Whenever we talk about electric cars on techprincess we remind you how it is still essential to have one charging socket in our home, of any type, power and shape. Waiting for a widespread and efficient infrastructure, for electric cars, charging at home is a fundamental weapon to keep the batteries efficient, have the car charged and save money. But what do you need to know about home charging? Today we see all the unmissable information, including cables, sockets, regulations, costs and small precautions to be taken. Are you ready? Let’s reload!
Why charging at home is good for electric cars: slow charging preserves the batteries. And the wallet
We said in the introduction that home charging of electric cars is a ‘great wallet solution, battery health and time. This is a cornerstone of the whole speech, so it deserves that we miss a few words above. As we know well by now, electric cars can be recharged in several ways: at home, with a domestic socket, an industrial socket or a wallbox; outside the home, in an alternating current, direct current and so-called Fast and SuperFast columns. As with phones and electronic devices in general, however, fast reloads would only be used when in a hurry.
A Fast recharge in fact stresses the battery pack a lot, as well as reaching up to 100% or dropping below 20% in the discharge phase. Charge the car at home, with a wallbox in charge or with the classic cable with Schuko socket, allows you to recharge the car slowly, while preserving the state of the battery. In addition, despite home charging is quite slow, it takes advantage of the classic “dead moments” in the life of a car, that is, overnight storage. It is not necessary to always charge the car to the maximum. If you do a few km a day, about 20 or 30 for example, you can do a “Topping up” on the weekend or one evening a week, ready to travel for several tens of km. Recharging only what is needed, then, helps the battery to withstand the passage of time, without decaying in its efficiency.
Recharging at night then, with milder temperatures, also minimizes the risk of overheating, and the battery will recharge calmly, making you waste very little time, indeed. ORFinally, today we will not go into detail on the cost of the bill, one of the hottest topics of these days and very variable depending on the city, the type of contract and the house where you live / put the car back in the evening. However, know that, in principle, charging at home in 2020 cost about between 15 and 30 euro cents per kWh. To be clear, to charge an average 40 kWh electric car, between 6 and 12 euros will be enough, making charging electric cars at home the cheapest around.
What cables do I need to charge my EV at home? From home to industrial outlet
We then come to our “vademecum” for charging electric cars at home, starting from the most basic thing: cables. In fact, when one enters the world of electric cars for the first time, recharging is the most dreaded moment. The reason? Range anxiety plays tricks, while one of the biggest and silliest fears is about which cables to use.
If you don’t install a wallbox, which we’ll talk about later, there are two main ways to charge your EV: the domestic socket and the industrial one. Let’s start with the least widespread, that one industrial. If you don’t know, it’s about blue sockets that give power to machinery, means and systems for work and, in fact, industrial production. There are several common car parks, boxes or garages that are equipped with this type of attack, which allows a slightly more powerful and therefore faster recharge. Usually, however, adapters are not included in the standard equipment of battery-powered cars for the blue industrial socket. If you want to use it, you will have to do it yourself.
Due to the scarce diffusion of this type of connectors, in fact, most of the manufacturers of electric cars and plug-in hybrids include in the standard equipment the classic cable with Type2 attack (or Mennekes) on the side of the car, and in the direction of the “wall” one classic German socket, the Schuko. It is in fact a widespread standard in any garage, car park, garage, silos and the like. It delivers little power, reaching a maximum of 230V, but allows one very easy and immediate refill. Just plug the cable into the Schuko socket, plug the other end into the car and off you go. This type of cable is also good to always carry it with you, for emergency situations. Thanks to the domestic connection, in fact, it is also possible to “exploit” any socket in houses or bars for an emergency recharge.
Do I have to have the garage / parking system adapted or upgraded? And do you need special authorizations?
