Home or AC electric vehicle charging stations are used to charge the electric vehicles. The vehicle must have an onboard charger that is known as a portable charger too which converts AC voltage to DC and helps to charge an EV. It depends on the power of the onboard charger, and how fast and slow, our EV gets charged. The AC charging station must have safety interlocks that ensure safe charging and automatically stops when the charging is full.
In the coming year, an enormous growth of EVs is expected so the demand for charging stations will automatically be vast. EV chargers help in making a ‘Go Green’ environment.
AC chargers can be in different shapes, sizes, and pins. Generally, these chargers have two larger pins and a few smaller pins. AC chargers are reasonable so getting our EV (two-wheelers, three-wheelers, etc) charged by it, can be profitable for us.
Where AC chargers can be installed?
AC chargers can be installed in the following locations:
Apartments or buildings
As the EVs are increasing; the demand for EV charging stations is also expanding. To make it approachable for everyone, AC chargers can be installed in apartments and homes so that it will be helpful for people to get their EV charged handily. Before installing it at your convenient place (whether Apartment buildings or homes), requirements as well as rules and regulations must be checked. Like there should be, with proper wiring and electricity connection that has sufficient capacity to handle the additional load, a socket where a charger can be plugged in to charge the battery of the vehicle.
The availability of EV chargers can upscale the value of the property as in the coming time; there would be more EVs on the roads. For those who face problems in driving a car that has gears, for them also EV can be a good option as it does not have gears.
AC chargers are less expensive and can be purchased with less investment. It does not require much space, so it can be installed in a garage or any open area. Many EV owners can charge their vehicles own by charging overnight with AC chargers.
Near Shops
If you have your shop, and outside the shop there is a parking area, then AC chargers can be installed there also. It does not require additional cost to install but there should be an electricity connection with the availability of a circuit.
A socket that we use for charging our EV, must be of a good brand such as Havells, Anchor, craftsman, etc, and should support at least 15 amp powers so that it may protect from earthing and overheating. If there is an earthing issue, the AC charger shows a red light and it would not work properly
At hotel/food courts/supermarket
Supposing we went for a long trip with our electric car, charging can be a big concern there, and if we find an AC charger in our hotel, then it can be a big convenience for us to charge our electric car. We can put an AC charger in a socket and keep it for the whole night.
There should be three green lights in the AC charger which indicates that the charger is properly connected to the socket of the car and it is charging our EV. It can be helpful to him as it had saved his time. In this situation, such customers are even ready to pay more to the owners.ourts/supermarket.
AC charger can be installed near a food court, café, or supermarket and it will attract new customers who can relish their food, coffee, and do some grocery shopping here till their EV gets charged.
Near office or Workplace
Installing an AC charging station at the workplace can increase the convenience and affordability for their employee. Because of a longer commute, charging at the workplace can be a viable idea. There should be a proper workshop related to charging stations to make people know more about them. It is a low-cost strategy to provide charging but it is possible only for small work place where less number of people work together.
Installing EVs in the workplace can encourage others (who do not own electric vehicles) to switch to electric vehicles that can improve sustainable living. It can create a positive impact in the mind of employees about an employer who promotes sustainability. Even it saves the time of an employee, who will not have to go anywhere to get his electric vehicle charged.
Many EV owners uttered that they feel happy charging their vehicles as it stops them from the hustle-bustle of getting their vehicles charged at other places. The use of EVs can reduce oil imports.
Points to take into account before installing EV Charging stations in apartments/homes/ shops/ restaurants
Please consider the below points while installing the AC Charging stations:
Check with the owner
When we want to install an EV charging station in any apartment or shop; we need to check with the owner whether he is ready to support it or not. Installing EV charging stations at shops can be profitable for both owner and customer.
Think about location
– Location plays a prime role in installing EV charging stations as it should be near the footfall area so that it may attract customers and would increase their income. At such places, there should be at least the availability of 3-4 chargers at a time to avoid any hustle-bustle.
Check the capacity of electricity
The capacity of electricity should be checked if we are installing an EV charging station in any apartment or an open area. For instance- if an apartment has taken 100 kW for ten flats, would 100 kW be sufficient for an EV charging station or do we need to add a load? It should be checked properly to run on the charging station as fewer loads can create trouble for everyone.
