The days of petrol and diesel-powered vehicles are numbered. For the best part of a century, we have burned through unfathomable amounts of fossil fuels to fill our vehicles. This has changed the way that the world works, but it has come at a great cost.
The cost is environmental damage. Burning fossil fuels as well as the many by-products it produces, has directly resulted in the destruction of our environment. What’s the solution for this? Electric vehicles.
Electric Vehicles
For the best part of the last decade and a half, electric vehicles have taken the world by storm. Being able to commute while running on clean energy was a utopian dream that is now a reality.
Companies like Tesla Motors, Lucid, and Rivian are making revolutionary advancements to the electric car world.
More popular names such as Ford, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche, and Audi are also developing electric vehicles for the future. These vehicles run entirely on battery-provided power.
Electric cars have two types of batters they use:
Lead Acid and Nickel Metal Hydride Batteries
These batteries have been used in cars for many years now. They have proved to be a safe and reliable form of electric power and have been used by billions of people around the world.
Electric vehicles also make sure of these batteries, albeit differently. The reason for this is that these types of batteries are not as powerful.
Furthermore, they are also unable to retain a charge over a longer period of time. For a gas-powered vehicle, this might not be an issue, but for vehicles that exclusively run on electric power, this can prove inconvenient.
You wouldn’t want to be running errands and come back to your car and see that its battery had drained on its own.
Read Are Electric Cars Reliable In Cold Weather?
Lithium-Ion Batteries (Li-ion)
A Li-ion battery has now become an industry-wide standard when it comes to electric vehicles. This is largely due to the technology behind these batteries.
There are different types of Li-Ion batteries out there, but manufacturers usually select one which can guarantee longevity.
This is because you want a battery that lasts as long as possible. If an electric car does not have a decent range, there won’t be too many fans of the vehicle out there. It is one of the most deciding qualities when it comes to choosing one EV over another.
Li-ion batteries are known to be very energy efficient, have good high-temperature performance, and also hold more power with lesser weight.
Weighing less and holding more charge is a defining quality in EVs because a higher weight requires more power to get the vehicle going. This will drain the battery quicker, a major setback in an EV.
Finally, Li-ion batteries are easily recyclable. This makes them better than their lead and nickel counterparts. As a whole, this package proves to be very good for the environment.
Check How to Charge Your Electric Car On Road-Trip
Charging an Electric Vehicle
All vehicles need some form of replenishment, regardless of being gas or electric. A conventional vehicle will have you making the trip to your nearest gas station to fill up the tank. An electric vehicle works just slightly differently.
For starters, instead of a tank of gas, you charge the car battery. It is done just like you would for any electrical appliance. You find an outlet, connect the charger, and plug a cable into the vehicle’s charging port.
You have two options to choose from when it comes to this.
- Charging Stations
- Home Car Chargers
Charging Stations
The first is visiting a charging station. These charging stations are now becoming more common.
As of November 2021, there are close to 30,000 of these superchargers in 3100 different locations across the globe. There are also several other names that have emerged in this space.
These include ChargePoint, ABB, BP, Shell, and EVBox, among many others. With their own networks across the globe, these companies have made it simpler for EV owners to own and operate their electric vehicles.
The process is simple. You drive to the charging station, use the app to get yourself set up. These apps can show you charging locations, available chargers, charging progress, and also help you map out any journey that you might want to set out on.
The Problems
it isn’t all perfect. There are instances where a certain area might only have a handful of chargers for a larger number of electric cars. If this happens, you might have to end up waiting in long lines in the hope of getting your car battery charged.
Next, different charging station companies have different apps to use. You not only need to keep several different apps on your phone at the same time, but you also need to keep up with their different interfaces.
Some apps might be built well and are responsive, making life easier for you, but that is not always the case with all of them.
Some of them might be full of bugs and not work properly. This can be incredibly inconvenient, especially if you have other people waiting behind you in line.
These might not seem like such big problems, but if you’re ever in a rush to get somewhere and one of these pops up, chances are you will be really annoyed and probably late.
Read Electric vs Hydrogen Cars
Home Car Chargers
What can be more convenient than charging your car at home? Many EVs can be charged at homes using two different techniques. There are two ways to charge your EV at home:
- Trickle Charging
- A Wall Box
Trickle Charging
The first is using trickle charging which you can do by connecting your car directly to an electrical outlet.
Trickle charging uses the standard 3-point plug that comes with your car when you buy it. It is a 220V plug with one end going into the grid and the other into the car.
