How to select the best locations for Public EV Charging Stations

Hello People. This article is about how to select the best locations for Public EV Charging Stations. By choosing to drive an EV you are helping to reduce harmful air pollution from exhaust emissions. An EV has zero exhaust emissions. Better for the environment. A well-placed EV charger of the right capacity can service many more EVs than multiple stations in the wrong place. Location is the key.

At places where consumers stop for several hours at a time, fast chargers (expensive) are not necessary. If you host a charging station at a highway rest stop, standard wall outlets are not sufficient. So let's take a look at different levels of charging before we match the charger to the location.

Are you looking to start your business in the electric vehicle industry? We provide software development, web application development, mobile application development, charging stations management app, electric vehicle fleet management software development, cyber security and all software services. Please check our home page here https://iwheels.co/

Ok. Let's get back to the article.

Level One EV charging

This can be used at home. Level One electric vehicle charging is rated at 120 volts. The hardware required for this is a cord with an attached control-box and is supplied as standard with every electric vehicle. One has to simply plug-in to a three-pin wall socket. The three pin plug has to be grounded. It usually takes 16 to 20 hours to fully charge the vehicle’s batteries depending upon its capacity using this type of charger.

The advantage of using this charging type is that it does not require the installation of additional hardware and easy to use. You just simply need to the park your vehicle near a three-pin wall socket and plug-in the charging cable. The drawback of this technique is that it takes a lot of time to completely charge the vehicle.

Level Two EV charging

Level Two charging for electric vehicles is rated at 240 volts.  This type of charging requires additional hardware. On the purchase of an electric vehicle, manufacturers or charging station providers will install an AC wall-box charger at the customer’s home and in some cases at the place of work as well. An electric vehicle can be fully charged in as early as 6 hours or so depending upon the battery capacity using this charger.

Level 2 charging is considerably faster when compared to Level 1 charging. It is said to be more energy-efficient as well. But this charging technique is expensive because of the use of more sophisticated hardware.

Level Three EV charging

The level Three chargers for electric vehicles are the ones that one will find at public charging stations. These are called as DC fast charging. It converts the AC current into DC current for direct storage in electric vehicle batteries. It is usually rated at 480 volts.

With the help of a DC fast charger, an electric vehicle can be charged to 80 per cent in less than an hour. Tesla superchargers are able to reach the same charging capacity within half an hour. The hardware required for the same is quite expensive and is usually found at public charging stations. In order to use them, one needs to pay certain charges to the service provider.

There are mainly four  DC Fast Charging connectors currently being used all over the world.

• CHAdeMO – Cars like Nissan and other Japanese companies like Mitsubishi
• Type 2 or SAE Combo Charging System (CCS) – Companies like BMW, GM, VW, and other carmakers
• Supercharger – This is a Tesla standard connector
• GB/T - BYD among other Chinese companies use this. Mahindra and Tata electric cars also use this standard

Note: There are also some 3A socket chargers available in India.

The most common locations where we can find electric vehicle chargers are the following:

• Petrol Stations.
• Shopping centres, industrial estates, restaurants, squares, car parks, and places with a large influx of people and/or vehicles, in general.
• Homes.

The criterion to decide which charging mode is the most suitable is the time required to charge the vehicle.

If you have chosen a place where drivers spend several hours at the destination, Level 2 chargers are perfect for the job. Shopping malls, parking areas, near public park and movie theaters fit this category. Generally, in shopping centres, slower charging stations are usually installed, as the electric vehicle remains parked for a longer time, so there is no need for such a fast charge.

Fast chargers need only 30 minutes to full recharge. They are ideal for highway rest stops, downtown cafes, and other spots where drivers plan to spend short periods of time. This charging station requires the most power and comes with the highest installation cost.

Level 1 chargers are suitable for public parking garages and apartment buildings. Hyundai Sonata PHEV can get a full charge overnight on a standard wall outlet. Providing access to this low-cost power source may serve as an attraction for garage owners and leasing managers.

In petrol stations, usually there are fast charging stations, since the user has a short stay in this type of location.

While it is common to find faster chargers in public areas and slower chargers in private areas, there may be exceptions. For example, in a private establishment such as a car rental company, the most appropriate choice would be a fast charger, beacause of the need for a fast electric vehicle charge.

Hope this article on how to select the best locations for Public EV Charging Stations is useful to you. To read about jobs in the Electric Vehicle Industry, please visit Job opportunities in Electric Vehicle Sector and its Charging Infrastructure industry