Electric cars are becoming more popular, but some people like yourself are shying away from purchasing them. The reason for that is that you have no clue what you need to be able to charge your car at home. And, if you can’t charge your car at home for some reason, what good would it be to own an electric car?
So much to worry about, but we are going to get you the answers that you need, so you can stop hesitating over a car purchase.
The first thing that you will need to know is that almost every electric car that is sold can be charged using a standard 120-volt wall socket. This is normally considered a Level One charging and can take a long time to do. Therefore, we recommend that you at least install a 220-volt wall socket, so you can have a Level Two charging station for faster results.
An EVSE, or Electric Vehicle Service Equipment, is your best option for charging your electric vehicle though. The EVSE is a box, cord, and plug that mounts to the wall near where you park your car. This type of charger will cut your charging time in half while giving you important information. In fact, it can also turn the electricity supply to the car on and off, let you know how much electricity is available currently in your vehicle, and ensure that there are no electrical problems.
The best part about EVSEs is that they can provide you with daily usage reports to allow you to determine how much money you are saving by using this vehicle.
The features that you need to look for in an EVSE are a 30-amp service, a good-sized charging cable, and excellent connectivity. The 30-amp service will allow you to add thirty miles of range in approximately an hour, while the charging cable will need to easily reach where you plan on parking your car. As for the connectivity, this is ideal so that you can control your EVSE without needing to be home or outside. Instead, you can do it from a mobile app on your phone from wherever you are.
We do recommend that you call an electrician to install your EVSE, because even though they are easy to do, electricity is involved. We don’t want you or anyone else to take a chance with something you are not familiar with, when there are plenty of experienced electricians that can do it without electrocuting themselves or their family.