How do electric cars charge at home?

Charging electric cars at home is so far the most economical solution for charging EV batteries, also having the advantage that you actually have the “gas station” in your home!

We all know that connecting to an external charging source is essential. Of course, personal parking is not mandatory to own an electric vehicle, since public chargers are constantly multiplying. But the truth is that a private parking lot makes it hugely easier to live with an electric model, while it also significantly reduces the cost of recharging its batteries.

Any owner or tenant of a parking space with an electrical supply can set up their own charging station. The cost of this varies depending on the parking infrastructure and the charger someone wants to install, while various movements are required to ensure that charging is done at a satisfactory speed and above all, safely. In this case, however, we will deal with the ways that one can charge at home.

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Simple Schuko outlet

A conventional Schuko outlet exists in most parking lots. The owner of an electric model can connect his car there, but he will have to compromise on the charging speed, which is slow. In any case, if the charging of an electric car is done frequently, an electrician should check the installation of the socket to confirm its proper functioning.

Over the years the cables from the outlet to the table may have worn out and also, many years ago, no one was thinking that one day, a… car to fill its batteries, so the cables they used were suitable for smaller loads.

However, in modern homes, they have thicker cables and 16A fuses in the sockets, which are enough for safe charging of electric cars. Also, even if the load of a car is large for the outlet, an electrician can upgrade it for the safe charging of an EV at a relatively low cost.

Portable Wallbox

This is the ideal solution if one wants to charge to a Wallbox but has two or more private parking lots. For example, if someone lives in the city and still wants a charging station in the village, cottage or work, a portable Wallbox may be the answer to their problem.

It reduces the cost compared to the case to place two (or more) Wallbox constants and can have the speed that these devices ensure, which is greater than that of a simple Schuko outlet (with the necessary upgrades to the network). If the study is done in the electrical installation of the parking area and the direct connection of the CEE 16A (industrial) plug is supported by the network, then we are talking about a very good solution.

Even if the CEE plug connection is not supported, upgrading to the installation doesn’t cost too much money, always depending on the network infrastructure. Keep in mind, that in case of need, there is an adapter on the market that converts the CEE plug into a conventional Schuko plug for trouble-free charging even from a simple power supply. The best thing that the user of a portable Wallbox has to do is to call an electrician to make the ideal conditions for connecting the device to the existing network in the parking lots he wants. Then, he should just have the Wallbox with him, connect it to the current and charge his vehicle.

Fixed Wallbox

This is the appropriate solution for charging an electric vehicle at home. The permanent electric car user is worth giving a little money in order to have a fixed Wallbox in his main residence. In three-phase installations, it can have even 22 kW AC supply. The cost of upgrading the network is not great, but buying a Wallbox is not a cheap business. The cheapest ones currently “play” close to 800€ (including VAT), while there are suggestions that exceed even 2,000€ (depending on the country).

The user gains in charging speed, convenience (most Of the Wallbox come with a built-in cable so, you just pull it and connect it to the vehicle) and safety, since the wallbox installation will be done by an electrician and a few upgrades to the infrastructure will be required to work at 100% of it. Most of the good Wallboxes on the market also have special applications for smartphones, through which you can see a lot of interesting information about charging and the flow of energy from the network to the car.

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