Public charging stations are costlier than residential charging stations. The easy availability of EV charging stations can increase the number of buyers of electric vehicles.
Cost Survey
Before installing an EV charging station, we must know what can be installed and the maintenance cost of it. In addition, what is the cost of per unit electricity, we should have an idea so that further planning can be done accordingly as one’s overall investment depends on the cost of the EV charging station. If we compare electric vehicles with petrol/diesel vehicles, we come to know EVs are cheaper than it. Electric vehicles save our planet from air and noise pollution both.
The cost of electric vehicles depends on various factors. Battery and electric motors can be one of the main reasons.
Check rules and regulations
There may be some specific rules and regulations for installing an EV charging station in any building or an open area. We should be aware of them and should follow them to stop further chaos.
Safety Planning for Home or AC Electric Vehicle Charging Stations
Whenever we plan to install any electric item, safety measure becomes an important part to think about at. Here also before installing EV Charging Stations, safety points must be considered during the installation and operation of charging stations as they had high power loads.
There should be separate electric connections for EV charging to avoid any hazardous situations.
Cable, adapters, and connectors should be compatible with EV models.
Notice boards should be displayed with the specification of the charging station.
Charging should be avoided in extreme hot and cold temperatures, however due to technological advancement it is also possible to charge the vehicles in extreme environment.
A fire extinguisher should be there to prevent any perilous conditions.
All of these devices should not be within reach of children.
Problem and its Solutions to charge an electric vehicle
As the demand for electric vehicles is shooting up, people are coming up with different difficulties. Here we will discuss some problems and what can be the best solution to solve them.
Lack of charging station
One of the biggest problems that EV buyers are facing is not only a lack of charging stations outside but also a lack of charging set up at home. Without a charging machine, EV can’t be charged, so what is the use of buying it? Users would not buy it if they find a lack of charging setup. Charging stations are the top priority of EV buyers.
Government should focus on it only to promote awareness to buy more and more EVs and help in making the environment eco-friendly, which would not be sufficient until the charging stations are available. There should be proper planning for the next decades to start up EV charging stations so that dependency on foreign countries would be reduced. There should be continuing innovations in charging technology and many more charging stations are to be needed to be ahead of the other countries.
Dearth of quality
If EV charging stations have a dearth of standardization, it will also stop the customer to buy electric vehicles as buying an EV is not the cheapest idea, and after that unavailability of good quality charging stations will impact the buyers. We need to maintain its standard so that it will encourage others to buy EVs.
The market of EVs is supposed to be a long run business and it is possible only when not only the quality of EV charging stations but also other equipment should be maintained. Every two and three-wheelers have a different port to charge it, the availability of all types of charging would achieve the mass adoption of electric vehicles.
Concern of a long distance
If we are planning to go for a long trip, then the lack of charging stations in such places, can be a big concern for the users. Initiatives must be taken to resolve all these issues.
Although the government has planned for it, yet there is much attention needed to provide facilities to EV buyers. The installation of many more charging stations with good charging speeds in the future era can reduce the concern of EV buyers.
Lack of awareness
It is also the biggest problem that EV buyers face. If they do not have full awareness about different types of chargers (AC and DC), batteries, etc, they will not be able to stick to buying it. How AC charging can be done at home with the installation of AC chargers in garages etc, they must know it but proper standards must be followed to install any charger. To increase the selling of EVs, awareness should be spread among people, students, etc.
Problems are always everywhere but the significant point is how we deal with the problem and find out the solution. The same is here, there might be many challenges in buying EVs, but we must focus on the solution that is available for every problem.
Struggling with the best expert
Most EV car owners feel that they find difficulty in finding the best technician who can resolve the issue of their EV. As there are fewer experts in this field, those who can repair the device are highly priced. Luckily EVs need less maintenance than diesel/petrol vehicle even then everything required maintenance after a certain period.
Conclusion
In a nutshell, it is stated that home charging stations play a vital role in charging any electric vehicle as it is the cheapest medium to charge the electric car.