By using trickle charging, you can expect your car to be charged at a miserably slow rate. Using a regular 2.4kW wall socket will have you waiting till 30 hours on average just to have your car charged. No one has that much time today.
Living this way is wildly inconvenient and not feasible if you have a job or need to run everyday errands. This might be viable for someone who takes the car out once or twice a week.
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A Wall Box
Wall box chargers are standalone chargers connected directly to your electric supply. These devices are plugged on the outside of your homes, usually near a garage or open space so that they can be accessible for your car.
A wall box charger allows you to use the same wall electricity supply, but instead of taking forever to charge your cars, it slashes this time by a lot. If you opt for a ‘smart’ unit, you can even control your charger using a mobile application.
This comes in handy in cases where you might be living in a place different where times of day have different tariffs on each electric unit.
For instance, you might be charged less between 11 pm and 6 am. You can then schedule your charger to begin charging during these times so that you can save money on the electricity being used.
Overall, a wall box charger is a right way to go. It is more convenient, it does the job better, and there are several different options that you can choose from.
Read Best Extension Cord for Charging Electric Cars
Best Wall Box Chargers to Choose From
Here is a list of what we think are the best wall box chargers you can get right now for your home:
ChargePoint Home Flex
It is a powerful and compact smart charger with a built-in connector holster that can swivel if you need it to. You can choose to get either a hardwired or a plug-in variant, both of which come with a 23-foot cable.
Being a smart charger, the ChargePoint Home Flex is able to connect to WIFI. This allows you to control it using the ChargePoint app to set times for charging, monitor progress, and review your previous charging habits.
It is also designed to look good, so you won’t have to worry about an odd-looking device hanging from your wall.
Read How Electric Car Air Conditioning Works
Enel X JuiceBox 40
It is a 40-amp smart charger that makes use of all that the IoT has to offer. Once connected to Wi-Fi, you can control this smart charger using Google Assistant or Amazon Alexa. Set reminders, schedule charging times, and also receive status updates about your car being charged all on your mobile device.
If you want, the Enel X JuiceBox 40 allows you to load balance between several units. This makes it easier for the owner to charge two vehicles from a single charger.
Wallbox Pulsar Level 2
One of the best in the business, the Pulsar Level 2 is a 240V smart charger that can offer up to 7X faster charging compared to a normal wall outlet.
You can adjust the capacity between 16A and 40A, making it possible for you to also charge your car properly with low-power circuits.
It also works with all electric vehicles out there. Chevrolet, Nissan, Kia, Tesla, Toyota, Jaguar, and many more are all compatible with the Pulsar Level 2 smart charger.
You can set times for the charger to charge when rates are the lowest, have the app remind you to plug the car in, and also set reminders, among many other things.
EVoCharge EVSE
The EVSE by EVoCharge is a charger that is largely compatible with almost all vehicles in the business. This includes both EVs as well as Plug-in EVs.
It is known to charge 8X faster than any normal AC level 1 charger and also delivers an additional 25-35-mile range per hour.
Its all-weather build makes it an ideal option if you are mounting it outside as opposed to inside a garage. Having met the UL (USA) and the cUL (Canada) safety regulations, you will have a charger that will certainly get the job done, come sun, rain, or snow.
Check out, Is It Worth It to Buy an Electric Car?
Electric Car Charging at Home – What Does the Future Look Like?
As time goes on, we will begin to see more and more people switch over to EV. Not only because it is trendy, but because they will have no other choice but to do so.
Most governments have begun rolling out plans to completely ban non-EV cars in the next decade. Furthermore, with rising gas prices, it is going to become a lot more difficult for people to be able to keep gas-powered cars. Switching to an EV is going to be the best decision for you, your pocket, and the environment altogether.
Making sure you and your home are prepared for an EV to arrive means having all the right things in place for it to work. If you are deciding to buy an EV, you need to keep in mind that you will also need to have a charger for it at home.
The best route you can go down is to choose a smart charger for your car. These chargers have a multitude of features that not only make charging easier but also help you save money. Being ‘smart’ means that you can remotely control these chargers with your fingertips.
Before you make the change, you need to make sure your research is all complete, so you get the right charger for the right vehicle. It will make your life a lot easier from the start and make sure your EV is taken care of.
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My name is Matthew, staying in Seattle, Washington. Electric Vehicles (Electric Cars & Electric bikes) caught my attention for the last few years and my love for electric cars and bikes is everlasting. I spend many of my weekends traveling to various places all over various cities with my electric vehicle (e-bike and electric car). Here I am sharing my expertise, experience, and invaluable information about electric cars and electric bikes. Check out more.