There’s never been a smarter time to make the switch to an electric vehicle. A wide variety of popular automakers are offering dozens of electric choices at reasonable prices. Plus, you can sidestep the fluctuating cost of gas entirely and fuel your vehicle from a simple outlet in your home. Before you purchase an EV charger, here are three important things to keep in mind.
Feel the Charge With the Lectron 240 Volt
If you plan to switch a vehicle you often use for an EV, consider upgrading from a Level 1 charger to a Level 2. A Level 1 charger is one that came with your vehicle, and it plugs into a normal household outlet. These are also called ‘trickle chargers’ because they charge extremely slowly.
Level 2 chargers make the leap to 240 volts for a massive increase in charging speed. This means that an overnight charge can power your EV miles farther than you would be able to drive on an overnight charge with a Level 1 charger. If your commute is more than 30 miles round-trip, an upgrade to Level 2 will make a huge difference.
The one inconvenience of Level 2 chargers is that you need an electrician to install a specialized high-voltage outlet in your garage to use them. After this simple home improvement, however, your EV battery charger will power your car farther than ever without a single trip to the gas pump.
Make Sure You Choose a Compatible Charger
Much like phone cables, every EV won’t work with every charger on the market. The standard connection type is J1772 and will work with most electric vehicles but not Tesla ones. Tesla requires its kind of charger. However, you can buy converters that switch one connection type to another to charge a Tesla with standard cables.
Quality EV Battery Charging Cables
The last consideration before you buy a charger is quality. Since you’re charging your vehicle with your home’s electricity supply, any quality issues could wind up affecting your home’s electrical system as well as your car. Here are three ways to tell if an EV charger is made well and worth buying:
- Purchase your charger from a trusted source. Look for recognizable auto parts stores and websites. Don’t order an EV charger from a nameless company or off of Amazon.
- Read reviews of the charger before you buy. Remember that it’s possible for unscrupulous companies to buy or fake reviews. Look carefully for reviews that sound like they’re from real people and span a wide range of dates.
- Always buy UL-Listed chargers. Underwriters Laboratories is an independent organization of scientists that tests and approves consumer electronics to ensure they’re safe. Any electronic purchase in your home should be UL-Listed.
Purchasing a car EV charger doesn’t have to be a difficult process. Choose the charging level that suits your needs and match the charger type to your vehicle. Then, buy from a trusted source online or in person, and be sure the charger is UL-Listed. A quality charger will save you money down the line.
Why Do You Need An EV Charger?
In this era of modern vehicles, you must rely on something smart to charge your electric vehicle. Therefore, electric chargers are the only way to do so. But if you are in doubt, here are a few reasons why:
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Fast Charging
Carrying out cables and waiting for hours is old. Now you can charge your vehicle ten times faster using the EV charger. Although it mostly depends on your car’s battery capacity, you can still get a fast charging experience from EV chargers.
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Easily Manageable
Electric chargers let you supervise the whole process, so you can get all the updates in time. You can use an app on your smartphone to know when your car is adequately charged. Also, it lets you adjust the power rate alongside setting up the timer.
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Super Saving
You can charge your car using an EV charger while the electricity costs are lower than average. So you can cut the budget off and charge the car when the electricity is cheaper than usual using your simple app.
Different Levels Of EV Charging:
There are three different levels of EVs. Depending on your need and your car’s battery capacity, you need to use each one. The levels are as follows:
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Level 1:
It uses a 120-Volt charging outlet, and the speed is about 3 to 5 Miles Per Hour. You can use the charger in any regular wall outlet like home, workplace and public. Among all the three levels, this one is the slowest to charge your vehicle. Mainly vehicles with smaller batteries use these chargers. This is not a good one for your daily usage.
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Level 2:
This one uses a 208-Volt to 240-Volt outlet, and the speed is about 12 to 80 Miles Per Hour. Level 2 is mostly for heavy appliances. You can find level-2 charging stations, mostly in workplaces or commercial parking lots. But you can also install it in your garage to charge your EV. You can easily rely on level 2 charging for your daily needs.
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Level 3:
Here come the fastest charging speeds, with 400-Volt to 900-Volt. You can reach 3 to 20 Miles Per Minute using this charger. The powerful approach is mostly for people who can’t easily refuel while driving. You can’t install this at your home, and these are more costly than the other two. But when you need a superpower, this is the one that you need.
Dive Into The Technology
With the revolution of technology, you can’t help but rely on newer inventions. Now is the high time to use EV chargers for your ease. It can save you a lot of time and consume very little power to drive as you want. So, purchasing an EV charger is what you need when you want to join the effortless approach of electric vehicle usage.