One of the most frequently asked (and sacrosanct) questions regarding charging electric cars at home is the fear of having to adapt and review the electrical system already present in the house or in the box to be in order, and the doubt of the presence of particular authorizations. Well, here you will find all the answers. From a legal point of view, the charging of electric vehicles in private premises, for the private or exclusive use of condominiums or employees is a free activity, with no regulations whatsoever. You can then freely load your car without having to ask for authorizations, clearance or similar.
On the other hand, the speech regarding the electrical system in the garage or in the parking space is different. Charging an electric car at home is always allowed, but it is not always safe and risk-free. So if you are willing to buy a plug-in hybrid or electric car, have an electrician check the state of the existing system. Often in fact, especially in boxes or older homes, the possibility of taking energy for very long periods of time was absolutely not taken into consideration. In most cases, the electrical system is very basic, perhaps useful for some cleaning or maintenance work.
So watch out for the system already present, which may not withstand the voltage required by an electric car. In any case, the adjustment intervention is not complex, and consists (usually) of checking and replacing the electrical network wiring with more modern and resistant cables. It is also a routine operation when renovating garages and condominiums.
Is a wallbox mandatory for charging electric cars at home? What is that? And how much is it?
We arrive at the real star of electric car charging at home, the wallbox. You often hear it mentioned, but few are quite clear about what it is. So what is a wallbox? In short, a wallbox is a small box that is fixed to the wall (wallbox in English means “wall box”), and contains a more powerful charging system for your electric car.
The basic power of a commercial wallbox is 3.7 kW, e it does not require any upgrade of the electrical network. Aesthetically, the wallbox is reminiscent of a public charging station, but of considerably reduced dimensions, and has the classic Type 2 Mennekes cable as output, both on the car side and on the wallbox side. Some also have the cable integrated into the wallbox, for better control of the energy flow and greater ease of use. And this is in fact the real advantage of these devices. In fact, inside the “box” there is a real physical interface between the electrical system and the car.
The wallbox is therefore able to send energy to the battery continuously and linearly, as opposed to the classic domestic socket which was not designed for this purpose, and often delivers energy inconsistently. In addition, the classic Schuko socket was not designed to withstand a delivery at its maximum power for several hours continuously.. A wallbox, on the other hand, has several relays inside which avoid short circuits and overheating and other problems that can pass from the plant to the car. In the end, a wallbox is able to communicate with the car and the owner via an app or with the car infotaiment. In this way, you can choose to charge the car only up to a certain time or charge level, start charging at a given time (when perhaps you pay less energy) or even to check and stop charging in any time.
If you then want more power, by adjusting the electrical system you can also get to approx 7 kWh, halving charging times (very useful for cars with large batteries). But how much does a Wallbox cost? And how do you choose? There are several wallboxes for sale on Amazon, but their reliability is not guaranteed: do your research if you want to install them. The best choice, however, is undoubtedly choosing the installation of a personal charging station by relying on energy managers or the car manufacturers themselves. During the purchase phase, in fact, several houses offer the installation of a wallbox at reduced prices or included in the price, and in the same way energy companies such as Enel or Eni offer wallboxes at competitive prices. So take a nice ride on the various sites: you could find the perfect discount. In general, however, the installation of a wallbox can cost from 900 up to 1,800 / 2,000 euros for the most powerful and expensive.
Do I have to make a new contract / install a new meter at home? And in a condominium?
This is a very personal matter, which changes a lot on a case-by-case basis. In general, if you don’t opt for a charging power upgrade there is no need for a new contract or secondary meter. Excluding single houses, villas and the like, where the condition also depends on the type of electrical system present, in condominiums or in multiple garages there are several roads that can be traveled.
Everything passes bybuilding administrator, which in any case must approve the possibility of charging the car in the garage. Once approved, the condominium can connect the system to the home one, or equip the garage / parking space with a separate counter, if not already present. If, on the other hand, the system is still connected to the common one, it may be necessary to use a non-fiscal counter, to quantify the kW used to recharge the electric car.
If, on the other hand, you would like to install a charging point in a common area, …