With the rise of the electric car, it is becoming attractive for many people to have a charging station installed at home. That way you no longer have to go to a charging station, but you can simply charge your car at home and it will be waiting for you every morning with a full battery. But what does a charging station at home involve? What should you pay attention to? What is possible and what is not possible? We are happy to list it for you.
Can anyone have a charging station installed at home?
In fact, every house is suitable for a charging station and anyone who wants to can have one installed. If it is a charging station for private use, you do not need a permit. Only if you want to have a public charging station, paperwork is involved. But if you just want to be able to set off with a full battery every morning in your own car, then the only arrangements are the installation of the charging station at home. You could do this installation yourself, but then you need a lot of experience in electrical engineering. If you don't have that, we can only recommend that you hire an installer. Because it is a job that must be done accurately and properly. We have also made a step-by-step plan for How to Set up EV Charging Station.
A charging station or a wallbox?
There is quite a bit of terminology involved when installing a charging station, but the difference between a wallbox and a charging station is quickly explained. A charging point is a separate pole, a wallbox is a charging point that is attached to the wall of your house. Furthermore, the two installations do not differ from each other; everything we discuss in this article is interchangeable one-to-one on both the charging station and the wallbox.
1-phase charging versus 3-phase charging
As mentioned, a charging station can be installed at every house, but with newer houses there are slightly more options than with older houses. This has to do with two factors: the current strength of the connection and the number of phase wires of the connection. The current is indicated in amps (A) and the phase wires of the connection consist of either 1 or 3. Older houses often have a 1-phase connection, while newer houses usually have three phase wires plus a neutral wire. The difference between these connections is in the current; with a 1-phase connection, a phase wire has 230 volts alternating current, while with a 3-phase connection it is 400 volts. If you don't know which connection you have, look in your meter cupboard. Do you see 220 V or 230 V on the electricity meter, then you have a 1-phase connection. However, if it says 3 x 220/230 V or 280/400 V, then you are dealing with a 3-phase connection.
3-phase charging ideally charges a car three times faster than 1-phase charging, but only if your car also supports it. If your car does not support it, you can easily place it on a 3-phase connection, but then charging is simply not as fast as with a car that does support it. By the way, if you have a 1-phase connection to your house, but you want to make it heavier, that is also possible. The investment is approximately between 250 and 300 euros. You must request this from the network operator . Count on the fact that it can easily take three months or more between the application and the implementation.
Just like all electrical devices, the battery of your electric car works on direct current, an electric current with a constant current direction (it flows from + to -). The charging station converts the alternating current of the network into direct current.
Dynamic load balancing
To prevent your electricity grid from becoming overloaded when your Audi e-tron is powered up at night, it is advisable to have a charging station with dynamic load balancing at home . It keeps track of the power consumption in your home and reverses the charging capacity when necessary. This way you prevent the fuses from blowing if you also want to turn on the dryer. If you have a 3-phase connection, the chance of overload is smaller anyway, because the power is divided over three phases. So if you have a 1-phase connection, it is definitely worth the investment to go to a 3-phase connection.
Charging via solar panels
A charging station at your home is a nice idea in itself, but it can become even more interesting if you also have solar panels . You can use the energy from these panels to charge the battery of your car and therefore costs virtually nothing. If you don't have solar panels yet, it's definitely worth considering. It can save more than a hundred euros per month on your electricity costs if you can charge your car via solar energy. Those savings add up considerably if you keep this up for a few years.
Does my employer pay for the electricity of my lease car?
Of course, it depends entirely on the agreements you have made, but your employer can reimburse your charging costs in full and untaxed . This also applies to the charging station itself and its installation. Employers often decide to include these costs in the lease amount that you pay as an employee. A charging station is generally depreciated in four years and after this lease period you almost always become the owner of the charging point, without extra costs.
A charging station at home is completely safe
Anyone who has a charging station installed at home will undoubtedly have thought about its safety . Just as you don't like to leave an outlet in your living room unattended if you have small children, you also don't want any risks to exist at the charging station. Don't worry: a charging station is completely safe. A pole that is not used at all does not pose any risk, because the power is completely cut off. The power is not connected until the plug is locked. And if you want to take the cable out again, you need a card for this. When unlocking, the power is first switched off and only then can you remove the cable. The charging station is therefore completely safe and children can play around it. This security also means that you can only use your charging station if you have the card. So it cannot be the case that the neighbor secretly uses your charging station when you are away for a weekend.
What does a charging station at home cost?
The cost for the charging station is based on various factors:
- Installation
- The costs of the charging station
- If necessary, converting 1-phase current to 3-phase current
- The cost of electricity
The costs for installation itself vary and are of course related to your home situation and the charging station you choose. Count on - and we understand that this is a broad estimate - you can spend between 25385.09 and 160772.22 INR for the costs of the installation. The charging station costs between 42308.48 and 101540.35 INR, which costs you between 67693.57 and 203080.70 INR for the total installation. The cost of electricity is approximately 19.47 Indian Rupee per kWh, which means an average price per kilometer of 3.81 Indian Rupee. If you need to have your power connection upgraded to 3 phases, it will cost around 29615.93 INR.
Which charging station is suitable for me?
Now that you know what it costs and what the options are, it's time to choose a charging station. With an ever-growing range, there is plenty of choice, but which one should it be? That choice is of course free, but make sure that your charging station and your car match each other in any case. If your car has the capacity to be charged quickly, but if you have a slow charging station, you are not using the full capacity. And vice versa, that kite also goes up; if your charging station at home is fast, but the battery pack of your car is not, it will still take longer than you would like to charge your car. If we may give a tip: choose a charging station with a higher charging capacity than your car can handle. That provides the necessary future value, because a new car will also be able to handle this very well.
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