How does all this EV Charging Work?
We provide the infrastructure for zero-emission mobility with EV-Box chargers.
The world of EV-charging can be intimidating. Here is a quick introduction to making sense of the maze of different plugs, chargers, and technologies out there.
How Does EV-Charging Work?
Designed to improve efficiency, Hybrid vehicles use an internal combustion engine both to load a battery and to maintain high speed, while an electric motor is used to power the vehicle at lower velocity.
Plugin Hybrids work like conventional hybrids but have the ability to charge the battery for the electric motor directly. They usually have the option for purely electric drive and the combustion engine jumps in if battery power is low.
Battery Electrics or just EVs drive purely electric and they have no combustion engine. Besides being the most environmentally friendly of the vehicle options, they also have on average a lower cost of maintenance, since purely electric drive systems are simpler and have less moving parts than vehicles with internal combustion engines.
There are three charging levels that range from a slow trickle to ultra-fast, and most EVs can charge at all three.
Slow and Steady
Level one charging occurs when you plug your vehicle into a standart domestic 120V (3 pin) socket.
Charging speed: Up to 3kw, about 4 miles per hour of charging.
Most people use Level one charging to charge their vehicles overnight at home. This typically gives them enough range to get through the day.
Standard Commercial Charging
Level two chargers (such as EV Box-chargers) connect to a 240 V output (similar to what you would connect a higher power dryer to)
Charging speed: Up to 7kw, about 25 miles per hour of charging.
Most chargers you see around town for public use are Level two chargers and all EVs can plug into them.
DC Fast Charging
Level three charging (supercharging) uses very high voltage (480V) to charge a vehicle. Such chargers are very expensive and rap up high electricity bills.
Charging speed: Up to 24 kw, up to 200 miles per hour of charging.
These larger, more expensive chargers are slowly popping up around the country and will soon make it much easier for to take longer road trips in an EV as they show up along highway corridors.
LEVEL 1 & 2 CHARGING
The Industry Standard
LEVEL 3 CHARGING
Connected Charging Infrastructure
Advanced Capabilities Through Networked Chargers
Some chargers work just like your phone charger, plug and go. But modern chargers (such as the EVBox chargers) are capable of much more. Network controlled chargers allow the user to remotely control and schedule charging sessions, take advantage of fluctuating energy prices, and a specific facility electric capacity, handle payments and much more.
An Open-Source Standard For EVSE Infrastructure
Open charge point protocol (OCPP) is an industry protocol for electric vehicle chargers, that regulates the software and hardware interaction. That means any OCPP charger is compatible with any OCPP Network provider, to allow maximum user flexibility. EVBox chargers and many others use the OCPP standard.