Increasing
number of motorists, when choosing a new vehicle, prefer electric cars, which
enjoy increasing popularity, thus leaving fossil-fuel powered vehicles in
history. Probably we have noticed that vehicles with blue licence plates are
more frequently visible in the city streets, which is confirmed also by the
information provided by the RTSD – as at 1 October this year, 1,049 electric
vehicles are registered in Latvia, but more significant is the growth rate of
registration, which has reached +56% since the beginning of 2020. These
indications leave room to expect that, during the upcoming years, increase in
number of electric vehicles will be significant, and this factor suggests the
necessity of development of charging infrastructure both at public places and
in the domestic environment, furthermore, another matter becomes very important
– how to choose <a target="_blank" href="https://www.energolukss.lv/en_US/elektro-auto-uzlade">charger for
electric car correctly.</a>

We consult one
of the most experienced suppliers of power solutions in Latvia – <a target="_blank" href="https://www.energolukss.lv/en_US/elektro-auto-uzlade">Energolukss,</a>
which offers and installs also electric car charging units at home.

<h2>Is it
recommended to choose a special charging unit to install at home?</h2>

Of course, the
first question is, whether a special electric car charging unit is required at
home, since we have the usual socket? 

Specialists
admit – yes, such a unit is unambiguously recommended due to the following two
aspects:

<ol>
 <li>Safety. Standard household socket
 is able to provide 2.3 kW power output – it must be clear that using
 maximum power of socket for continuous period leads to heating of cables,
 which is a serious fire risk. Taking into account the fact that the
 vehicle will be charged on regular basis and for several years, such risks
 should be avoided by investing in creation of safe charging system and
 choosing tested, certified charging unit, furthermore, it is also
 recommended to arrange a dynamic load equalisation system.</li>
 <li>Charging speed. Using a special
 unit can increase charging speed by up to 10 times. Just to understand –
 while regular household socket provides 2.3 kW power output for charging a
 vehicle, which would fully charge the globally best-selling electric car Nissan
 Leaf with 40 kWh battery in approximately 20 hours, which means that
 overnight charging would not result in maximum battery level in the
 morning, a small wall charger can provide increase in power up to 22 kW
 and charge the aforementioned Nissan Leaf in approximately 4–6
 hours, and the car would be fully charged in the morning.</li>
</ol>

<h2>How to choose
a charger? </h2>

Several factors
must be taken into account, when choosing a suitable charger:

<ol>
 <li>Charging power. Power of
 alternating current suitable for charging your electric vehicle must be
 ascertained – it depends on the on-board charger of your vehicle, which correspondingly determines
 maximum charging power of alternating current for the particular vehicle.
 Majority of vehicles currently available in our market are able to charge
 at the power of 3.7 kW or 7.4
 kW, but it is important to verify it before purchase and installation of
 the charging station.</li>
 <li>Household electricity load inspection. It should be
 calculated whether the current connection will be sufficient for optimum
 charging of electric vehicle, because load will grow significantly without
 any doubt. Example for comparison – charging cycle of one electric vehicle
 will resemble a parallel operation of 4–5 microwave ovens. In order to calculate
 safe load, definitely involve <a target="_blank" href="https://www.energolukss.lv/en_US/elektro-auto-uzlade">professionals.</a>
 The resulting data will make it possible to understand necessity for load
 balancing function.</li>
 <li>Selection of charging connector. It
 must be selected according to the built-in charging socket made by the car
 manufacturer. Type 2 connector will be suitable for the electric
 cars offered by the European car manufacturers, while Type 1 will
 be suitable for Japanese cars; it should be noted that global car manufacturers
 also gradually switch to Type 2, which is on high demand in the
 European market. </li>
 <li>Safety. It must be verified that
 the charging unit chosen by you has built-in direct current detection and
 overload protection. If the charging unit is not equipped with direct
 current leakage protection, the object must be equipped with type B
 residual current protection, which may cost up to EUR 300. Additionally,
 fuse of corresponding load and standard residual current protection must
 be provided for at the object (unless it is built-in and type B residual
 current protection is provided for at the object).</li>
 <li>Remote unit management and payment options. In order to provide possibility to connect the charging unit to
 any remote unit management system and/or payment system, for example,
 Elektrum or e-mobi payment tool, OCPP communication protocol must be built
 in your charging unit and possibility to connect Ethernet cable or
 SIM card for data exchange is required. The process of integration for
 untested units may be complicated and even impossible, because, in order
 to provide successful integration, change of the unit settings will also
 be required. It must be taken into account that MID certified electricity
 meter must be built in the charging unit.</li>
 <li>Communication with the vehicle. The
 charging unit must comply with the MODE 3 communication mode, which
 provides a simplified definition of the way of communication between your
 charging unit and and your vehicle.</li>
</ol>

"Energolukss" SIA

 Car service

Increasing number of motorists, when choosing a new vehicle, prefer electric cars, which enjoy increasing popularity, thus leaving fossil-fuel powered vehicles in history. Probably we have noticed that vehicles with...

Charging electric car at home – how to choose a charger?

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