What power is required for an electric vehicle charging station?

Growing consumer interest in sustainability,Electric vehicles (EVs) are gaining popularity. Electric Vehicles (EVs) can play an important role in efforts to combat climate change as well as providing health benefits to the population by reducing air pollution.India is currently the third-largest market for Electric Vehicles (EVs) in the world, and the government is actively promoting the use of EVs through various initiatives.If you’ve never owned an electric car before, you may have questions related to charger like what are charger types, different voltage ranges for different levels of charging etc. Here’s everything you want to know about different levels and their power requirements of ev charging stations.

Types of EV Charging Stations in India

There are three types of charging stations: Level 1, Level 2, and DC Fast Charging.

Level 1 charging stations use a standard 120-volt outlet and take up to 12 hours to charge an EV. Level 2 charging stations require a 240-volt outlet and can charge an EV in 4 to 6 hours.

DC Fast Charging stations are the fastest and can charge an EV up to 80% in just under an hour. The cost of installing each type of charging station varies.

The following table provides more detailed information about the types of EV charging stations.

Basic terms used in Charging

Input voltage. This is how much power a charger requires to operate and is expressed in volts.

Power output. This is how much power a charger can generate and is expressed in kilowatts (kW).

Charging speed. This is the number of miles added to the EV’s battery per hour of charging and depends on the charger’s power output

Battery Pack: The measurement used to indicate the charge stored by the battery in kWh.

Range: If a conventional car has kmpl as an indicator of fuel mileage, its equivalent in EVs is kilometre per charge.

Cost of electricity: The price you have to pay for each unit of electricity. A unit of electricity is equal to a kWh.

Different charging standard

Bharat DC 001: This is a fast charging standard developed by the Indian government and is used for charging electric two-wheelers and three-wheelers. This standard requires a charging rate of up to 15 kW and uses a charging connector with a 15A/48V DC rating.

Bharat AC 001: This standard is also developed by the Indian government and is used for charging electric cars and buses. It requires a charging rate of up to 15 kW and uses a Type 2 connector for AC charging.

CCS (Combined Charging System): CCS is an international charging standard used for fast charging of electric vehicles. It uses a Type 2 connector for AC charging and a CCS connector for DC fast charging. CCS charging stations can provide up to 350 kW of charging power.

CHAdeMO: CHAdeMO is a fast charging standard developed in Japan and is used by several EV manufacturers. It uses a CHAdeMO connector for DC fast charging and can provide up to 62.5 kW of charging power.

DC fast charging

In this method of charging, DC current is sent to the electric car's battery directly via the DC charge port.

As per Bharat DC Charging Specifications,

Power rating of fast chargers are

10kW/15kW/30kW/50kW or even higher capacity.

Voltage rating

48V/72V for Indian electric cars

Level 1 DC Chargers

As per the Bharat EV specs,Public DC Chargers at output voltage of 48V / 72V, with power outputs of 10 kW / 15 kW with maximum current of up to 200A.

Level 2 DC Chargers

Public DC Chargers at output voltage up to 1000V, with power outputs of 30 kW / 150 kW. These will be called Level 2 DC Chargers.

AC Charging(slow charging)

An EVSE supplies AC current to the vehicle’s onboard charger which in turn converts the AC power to DC allowing the battery to be charged.Slow AC charging is the most common method of charging electric vehicles. ​

Under AC Charging there are 2 categories of charging

Normal AC charging
​As mentioned above, electric 2-wheelers, 3-wheelers and 4-wheeler vehicles in India have on-board chargers that charge at a rate of around 2.5kW to 3kW.
These AC 2.5KW or 3KW Chargers could fast charge a 2-wheeler (for a battery with an energy density of 2KWh) in an hour’s time; 4-wheeler or larger vehicles with batteries of 12 KWh or more will be charged in five to six hours.
​

Fast AC charging
Global electric cars like the Nissan Leaf or the Tesla have on board chargers with higher power ratings.
This enables AC charging at a faster rate, from 7.7 kw to 22 kw.

Summing Up

Electric cars are a game-changer when it comes to energy management & running costs for drivers. Their electricity consumption and the cost of charging involves various factors.There are multiple charging protocols. World spends money on these different protocols. For example, Tesla Motors is spending lots of money building a proprietary charging network that can only be used by owners of Tesla’s automobiles, while at the same time the charging network operators are spending lots of money to build out fast charging for the other protocols. We don't want the same thing to happen in India.Thus the need for uniformity like Bharat EV specifications for AC and DC charging.