The traditional method of transportation has left the environment in such a bad state that companies and people are looking for alternate methods.
By burning fossil fuels and petroleum we are contributing to the worsening condition, the alternative we are talking about is electric vehicles.
In this blog, we define the distinctive EV charging connector sorts and examine the cables you may need for your electric-powered automobile.
One component to not forget on the subject of EV charging connector types is that there can be a particular connection at the ChargePoint and at the automobile itself.
So the first question arises: what is the EV charging connector or cable?
What is an EV Charging Cable?
As the name suggests, electric vehicles run on electric power. It consists of a battery that is charged through an electric outlet like any other device or gadget that is chargeable.
While a few charging stations include cables connected and others require you to carry your own, charging cables are an important part of charging an electric-powered automobile.
EV charging connector standards have 4 forms or “modes” and each of them is used for a certain kind of charging.
It may also get confusing as these different modes did not always relate to the level of charging and other conditions. There are some other pieces to complete the charging point.
What is an EV Charging Plug?
A charging plug is a connector that you insert into the charging socket of an electric-powered automobile. Just like how the plugs of home equipment vary.
This variation is due to the geographical location mainly and also on the manufacturer of the automobile brand.
There are several EV charging connector types like:
Type 1
This type has the capacity of 3-7 KW AC with a single phase of slow and fast charging. The charging time of 30 minutes delivers 20km of driving.
Charging cable features:
- It is available only in a single phase.
- It is also not a common type of EV charging connector in modern EVs.
- It also has no locking feature of the mechanism when the car is connected to the cable.
Type 2
The power score is 3-43 KW AC with 1 and 3 phases of fast and slow charging. The approx distance the vehicle can go in 30 minutes of charging time is 100 km.
Charging cable features:
- It is on the rise and becoming common by the time.
- It is compatible with 1 and 3 phases of power supply.
- It comes with an inbuilt locking mechanism for the power supply.
CHAdeMO
The power rating of this type is 50KW DC with 3 phase fast charging and the approx distance the vehicle can go is 136km for the charging time of 30 minutes.
Charging cable features:
- It is one of the older models of EV connectors with fast charging.
- This is compatible with the EVs manufactured by Japanese companies.
Combined Charging System (CCS)
This has a power rating of 50-250KW DC with fast charging. The approx. The distance is 136 km to 321km in 30 minutes of charging.
Charging cable features:
- It is a flexible fast EV charging connector standard.
- It is going to be the most common and popular DC connector for EVs.
- Now after this we have some other specifications to look for in EV charging connector types.
Slow chargers
Slow chargers generally take 6-12 hours to recharge a natural electric-powered automobile. Thus those chargers are best for a single day charging.
Fast chargers
Fast chargers are rated at 7-22 kW and normally take between 3-7 hours to recharge an EV relying upon the battery length of the automobile.
There are numerous standards to shop for and masses of various installers who can healthy them for you.
Rapid chargers
Rapid is the fastest (43kW+), commonly able to charge motors to 80% in 20-40 minutes, relying on how large the battery is and what sort of fee it’s keeping, to begin with, so they’re a brilliant manner to pinnacle up at some point of lengthy journeys.
You can easily find them on highway automobile charging station provider parks, petrol pumps, large purchasing centers, and supermarkets.
Wireless chargers
Wireless charging is top-notch and permits for the switch of power among a pad at the floor and a like-minded EV – no need for cables at all.
While it’s still a relatively new technology and not available to the public, Norway will install the world’s first wireless electric vehicle charging station for the first time to run the experiment.
What Are The Specifications For Electric Vehicle Connectors?
Power
Electric cars and hybrid automobiles require strong, reliable batteries that offer sufficient energy. Conventional connectivity is not enough to power them.
Issues like amperage and voltage limit need to be taken into consideration, and connectors need to combine ruggedness with the functionality to deal with higher currents.
Keep in mind that the ones immoderate expectations moreover observe the strength connectors applied in charging stations.
They need to be miniature powerhouses: offering powerful functionality in small, lightweight applications.
Durability
Any connector that is perfect for a harsh environment, which includes those applied in EVs and their charging stations, needs to be rugged and prepared to stand up to 3 years of harsh conditions.
To accomplish durability, designers of EV connectors need to have a deep understanding of the expected conditions in which the connectors will operate.
Electric cars generate vibrations and shocks and are to be had in touch with environmental contaminants: rain, dirt, dirt, sand, gasoline, lubricants, hydraulic fluids, etc., a number of that might threaten the automobile’s capability to function safely. To resist extreme conditions, connectors for electric-powered cars need a few different capabilities.
The electric-powered automobile connectors have to be corrosion-resistant male and female contacts. The heavy-responsibility materials will face up to the years of use.
The resilient outer shells may also stand to save you from extreme weather, impacts, and contaminants.
In addition, EV producers need to maintain compliance with environmental tips even when designing and generating EVs.
Safety
EVs need sufficient energy to run all of the capabilities of the automobile, the immoderate quantity of strength as energy additionally poses a more protection hazard.
Because they generate circuits with very immoderate voltage, their connectors need greater safety towards the strength danger to defend the person who will deal with or run cars and maintenance.
For example, insulating caps on male connectors and connectors make certain that operators do now no longer join electric powered circuits with the aid of using mistakes.
Consequently, the portfolios that provide modified connectors that offer the right value are constantly growing.
Charging Speeds
Three kinds of electric-powered automobile connectors include slow, fast, and speedy charging. Slow charging is under 3kW and the normal time taken is 6-12 hours.
The fast-charging ranges from 7kW to 22kW, and takes up to 3 to 4 hours. The fast-charging type is the fastest from 50kW to 120kW. It takes around an hour to provide the energy to the car.
Wrap up
With such EV charging connectors and cables out there, it may be confusing to understand which one is best for the automobile. We hope this article has helped you get your head across the most common types of EV charging connectors so that you can begin charging with ease.
