Ev Charger Installation
The world has ushered-in a new era of transportation, and as the
performance and range of electric cars grows, we are seeing more manufacturers
produce them, and ultimately more of them on the road. The downside to owning
an EV is that it’s not always simple to fully recharge them from home.
Fortunately, CM
Electrical Qld has the knowledge and experience to provide you with the
right solution that’s suitable for your home and your charging needs.
There are three levels of EV chargers, but before you choose your
charger type, it is critical to first ascertain the power that is available to
the property in which you’ll be installing the charger. In Queensland, the
state’s power grid was designed and built before homes started installing
accessories that draw large amounts of power such as Air Conditioning units,
induction stoves, instantaneous hot water systems, and pool heating systems to
name a few. In response to the ever-increasing demands on the electrical
infrastructure, Energex has placed limits on the amount of power available to
certain suburbs and streets. Read more on the Energex EV charger requirements.
It is worth keeping in mind that not all properties in
Queensland will have the capacity to run a wall charger at full capacity due to
power supply limitations to the property. Fortunately, most wall charger
manufacturers have selectable settings where the charging output can be turned
down to suit the property’s power availability without needing any additional
upgrades.
As the number of EV’s on the road increases, the number of
properties allowed to have fully-connected wall chargers will be less and less
over time. Applying the rules of ‘supply & demand’, having an EV charger in
your property will be a significant value-adding feature in years to come.
Should your property require a power upgrade to have a wall charger with full
7kW capacity, this investment will return dividends come time to sell.
Our team can provide you with the services to determine what
power you have available to you, and once we have that information we can
install any type of EV charger, whether you’re installing a charger at your
house, your business or industrial property. We have installed a variety of
various EV chargers to suit models from top companies including Tesla, Porsche,
Mercedes, Audi, BMW, and Mitsubishi.
Level 1 Chargers
This is the most basic charger that usually comes standard with
an electric vehicle to provide around 2.4kW of charging power. They literally
plug into any of your home’s regular 10 Amp power points – the same as any
other appliance in the home (phone chargers, toasters, etc). Whist these
chargers are convenient, they only offer what’s referred to as ‘trickle
charging’, meaning a slow charge that can take up to 48hrs to fully charge the
vehicle. These are more suited for hybrid vehicles, or EV’s that are only
driven a few times a week.
Level 1.5 Chargers
There’s a small improvement available to the Level 1 chargers
(that CM Electrical Qld like to call Level 1.5), and that is to install a power
point with a 50% increase in power delivery to around 3.5kW. The installation
of a dedicated 15 Amp power outlet is quite often the best option available to
homes that do not have the available power supply to install a Level 2 charger.
Level 2 Chargers
Level 2 chargers are dedicated wall boxes, or HPWC’s (High Power
Wall Connectors) that provide a faster rate of charging to your EV. As there
are 2 different types of power supply in the world – Single Phase and 3 Phase –
we’ve broken the charger descriptions down, because while they may look the
same their performance and installation requirements are very different.
Level 2.0 Chargers (Single Phase)
Level 2.0 chargers greatly improve the charging power from 10
Amps up to 32 Amps – or around 7kW. These chargers reduce charging times
considerably, with the majority of EV’s being able to go from completely flat
to fully charged in under 12hrs. However – as mentioned above – to install a 32
Amp charger you must first determine if your home or business has the power
supply available. In our experience, 95% of homes do not have the available
power to install these chargers, and an upgrade to the property’s power supply
is required.
It is also important to note that in Queensland, the power
supply authority (Energex) stipulates that Single Phase EV chargers over 20
Amps can only be connected via an economy or controlled tariff, where the
charging unit can only charge your EV during off-peak times – or a maximum of
around 18hrs per day.
If you want 24/7 charging available to your property, your only
option is to install a 3 Phase charger, which may mean upgrading your property
power supply to 3 Phase.
Level 2.5 Chargers (3 Phase)
Level 2.5 increases your charging power from around 7kW to a
considerable 22kW, meaning that 10 minutes of charging can yield up to 22km of
travel, or 130km in just 1 hour. As noted above, unlike Single Phase chargers
this charging capability is available 24/7. If your property has more than one
EV, this could be the ideal solution for you.
Level 3 Chargers
These chargers are strictly public DC chargers – or what’s
commonly referred to as ‘Superchargers’. These chargers are essential in making
EVs viable for driving long distances with minimal charging times. Charging
capacity ranges from 50kW on a rapid charger up to 350kW on an ultra-rapid
unit. At the lower end, this method will add up to 150km of range per hour plugged
in; at the upper end, this method can recharge some electric vehicles from zero
to 80% in under 30 minutes. Due to the huge power requirements of these
charging stations, significant infrastructure upgrades are necessary, with
close coordination with local government offices and power authorities.