Contents about EV Charger
- Electric vehicle chargers
- Types of electric vehicle charging
- Mode 1 with alternating current – SLOW Charging
- Mode 2 with alternating current – SLOW Charging
- Mode 3 with alternating current – DIRECT CONNECTION
- Mode 4 with direct current – INDIRECT CONNECTION
- Types of charger connectors for electric cars
- Conventional (Shucko)
- Type 1 and Type 2 connector (Socket type 2 MENNEKES)
- Type 3 or Scame connector
- Type 4 or ChaDeMo connector
- Combo 2 or CSS connector
Electric vehicle chargers
With an eye on de-escalation, the electric vehicle is, without a doubt, the best option for clean and sustainable transport to continue contributing to a cleaner world despite Covid-19. With this new post from Cargacoches we want to give you a little light on a seemingly complex topic such as the charging modes of an electric vehicle and its types of connectors.
Let’s start at the beginning. The batteries of an electric vehicle have four operating modes of charging: three in alternating current (AC) and one in direct current (DC). Next, we describe them to you.
Types of electric vehicle charging
Mode 1 with alternating current – SLOW
Especially suitable for recharging bicycles, mopeds or quadricycles since it is charged from a domestic plug base (Schuko type) and there is no communication with the network. The charging time will vary depending on the capacity of the battery and can be done at night which is cheaper.
In the single-phase network, it uses 16 amps and up to 250 volts, electrical voltage of a house, with an electrical power of approximately 3.7kW. In the three-phase network, the voltage is 480 V and 11 kW of maximum power.
Mode 2 with alternating current – SLOW
It is also slow charging with plug, but differs from the previous one in that the cable includes a protection system along with a pilot control function and a differential switch to avoid electric shock located between the electric vehicle and the plug or as part of the control box located on the cable itself.
In the single-phase grid, it employs 32 amps and up to 250 volts with an electrical power of approximately 7.4kW. In the three-phase network, the voltage is 480 V and 22 kW of maximum power.
Mode 3 with alternating current – DIRECT CONNECTION
Direct connection of the electric vehicle to the alternating current supply network using a device or charging point (SAVE), where the pilot control function is extended to the SAVE control system, being permanently connected to the fixed power installation.
This recharging mode requires an exclusive SAVE (Electric Vehicle Power System) for this purpose. Provided with sockets that will be Type 1 (SAE J1772) (Yazaki) or Type 2 (IEC 62196-2) (Mennekes) depending on the vehicle and exclusive protections for the recharging of electric vehicles.
Mode 4 with direct current – INDIRECT CONNECTION
Indirect connection of the electric vehicle to the alternating current supply network using a SAVE that incorporates an external charger in which the pilot control function is extended to the equipment permanently connected to the fixed power installation.
Specially designed for public charging. It is fast and efficient but current batteries are not designed for daily use of this type of recharge (>50 kW to 300 kW). In this charging mode we must include two connectors that are the standards: CHAdeMO and CCS.
Types of charger connectors for electric cars
We now turn to connector types stressing that, due to the multitude of formats of manufacturers, they are not yet standardized worldwide. As a result we can find different plugs with different sizes and properties. We review the most common
Conventional (Shucko)
The Schuko connector is the “usual” household plug. It is used in almost all European countries, except for the United Kingdom, Ireland, Cyprus or Malta, among others. It comes standard on most electric vehicles and has terminals and grounding, supporting currents of up to 16 amps for slow recharging and without integrated communication.
Type 1 and Type 2 connector (Socket type 2 MENNEKES)
In the case of recharging in Alternating Current (AC), the connectors can be type 1 (eastern standard that currently only certain brands such as Nissan have) or type 2 (Socket type 2 MENNEKES) which is the EU standard.
The charging points of Cargacoches for fast charging of 50 kW also have a third hose with type 2 connector to adapt to most users of electric vehicles.
Type 3 or Scame connector
Ideal for small electric models, it allows semi-fast recharging with alternating current, although it is not widespread. It has five or seven terminals, depending on whether the current is single-phase or three-phase and includes in both earth and communication with the network. Supports up to 32 amps.
Type 4 or ChaDeMo connector
It is the charger for electric cars that allows fast charging with direct current and withstand up to 200 amps. It is characterized by having the largest diameter on the market with 10 terminals and is the Japanese standard par excellence (we find it in Subaru, Mitsubishi, Toyota or Nissan).
Combo 2 or CSS connector
It is the standard solution of the European market and supports slow and fast recharging modes when combining the CCS socket with Mennekes you can use both interchangeably. The vast majority of models sold today, and in the future, incorporate this type of connector by providing them with a compact and versatile solution to make use of all types of loads.
We hope this post has cleared some of your unknowns in relation to charging modes and types of connectors.