Originally Posted by
Tooks
The first thing to realise about electric cars is that the ‘chargers’ are on the car.
The things that you bolt to your house wall are actually Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment (EVSEs). The EVSE and the cars onboard charger have a ‘conversation’ when you plug in during which it’s established what the EVSE can supply and what the car can receive in terms of power input.
Plug into a 3 phase AC 22kw public charger and you’ll get max 22kw charge rate, so full in about 40-50 minutes from empty.
Plug into a 7kw EVSE on a single phase supply, like at home, and on that car with its onboard charger you’ll get 3.6kw max, or 6 hour recharge time from near empty.
Some cars, like my e-Golf, can’t charge at 22kw AC, but have 2 x 3.6kw onboard chargers combined to allow a 7.2kw charge rate on the home single phase 7kw EVSE.
It’s a bit complex, but most new cars are emerging with 7kw home charging, and 50kw+ DC Rapid Charging, so things are standardising to an extent.