FAQs about EVs and charging stations

An EV is the abbreviation for electric vehicle. While the term is used interchangeably for all types of electric vehicles, there are actually 3 different types of EVs.

HEV – Hybrid electric vehicle – a hybrid electric vehicle that contains both an electric powered motor as well as a petrol motor in one vehicle. Depending on the individual vehicle, the systems may be able to work independently and well as combined. HEVs don’t have a charging output as the electric motor is recharged as you drive utilising the petrol engine.

PHEV – Plugin hybrid electric vehicle – similar functions to the HEV, except the vehicle offers a plug-in option to charge the vehicle rather than relying on the captured electrical energy generated from the petrol engine.

BEV – Battery electric vehicle – a fully battery electric vehicle, BEVs are considered the true electric vehicle. They don’t contain any form of petrol engine and run purely on electrical power and must be charged in order to drive.

Electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE) is the hardware that delivers  electricity to charge an EV battery. Many people call it a charging station or a charger.  However, there is a charger in the car. It converts power entering the car  from AC to DC. Faster EVSE that use DC power don’t need the internal charger. In this case, the power goes directly into the battery without conversion.

Throughout Australia, there are many facilities for you to be able to charge your electric vehicle. As a standard, there are two main places that your vehicle can be charged: at home and in public.

At home – most EV owners will have a private EV charger installed in their home garage to charge their vehicle while it is parked at home. There are many brands for personal at home chargers on the market with varying degrees of outputs.

In public – DC EV charging stations in public places are becoming more common and more widespread across Australia. Stations can be established in any public area including shopping centres, carparks, public parks, on the street, offices, hospitals, and hospitality venues just to name a few. Some public stations will have costs per kW associated with them while others may be free. You can check out a full list of available public charging stations by downloading the Plugshare app on your smart device.

Depending on whether the charging station is an AC or DC output will affect the speed at which your vehicle charges. A typical in-home personal EV charger runs on an AC output, meaning it charges at a much slower rate than a commercial DC fast charger. A 7kW single phase system, which is comparable to most at home systems will charge at about 18-40 km per hour, while a larger 22kW three phase commercial DC fast charger is more likely to output up to 400 km+ per hour.

The process for connecting your EV to a charging station will vary depending on the make and model of your EV, as well as the type of charging station. The general process includes:

1. Connect the charging cable to the charging station (if applicable). Some commercial charging stations will have charging cables already attached and available for use.
2. Connect the charging cable to your EV. There will generally be a notification sound, similar to a click lock to indicate that the cable is secure.
3. Sometimes charging stations will require payment for services. This may via credit cards, or a dedicated smartphone app. Organise payment for your charge. If the charging station is free to use, your vehicle should start charging straight away. Most EVs will have an indicator light on the dashboard which indicates when the vehicle is charging.

The distance output of your EV will depend on the battery capacity within your vehicle, your individual driving style as well as external factors such as traffic and weather. It is a variable factor, individualised to each journey. As a general estimate, EV’s with smaller capacity batteries (30-60kW) may only get 100-150 km per charge, whereas larger capacity EV batteries (70-100kW) may travel in excess of 400 km+ before needing to be charged. Read your vehicle’s car manual for a full breakdown of the battery capacity of your EV.

Electric vehicle chargers are relatively new technologies, so there is no concrete evidence to indicate the longevity of the systems themselves. Regular maintenance and repairs and proper installation of the charging station will help to increase the longevity of the system. Oppositely, exposure to harsh conditions and no maintenance, will result in a shorter life span.

Electric vehicles are significantly better for the environment than their petrol counterparts. This is because pure electric vehicles produce no carbon dioxide emissions when driving which contributes to lower air pollution output. EV’s are also very quiet so they reduce noise emissions, especially in large cities when noise pollution is quite concentrated.

If your EV charger questions have not been answered here, go to our contact page and ask us what you want to know. Our enthusiastic experts will get back to you as quickly as they can.