Electric Car Charger Plugs & Sockets Explained

Are you confused with EV chargers, cables, sockets and kw hours? Almost, all of our customers, who are not yet planning to replace their car(s) to electric they have a very confused knowledge and in some cases a messy conspiracy theory behind this new technology.

On the other hand, many determined Electric Car buyers one of the most confusing aspects of ownership are the multiple charging connectors. However, similarly to traditional cars they use fuel and in our case it would be electron. EVs runs on electron but through different chargers and connectors just like your phones, but don't worry about that as most EV manufacturers and EV Charger manufacturers will give you adapters in case if you have to use on-street chargers.

Most of us have probably seen charging stations around shopping centres, public car parks and supermarkets, they also known as a charge point or electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE), which is a piece of equipment that supplies electrical power for charging plug-in electric vehicles including electric cars, electric trucks, electric buses, generally all types of electric vehicles, and plug-in hybrids.

EV Cable Types

The most commonly used EV plug in Europe, is the Type 2 and sometimes is referred to as the Mennekes. The Type 2 charging plug proposed as the common standard for Europe, since The EU Commission recommended for use across the whole of Europe.

Needless to say, the 16 European vehicle manufacturers of the ACEA, as well as energy producers and grid operators, have already favoured the Type 2 charging coupler. Since then, most car manufacturers now have to fit this seven-pin plug as standard to their EV models, meaning that almost all tethered public charging points will have a Type 2 plug.

This system is designed to work with slow and fast charging, can handle the 22kW three-phase power supply, although you’ll need to check if your car (OBC=On Board Charger) can accept this rate of charge. Tesla has adopted a modified Type 2 chargers, allows them to charge at both the firm’s Supercharger network and at a domestic wallbox.

The other new feature of Type 2 is that it can be locked to the car, ensuring nobody can disconnect the car while it’s charging and you're away from the vehicle.

Combination Plugs (Combined Charging System, or CCS)

The Combined Combination System, or CCS, is the most popular connector for DC (Direct Current) rapid charging. Most new Fully Electric models which are fitted with this type of socket, allows you to charge for both public DC rapid charger and a home AC wallbox. Tesla has already adopted it and now in Europe, making it standard on the Model 3, plus Telsa supplies a CCS adapter for the Model S and Model X so they can use this type of charger.

Basically, it combines a robust 2-pin DC socket with either the 7-pin Type 2 (CCS Combo 2) or 5-pin Type 1 fixing, with the DC connector sitting below these AC plugs. When you want to top-up the battery at a rapid charging station (most will feature both types of CCS connectors), simply slot the tethered CCS connector into your car and, depending on the charger and vehicle, you can accept up to 350kW of electricity. However, while the CCS plug connects with both charger sockets in the car, it’s only the 2-pin element at the bottom that’s used to transfer the electricity to the battery. When you’re charging at home, simply use your Type 2 plug for the top half of the socket.

CHAdeMO plug

CHAdeMO is the abbreviation for the rather enigmatic sounding ‘Charge de Move’, one of the first DC rapid charging systems. Devised in 2010 in Japan, it’s still the connector favoured by Honda, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Subaru and Toyota. Like the CCS system it is used for rapid charging and is currently capable of carrying up to 400kW, with Chinese technology providers looking to up this to 900kW. The biggest difference is between CHAdeMo and CCS is that CCS is combined, meanwhile CHAdeMo requires two types of plug, one for AC and another for DC.

How long will it take to charge?

As you can see on this table, Electric Car charging times are different from the traditional cars but as most of us spend our time at home sleeping, our cars can sit on our drive (you're lucky if you have one) and charging or at workplace (ideally 9-5). This is the most convenient way to fill up your EV battery if you are using your car for commuting and social drives, however on longer journey you have to use large public chargers, where you can charge up your cars from 15-30 minutes (depending of the charger and car types).

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