What is electric vehicle charging station and how does it work?

 

Networks of charging stations in megacities are not developing as actively as owners of electric cars would like. Today, you can charge your electric car near some shopping and entertainment centers and in rare public parking lots. But there are usually queues for charging stations. For those who do not want to waste personal time, there is a good solution - an individual charging station installed next to the house or garage.

This is where the benefits of cooperation with us for car dealerships appear, which can offer the client a comprehensive service, including the purchase of an electric car and a charging station for it. We are ready to take care of all the nuances of the design, installation of such equipment and its subsequent maintenance. 

The expansion of mobile charging infrastructure is a logical consequence of the growing popularity of electric vehicles in the world and in India. In some countries, the authorities are initiating the emergence of new car charging stations: they create favorable conditions not only for installation, but also for their production. In addition, engineers and entrepreneurs who are engaged in infrastructure development write specialized software and create charge control systems are interested in this market.

How an electric vehicle charging station works?

The market for electric car charging stations is divided into three parts: it includes devices for home, private and public use. With this in mind, there are three levels of chargers.

Level 1 chargers

These are on-board devices that look like advanced smartphone chargers. They can be connected to a conventional outlet - they take alternating current from the mains and convert it to direct current to recharge the standard battery. Since this is a very slow process, these chargers are only useful for home use.

Level 2 chargers

They are implemented as full-fledged separate modules, inside which there is an energy conversion board, a control board for communication with the car and a separate board for transmitting data to other devices (for example, a user's smartphone). These is the most common type of charger for electric vehicles, and for private and public use, security and access restrictions, as well as screens for displaying information, are usually added to them. If charging needs to be integrated into a building management system - and this is often found in business centers - an appropriate controller will be required.

Level 3 chargers

We usually call them car charging stations or DC chargers. And they are most often installed along highways and at gas stations. They have the most complex design and high performance: up to 150 kW, several hundred amperes and 480 watts. DC chargers have an additional module for current conversion and control, and the same modems are used to exchange data with the central server as in second-level chargers. The main advantage of Level 3 chargers is that they can recharge an electric car battery in 15-30 minutes.

How does an EV charging station work?

The principle is simple: you need to connect one connector of the charger to the car battery, and the second to a three-phase outlet. At the start and at the end of charging, the user hears a beep. The charging time depends on the current strength, the capacity of the car battery and the voltage in the mains. Accordingly, the more powerful the charging station, the less time it will take to restore the charge to the maximum value. The slowest are the first-level chargers, they are suitable only for home use.

Technologies that make life easier for electric car drivers

EV charging station is more technologically advanced than their petrol counterparts. Many of them exchange information with a central platform and can send information to smartphones of electric vehicle owners. For example, artificial intelligence detects when a charging station needs extraordinary maintenance and delivers an alert to the maintenance staff. The owner of an electric car can install an application on a smartphone that suggests how best to plan a route to a destination in order to make a minimum of stops and save money.