Having an electric car means having a charging point at home. It is, perhaps, one of the most dependent keys, since, if we do not have the environment for it, it will be of little use to have a new generation vehicle. In this way, and thanks to continuous technological advances, we have several tools that will facilitate the task. However; What should we consider? What can be the biggest profits ?
The two main workhorses of electric cars have been autonomy and recharging time. The first has already been resolved with higher capacity batteries, where some manufacturers have opted for more comfortable alternatives, such as Volkswagen’s 58 and 77 kWh , which offer up to 420 and 549 kilometers of range, respectively. The second is still in the works.
How do you charge an electric car?
And although it is advancing with the deployment of an increasingly widespread public charging network, there is still a long way to go. And that’s where a reliable and well-performing charging infrastructure in the home becomes almost essential and becomes almost essential. Because it will be our private gas station to supply us with electricity in less time than with conventional household plugs.
This is where the precise question comes: do we know how an electric car is charged, either at home or outside? Although the operation as such does not keep any secret, currently very few know how to recharge the battery of an electric, without knowing its express functionality. In this way, domestic recharges are mainly designed to make better use of time when the vehicle is stopped. And this usually happens throughout the night.
In this way, when we go to use the car we can check that its batteries are 100% charged. And for this, the two main methods to recharge an electric car are through a charging point or a conventional Schuko plug. About the former, they are also known as domestic stations.
What are domestic charging points
Of the 4,343 total recharging points that exist in Spain according to Electromaps, only 360 are domestic, a fact that will change shortly given the great convenience of recharging electric car batteries in your own garage at home. Thus, there are several types of recharging points depending on the garage we have and according to its charging speed.
In general, domestic charging points are slow charging, 16A and 3.7kW of power, despite the fact that some vehicles support up to 7.2kW. This leads to the fact that recharging occurs throughout the night in the hours when energy is least expensive. On the wall ones, they are well seen as the most accessible, since they allow you to safely recharge any type of electric or plug-in hybrid car.
They are chargers that are installed by means of anchors in the wall of the garage, either private or single-family or community garage. Wall chargers are those that are commonly used to charge electric and hybrid cars, due to their simple installation, ease of use and their economic cost. Known as Wallbox, depending on the type of garage we have, we will have one option or another.
- Square single garage property. In this case, the most normal thing is to connect the charging point directly to the home electricity meter. It is the ideal setting and with the lowest cost for the owner. This option requires a digital electric meter.
- Square Community garage . To install a charging point for our electric car at home from a community garage, it is only necessary to inform the president in writing.
There is also the option of making the connection from the general control panel, thus achieving greater control over the consumption of the charging point, although the installation will be more expensive.
Charges with conventional plugs
This, and unlike the wall station (or Wallbox), we can charge our electric vehicle in the most conventional way . In fact, all new generation cars are prepared to charge in the classic Schuko socket. The new recharging cables allow charging in Mode 2 avoiding voltage peaks and guaranteeing a safe recharge.
Its greatest distance is undoubtedly the loading speed . And it is that, in the case of the Schuko, it will charge at 2.3 kW (10A) and the charging point at more, so the recharge will be faster in the latter. On the other hand, the most recent electric vehicles also allow knowing the energy consumed, as well as the schedule of recharges.
Even so, and beyond an economic aspect, nowadays having a conventional plug where to charge the electric vehicle is not so interesting than before a Wallbox, especially because, assuming that it has 40 kW of battery capacity, we could be speaking of more than 20 hours of recharging. This will cause that, by accumulating so many hours of recharging, the only thing we can achieve is that the operation of the car begins to deteriorate , shortening the charging and discharging cycles of the electric car.
Recommendations and functionalities
From there, we will have to take into account a series of recommendations that will make charging your electric car at home a feasible and simple operation , but also very practical to maintain the level of your car. This process is influenced by factors such as power (watts), voltage (volts) and intensity (amps), but also the battery, the cables that connect the vehicle to the pole, the plugs or the types of recharging that exist.
All these concepts may sound strange when the driver is a neophyte on the subject, although the truth is that the one that can generate the most headaches is recharging. For example, and one of the most advisable aspects is that we do not ignore the capacity and cycles of the batteries. Because, like an everyday device, the sooner you charge it without having to, the sooner it will affect its performance. But there are several more.
Recharge it only when necessary
As we have pointed out, it is probably one of the aspects that you should take into account the most when recharging. There we will see how some things undergo small changes. The power that you have contracted in your house will not be one of them. It will not be necessary to increase it because, then, you will notice the increase in both electricity consumption and the bill.
Of course, your new vehicle will probably become the largest consumer of electricity in your home. Therefore, it will help you to keep only what is necessary plugged in and avoid connecting those devices that spend the most. A scenario that usually occurs at night, the most common period for recharging electricity.
Plan refills
At the same time, and hand in hand with the times of not abusing recharges and charge cycles, we have to take into account their planning. Therefore, here it is quite advisable that we develop and establish a daily charging routine , so that the car is always ready. If the charging point allows it, it is best to schedule the car charge so that it is ready one hour before use.
In addition, before using it again, it is recommended that the battery is at least 20% of its capacity. If it has been stopped for several months, it is advisable to do a couple of charges of up to 80% before using it.
Efficient driving also adds
With an electric car, and while charging at home, efficient driving techniques can also be applied which, among other things, will make the battery last longer. This way of driving is the one that has to do with an adequate speed, without abusing the air conditioning and taking advantage of the car’s own systems such as regenerative braking.
It is also important, for example, to check that the tire pressure is correct, not to carry excess luggage in the car, and, of course, to use the ECO mode when possible.
Don’t overload it
In the same way that we must avoid a continuous recharge every little time at all costs , it can also be counterproductive to do so because we continue to charge the battery when it has already reached 100% of its charge. However, this does not mean that if you are going to charge your electric car overnight you have to be aware of unplugging it when it is fully charged.
But because here, and thanks to the intelligent technology that practically all models of chargers incorporate, they will stop charging when the battery has reached 100%. In any case, it is recommended that the car battery does not drop below 15% , and that when it is recharged outside the home, it reaches 80% battery. In this way, its useful life will be optimized to the maximum.
Don’t let it download completely
Something very practical and essential for first-time drivers is that, the batteries of electric cars, like those of today’s smartphones, are made mostly of lithium ion. So letting them discharge completely can be detrimental.
Electric car manufacturers claim that this is due to the memory effect of batteries. This is a phenomenon that lithium ion batteries do not have. The lifespan of these new lithium ion batteries is measured by full charge cycles, so if we don’t wait for the battery to completely run out, it will last longer, as it will have fewer completed life cycles.
