How do you charge an electric car?

Are you considering buying an electric vehicle, but ask yourself How do you charge an electric car?

Charging EVs can seem more confusing than refuelling petrol and diesel cars, but it’s getting easier... Charging an electric car is more straightforward than you’d think, and it’s getting easier all the time. It still takes a little planning compared to a traditional internal combustion engined machine, particularly on longer journeys, but as the charging network grows and the battery range of cars increases, you’re less and less likely to be caught short. There are three main ways to charge your EV - at home, at work or using a public charging point either at the roadside or a service station. And of course if you run a Tesla, then there’s the firm’s dedicated Supercharger network that encompasses over 800 sites, from motorway services to numerous hotel car parks and shopping centres. Finding any of these chargers is fairly straightforward, with most EVs featuring sat-nav with sites plotted on, plus mobile phone apps such as ZapMap showing you where they are and who runs them. BP Pulse, Ecotricity, Gridserve, Ionity and Shell Recharge are some of the best known providers. NewMotion is another well-known provider and has been part of the Shell Group since 2017. Although it still exists, its customers are gradually being brought under the Shell Recharge banner. Effectively the service remains the same, with users able to access 3,000 charging points over 17 different networks across the UK, including Ionity rapid chargers as well as its own Shell Recharge stations. You can also use the service across Europe, increasing your available chargers to over 250,000 over 35 countries.

Public charging stations offer a range of ways to pay, often via a special card or payment app on your phone. That said, many chargers increasingly feature contactless technology, meaning you can pay with an ordinary debit or credit card. Legislation has also been enforced to allow “Ad-hoc access” without the need to pay a membership fee, or enter a long-term financial commitment, before being able to charge.

Ultimately, where and when you charge depends on how and where you use the car. However, if an EV fits in with your lifestyle it’s likely that most

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of your charging will be done at home overnight, with only short top-ups at public charging points when you’re out and about.

How long does it take to charge an electric car? The length of time it takes to charge your car essentially comes down to three things - the size of the car’s battery, the amount of electrical current the car can handle and the speed of the charger. The size and power of the battery pack is expressed in kilowatt hours, or kWh, and the larger the number the bigger the battery, and the longer it’ll take to fully replenish the cells. Chargers deliver electricity in kilowatts (kW), with anything from 3kW to 150kW possible - the higher the number the quicker the charging rate. Use the most basic charger and even something like a Nissan Leaf with a 40kWh battery will require up to 12 hours for a full charge. By contrast, the latest rapid charging devices, usually found at service stations, can add up to 80 percent of a full charge within half an hour. So which charger is best?

Types of charger There are essentially three types of charger - slow, fast and rapid. Slow and fast chargers are usually used in homes or for on-street charging posts, while for a rapid charger you’ll need to visit either a service station or dedicated charging hub. Some are tethered, meaning that like a petrol pump the cable is attached and you simply plug your car in, while others will require you to use your own cable, which you’ll need to carry around in the car. Here’s a guide to each:

Slow charger This is typically a home charger that uses a normal domestic three-pin plug. Charging at just 3kW this method is fine for plug-in electric hybrid vehicles, but with ever increasing battery sizes you can expect recharge times of up to 24 hours for some of the larger pure EV models. Some older street-side charging posts also deliver at this rate, but most have been upgraded to run at the 7kW used on fast chargers. Fast chargers Typically delivering Alternating Current (AC) at between 7kW and 22kW, fast chargers are becoming more common in the UK, particularly at home. Known as wallboxes, these units usually charge at up to 7kW, slashing the time it takes to replenish the battery by about a half. Mounted in your garage or on your drive, these units will need to be installed by an electrician.

The Office for Zero Emissions Vehicles (OZEV) currently provides grants that cover up to 75 percent of the cost of buying and fitting a wallbox, with prices starting at around £400 after the subsidy - although for some homeowners this scheme will end in April 2022. However, some car manufacturers will pay for a charger and installation when you buy one of its EVs, so it’s worth keeping and eye on the offers.

Public fast chargers tend to be untethered posts (so you’ll need to remember your cable), and are usually placed at the roadside or in car parks of shopping centres or hotels. You’ll need to pay as you go for these units, either by signing up for an account with the charging provider or using normal contactless bank card technology.

Rapid charger As the name suggests, these are the quickest and most powerful chargers. These units can operate on Direct Current (DC) or Alternating Current (AC), and in some cases can restore 80% of even the largest battery’s charge in just 20 mins. Usually found at motorway services or dedicated charging hubs, the rapid charger is perfect when planning a longer journey. www.autocar.co.uk

Bracknell and Wokingham College are offering the following qualification

AWD Domestic, Commercial, and Ind. Electric Vehicle Charging Equip. Installation Level 3

This qualification covers the installation of dedicated, conductive charging equipment for the charging of pure electric and plug-in hybrid electric road vehicles (PHEV) and includes the extended range of electric vehicles (E-REV). This course covers the installation of both AC and DC charging equipment intended for plug-in electric vehicles (PEV) complying with BS EN 61851 and “The Code of Practice for Electric Vehicle Charging Equipment Installations”. When you successfully graduate from this course, you will gain a City and Guilds Level 3 Award in Domestic, Commercial and Industrial Electric Vehicle Charging Equipment Installation.

26 April 2022 - 27 April 2022 plus future dates available 09:00 - 17:00 Tuesday/Wednesday 2 Days Bracknell: Bracknell and Wokingham College, Church Rd, Bracknell, Berkshire, RG12 1DJ