If you want to take the plunge and buy an electric car, you will also need to have an electrical charging point installed near where you park your car. Here we explain what you need to consider helping you to buy the right kind and have it properly installed.
Use a Professional Installer
Even if you plan to use the charger supplied with the car you should still have it installed by an electrician. That is the only way you can be sure that it is safely installed and that it will charge reliably. For this job, it is always wise to search out a firm that has experience of installing electric car chargers rather than using a general electrician.
Types of Electric Car Charger
There are two main type of car charging points. Level 1 and level 2.
The dealer normally supplies a level 1 charger when you purchase your car. This kind or charger needs to be wired into a dedicated 120v circuit.
This style of charger works reliably, but it takes up to 20 hours to charge the average electric vehicle fully. For most people this is just too long. In most modern families, a car is rarely in one place for 20 hours of the day.
For this reason, most people opt for a level 2 charger. This kind of charger needs to be wired up to a dedicated 240-volt circuit.
Naturally, this kind of circuit is more expensive to buy and have installed, but you can charge your car much more quickly. Depending on the size and kind of battery your car runs on you can completely charge your battery within 4 to 8 hours. For a family with two electric vehicles this is the only viable home car charger.
Click here to read more about charging points for electric cars.