If you're new to the world of electric vehicles, how and when to charge your car can initially seem confusing. If you will rely on public charge points it's important you fully understand the different types of charge point and which is compatible with your car. To help you with this new aspect of your EV ownership, we've created this handy guide to help you.
Knowing what you need:
When you receive your new car you should spend some time understanding how to charge it, and that includes knowing what type of charging cables you have access to and what your closest charging options are (if you’re not home-charging). AC charging is generally used for home-charging or on slow public chargers, with DC charging much faster as it goes straight into the battery with no conversion needed (which is what makes AC charging a lot slower. You’ll generally find three main charging options, particularly within the public charging network:
Type 2
The most common charging type in Europe is a Type 2 AC charger. It is what’s classed as a ‘triple-phase’ plug and used on charging units that offer up to 43kWh of charge. Many new vehicles come with this style of charging cable in the boot, and you sometimes find them tethered at public charging points. A Type 2 charging cable can be used for either AC or DC charging, and on either a slow (3 kWh), fast (7 kWh) or rapid (43 kWh) charging unit.
CCS
An ‘enhanced’ version of the Type 2 charger, the Combined Charging System (CCS) charger provides a faster charge, generally at charging units offering over 50kWh of power. At public charing units the cable is normally tethered to the machine.
CHAdeMO
A less-common charging option in the UK, the CHAdeMO charger was developed in Japan and offers high charging capabilities to cars developed by Japanese manufacturers, such as Nissan, Toyota and Mitsubishi.
