited as a key reason that Australian customers install an EV car charger at home.
Australian customers for home EV charging facilities often have off-street parking, such as a lockup garage, a carport, or a driveway spot where they want to be able to charge their EV or hybrid vehicle.
But there are also other ‘home-based’ users - such as EV motorists who live in apartment buildings with underground parking. In these situations, your building’s strata company will likely need to be approached to give permission before an EV car charger can be installed in your underground parking bay.
What is an EV car charger?
There are three main types of car chargers available to Sydneysiders.
- Wall sockets: The familiar Australian 240-volt, three-pin plug or wall socket; it can take up to 24 hours to charge an EV using one of these power points;
- Wall boxes: Many different wall boxes are available: you can even shop for them on Amazon, etc. Generally, using a wall box will give you better results than a typical household power point. A wall box will often have a convenient digital display indicating charging status, time remaining to full charge, etc.
- Fast chargers: These are found at public EV charging stations - they look a bit like a petrol bowser - and provide a much faster rate of charge than a domestic power point.
According to one provider of domestic charging solutions, home-based EV chargers, or wall boxes, can be almost ten times more powerful than regular wall outlets, resulting in a much faster and anxiety reducing charge.
Whatever recharging facility you choose for your EV at home or work, a licensed electrician will be required to perform the safe and effective installation.
Remember: Australian law requires that licensed electrical contractors conduct the installation of all permanently wired electrical equipment. A licensed electrician will make sure the power supply to the wall socket or other charging point is correctly installed and established.
How long does it take to charge an EV?
According to Nissan Australia, there are three levels of charging times for the new Nissan LEAF (2020).
- The first level is via the three-pin, 15-amp, 240-volt Mode 2 wall socket (Ed: note that not all Australia wall sockets are 15-amp). This is best suited for those who have light driving habits and who recharge the battery from the time the LEAF indicates that battery life is low. In this case, a full charge takes about 24-hours.
- A second level charge - from a Mode 3 connection - takes about 7.5 hours (from empty to full). Nissan says that around the world it sees about 70% of its customers installing a garage wall box. This ‘set and forget’ system can charge the LEAF overnight ready for the day ahead – much like a mobile phone.
- Finally, the 50kWh CHAdeMO fast charging point has the ability to accomplish a charge from empty to 80% charge in about 60 minutes.
According to information on Australian motoring website Car Advice, the time it takes for most EV’s to reach full charge is dependent on the type of charger you’re using, i.e. this is how long it can take to charge an EV from empty to full charge:
- Wall socket: 18 - 24 hours
- Wall box: 4 hours
- Fast chargers: 40 minutes
Charging an EV in Australia
The EV car charging ecosystem in Australia is still in formation - but there are encouraging signs of more and more public charging stations coming online.
Currently, however, charging an EV in Australia can be met with mixed results. For example, some users have reported the following problems with using public charging stations:
- Non-EV vehicles parked in shopping centre or public parking reserved for EV charging
- Non-functioning or otherwise faulty charging bowsers
- Payment systems being offline preventing access to charge your EV
These are just a few of the kinds of problems you can encounter when trying to charge your EV.
Little wonder that EV owners want the security of knowing they can reliably charge their EV fully at home and thereby avoid ‘range anxiety’.
How to find out more about EV car chargers
Sydney EV owners can find out more about EV car chargers here:
- Consult your EV car dealer
- Consult the NRMA
- Electric Vehicle Council - the national body representing the electric vehicle industry in Australia - https://electricvehiclecouncil.com.au
- Browse online shopping stores to view EV charger types, prices and to read customer reviews which can provide valuable insights into what it’s like being an EV car charger user
- Consult your EV’s manufacturer, e.g.:
Audi: https://audi.com.au
Nissan: https://nissan.com.au
Tesla: https://tesla.com
Hyundai: https://hyundai.com.au
EV car charger - Electrician installs
If you would like more information about arranging to have an EV car charger installed, e.g., power point, wall box, etc., contact MySparkyAus.
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Guest author: #contentifyom, October 2020