Why use an EV Charging Station?

For those who are doing their research around EV’s before investing in one, it is worth knowing that the first generation of electric vehicles were small city cars, often with a small range. These first gen vehicles were designed to be recharged from the standard socket-outlets that you will all have access to in your home. However, a major problem with this way of recharging is that it only allows a maximum of 10A (amps), which leads to long charge times. This is not ideal when you need a quick recharge for a long journey the next day. 

 

Manufacturers were quick to realise that for EVs to be a viable alternative to the combustion engines (petrol and diesel), the distance that you can travel on a single charge must be longer, and the time taken to charge the battery must be shorter. Therefore, they needed to come up with a way of recharging batteries at a higher rate than a typical socket that you find in your home. 

 

Introducing the EV charging station! To fix the problem, EV Charging Stations were created. They have the capability of charging in AC or DC and from 16A to 72A. These EV charging stations allow much faster and safer charge times, making them much more ideal than a plug socket in your home. 

 

The Government have acknowledged that an infrastructure is required to ensure the lack of EV charging stations are not a barrier for people contemplating making the switch from petrol/diesel to an electric vehicle. 

Although investing in an electric vehicle doesn’t necessarily mean you have to install a charging station at home, here’s why it would be beneficial. Not having an EV charging station at home puts you at risk on running too low on charge to be able to reach a public space where there is a charging station. 

 

If you’re worried about the safety of a charging station, we can guarantee the safety of one. Most car charging models will ‘lock’ in your charging lead. This means people walking past your vehicle cannot unplug your lead without a key or some sort of access card. Using a key, this allows your car charger to release the cable. However, when plugging directly into a socket, specifically an external one, you are more open to people tampering with it. 

 

Secondly, when plugging directly into your home’s socket, the amperage is limited. This means that the charging time will take much longer. Eco-lectrical can install a Mode 3 car charger which can run at either 16A or 32A. 

Depending on the type of business you are or your business location, this can determine whether you should invest in a car charging point and whether it would provide another source of income. Pay-As-You-Charge points are readily available and have seen good levels of success as the amount of EV vehicles on the road are increasing. 

 

If you are thinking about this investment, it is worth remembering that by 2040, any new car that is sold will be electric. This only further highlights the direction the UK is taking around the forms of transport. The future is going to be green so getting in early will be worth it! 

 

Finally, you may find that having an EV charging station at work attracts high quality members of staff, environmentally friendly customers, or green tenants. The difference between someone saying yes and no could be the ability to charge their vehicle whilst at work, or safely in their block of flats.