Electric car charging explained

Charging an electric car

Electric car charging is as easy as filling up your tank with petrol once you know how to do it. In much the same way that service stations provide different types of fuel for different cars, EV charging stations provide different levels of charging for different electric cars. How you’ll charge your electric car will depend on:

• The type and model of electric car you have
• The charging level you have access to
• The type of EV connector you buy for your electric car

EV charging levels explained

Level 1 EV charging

This is the level that portable electric vehicle chargers (called Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment or EVSE), are capable of. EVSEs can be plugged into a standard household power socket, but they take hours and sometimes days to fully charge a vehicle (depending on its battery size). As Level 1 is the slowest of all EV charging levels, EVSE charging is suitable for:

• Topping up the plug-in hybrids (PHEV), which have smaller batteries
• Charging your car at work to drive home
• Emergency charging when you’re not near a more powerful EV charging station

Level 2 EV charging

This the charging level you’ll achieve if your electric vehicle is plugged into a wall box that connects it to the electrical network via specific socket, plug, and dedicated circuit. Level 2 EV charging is much faster than Level 1 charging because the wall box allows it to be done at a higher voltage and amperage. Level 2 wall box charging is suitable for:

• Topping up your electric vehicle for a few hours at a shopping centre
• Fully charging your electric vehicle overnight

Level 3 EV charging

This is the charging level that you can only expect to get from dedicated high-power EV charging stations. Level 3 charging uses direct current (DC) technology and can be more than 10 times faster than Level 2 charging. As Level 3 offers such fast charging, it is suitable for:

• Topping up your charge in the same way you'd top up your petrol
• Charging between legs of long-distance journeys

Electric vehicle charging connectors explained

EV charging connectors are the plugs you put into an EV charging station’s outlet. They are similar to phone chargers in that the type of connector that your car uses depends on:

• The car’s manufacturer
• The region it is manufactured
• Make and model of the car
• In Australia, the four most popular EV connectors are: Type 2, CHAdeMO, Tesla and Type 1.

Type 2 connectors

This is the standard European connector, which most Australian electric cars also use. It has a seven-pin top connector for Level 1 and 2 charging, and a three-pin top port that combines with a dual-prong for Level 3 charging. It can charge electric cars at up to 22.1kW (AC) and 350kW (DC).

CHAdeMO connectors

This DC-only connector is used by Japanese manufacturers, including Nissan, Mitsubishi, Subaru, Honda, and Toyota. It is bidirectional, which means it can take power out of a network and put power back into a network. It can only be used at Level 3 charging stations and can charge cars at up to 400kW (DC).

Tesla connector

The Tesla connector and the port it plugs in to both look the same as a Type 2 connector. However, Tesla charging stations use software that stops other types of electric cars charging from them. So, while cars with a Tesla connector can use Type 2 outlets, other cars with Type 2 connectors cannot use Tesla outlets. Tesla connectors can be used at Level 1, 2 and 3 charging stations. They can charge Teslas at up to 22kW (AC) and 250kW (DC).

Type 1 connector

This is the standard American connector, but it is rarely used in Australia. Only older electric cars use this connector. In Australia, Type 1 connectors can only be plugged into Level 1 and 2 charging stations and can only charge electric cars at up to 7.2kW (AC)

Which connectors do electric cars come with?

Electric cars often come with just a Level 1 charging cable that can be plugged into a standard household power socket. You can, however, purchase connectors, adapters and converters that will allow you to plug in to a range of different public EV charging stations.