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Understanding EV Batteries and Car Chargers

There is no denying electric vehicles are the future. All European governments have a plan, already in action, to replace an amount of petrol-based vehicles by 2030. For example, the Netherlands plans to ban the sale of petrol-based vehicles by 2025.

Understanding EV Batteries and Car Chargers

Ireland has different plans but also effective. The Climate Action Plan was developed in 2019 to outline just how we should reach over 900 000 electric vehicles by 2030. With all of that said, the general population still knows very little about electric vehicles, their batteries, and ev car chargers. This post aims to explain, in simple terms, how they function.

Electric Vehicle Batteries

There are two main types of electric vehicle batteries. Lithium-ion and nickel-metal battery. The former is used in most electric vehicles today and the latter mostly in hybrids. For reference, most modern smartphones like Samsung, iPhone, and Huawei use lithium-ion batteries.

Unlike the battery in your phone, an EV’s battery is huge, stretching on the bottom of your vehicle, under your feet. Their capacity is huge, measured in KiloWatt hours or kWh. For example, the new Nissan Leaf comes in two capacities, 40kWh and 62kWh.

To put those two into perspective, a 40kWh battery will be enough for day-to-day driving around the city. But if you are a heavy traveller, or you live outside of Dublin, and you need to travel to work in the centre every day, then you would need 62 kW, and possibly even more than that.

Lastly, many people are worried about the battery’s longevity. With today’s technology, most electric vehicles come with a warranty that promises a 70% battery capacity even after seven or eight years of usage. Which is quite good.

Understanding EV Car Chargers

As far as charging your vehicle goes, it is best to do it at home. EV home car chargers can be easily installed in your garage or parking lot and you can charge your vehicle during nighttime to get the lowest price.

If we take that same 40 kWh Nissan Leaf as an example, we can examine its charging time. With a 7kW wallbox, it needs seven hours and 30 minutes to fully charge, and with a 50kWh quick charger, it can reach 20% to 80% in around an hour.

This is another reason why having a home charger is beneficial. You can charge your car at night and have it ready in the morning.

Tethered or Untethered EV Car Chargers

You will see all our EV car charges can be bought as tethered or untethered. This may sound complicated, but it really is only about the charging cable. Tethered charges come with a wired charging cable that cannot be removed, and untethered don’t.

Which is better depends only on your preference. If you have a tethered charger you very easily plug the cable into your vehicle, whereas if you an untethered one you have to carry the cable with you in your boot and take it out for each charging. However, an untethered charger looks tidier on the front of the house plus you can buy a seperate cable of up to 20m in length allowing more flexibility if needed.

EV Car Chargers and their Power

Now you know a little about the power behind car batteries. It is time to combine that with the chargers. For example, MyEnergy Zappi comes in a 3.7kWh – 22kWh energy range and it is eligible for a 600€ SEAI grant.

Again, if you are using your EV often, you are travelling a lot, and you are thinking about upgrading, we would recommend a 22kWh home car charger. Simply because it will charge your EC faster, and when a new and improved electric vehicle hits the market, you won’t have to upgrade your charger as well.

If you have any questions or you need help with choosing the best EV car charger for your needs, don’t hesitate to contact us.

Get in touch

Join us on the road to clean mobility. Speak to an EV charging expert today.

Fill out the form and one of our team will contact you within 24hrs or simply mail us at info@epower.ie


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