Unleashing Power: Discover How many volts is an Electric Vehicle charger! 

Type 1, Type 2, and Chademo - are just a few of the types of charging plugs for electric cars that are also found in India. Many public charging stations have an alternating current (AC) connection or a combination of an alternating current (AC) and a direct current (DC) connection. Most electric cars can only take a small amount of AC charging power. This is usually a maximum of 11 kW. That's enough to charge the car overnight. In addition, fast charging with direct current (DC) is now also possible for many e-cars.

Charging time depends on the plug type

If you connect your electric car to the charging station, your charging cable must also match. Only at fast charging stations do you simply take the plug from the column and connect it to your vehicle. With all AC charging stations, you need to have the right cable with you.

So far, no uniform standard for plugs and cables has been established internationally. However, other systems are more widespread in Europe than in Asia and North America. The various charging connections for electric cars that are currently available vary in terms of charging power and charging frequency. The following applies: the higher the charging power, the faster the e-car charges.

Here is an overview of the electric car charging plugs that are also found in India:

• Type 1 connector
• Type 2 connector
• CCS connector
• CHademo

What types of plugs are there in electric cars?

Type 1 charging connector

The type 1 plug for electric cars is mainly used in North America and Asia. Which cars have Type 1 plugs? The car manufacturers Hyundai, Nissan, and Ford sell cars with this connection. Type 1 is a single-phase plug. The Type 1 connector has a maximum charging capacity of 7.4 kW (kilowatts). This turns out to be a disadvantage in Germany. The reason: the three-phase power grid enables higher charging capacities of 11 kW to 43 kW.

Type 2 charging connector

The Type 2 plug for electric cars is mainly found in Europe. You can use it to "fill up" with alternating current at a charging station, for example. However, electric cars run on direct current. An integrated rectifier, therefore, converts the charged alternating current. By the way: you normally charge your e-car with a charging capacity of up to 22 kW. Fast charging with an output of up to 43 kW is even possible at public charging stations with a type 2 charging socket. All major car manufacturers such as Mercedes, VW, and Audi produce Type 2 electric cars with Type 2 charging cables. The current flows much faster through the three-phase plug than through single-phase type 1 charging cables.

CCS connector or combo connector

"CCS" stands for "Combined Charging System". This is a combined rapid charging system, also known as "Combo 2". With a CCS charging cable, the plug is divided into two areas: The upper part corresponds to a type 2 connection. The lower part of a combo plug is used for DC charging. The power of CCS charging stations is 20 to 350 kW – but no manufacturer has yet supported the maximum power. Only a few vehicle models such as the Tesla Model 3 and the Porsche Taycan can be charged with 150 kW and more. In practice, the charging power at the CCS charging station is around 50 kW.

Chademo connector

Chademo charging plugs for electric cars come from Japan. Chademo is the abbreviation of " Charge de Move". At the same time, the expression in Japanese means something like “How about a cup of tea?” A charging cable with a Chademo connector is designed for rapid charging of the car with direct current. It charges with an output of 50 to 100 kW - depending on the charging station. The system was developed by the energy company Tepco together with Toyota, Nissan, Mitsubishi, and Subaru. However, vehicles from Citroën, Honda, Mazda, and Kia are also compatible with the connector type. However, the e-mobility industry assumes that Chademo will be pushed out by the CCS connector.

Volts in an Electric Vehicle charger

When charging e-cars, you should be familiar with the three terms kilowatt (kW), ampere (A), and volt (V). When it comes to information about chargers, wall boxes, and charging cables, the sizes of amperes and volts are usually given, but how are the kilowatts calculated from these two figures?

First of all: In order to answer this question, the number of phases over which loading is to take place must also be known. Electric cars are usually charged with 230 volts (1-phase) or 400 volts (3-phase). The table below shows how kilowatts can be calculated from the number of phases, amps, and volts. In the first column is the current strength, i.e. the ampere. The two main columns distinguish between single-phase (230 volts) and three-phase (400 volts) charging. The combination of current, voltage, and number of phases gives the kilowatt.