How to choose your home charging solution

An electrician checking an electrical panel – Worldskills Belgium – Flickr CC

Electric car: how to recharge at home ?

Home recharge is the most economical solution to fill up on electrons and use your electric car on a daily basis. Between terminals, wallbox and wall socket, how to load it at home ?

Advertising, your content continues below

The first difficulty encountered by owners of an electric car often comes at the time of recharge. If fast charge stations, such as Tesla and Ionity SuperChargeur Networks, are the most obvious solution, this is not the most economical.

To fully enjoy your electric car, home recharge is essential. If it is possible to load on a terminal, a wall outlet or a wallbox, each connection mode has its advantages and disadvantages. It is therefore important to clearly identify your needs to choose a suitable solution.

Electric recharge: a price that goes from single to double on highway

If you can fill up with gasoline on highway your fingers in your nose, what about an electric car ? What will be the Monta.

Recharge

Obviously, the simplest method is to connect the vehicle to a conventional sector outlet by means of the loader generally supplied. Without having to make an additional investment, the solution may seem ideal, but it has many limits.

The first defect obviously lies in the power and the load duration. Limited to an alternating current (AC) of 10 A, the power of the wall outlet generally does not exceed 2.3 kW. After a rude calculation, this translates into a charge time of around thirty hours for a Megane e-tech with a 60 kWh battery.

The other major pitfall concerns safety. If the electrical network is not suitable for recharging a car, especially in the case of an old accommodation, there are risks of overheating, which could damage the electrical installation, going as far as risk of fire in the most serious cases. A priori, An electrical installation under standards should not be a problem.

Recharge over a reinforced socket

Advertising, your content continues below

Not expensive, reinforced socket is an alternative to the wall outlet, which makes it possible to overcome the risks of overheating for a few tens of euros. It will thus be much more secure to connect your vehicle several hours in a row. It is however compulsory to use a professional electrician to install home taking, which can quickly increase the price of the installation according to the cost of the workforce.

Once mounted, the reinforced socket delivers an AC 14 A current and a maximum power of 3.2 kW. Concretely, this reduces the charging time by around 30 % compared to the conventional wall outlet. The same Megane e-tech could refuel in “only” 8 pm.

More than performance gain, wall socket is a real security asset. For motorists with a small city car, such as an electric smart or a Dacia Spring, or a rechargeable hybrid, this solution may be suitable, provided you load the car once in the garage.

Recharge with a wallbox

Praised by the manufacturers for its performance and safety, the Wallbox (or wall borne) requires a greater investment. It is generally necessary to count between 500 € and 1300 €, to which is added the provision of an IRVE professional installer (electric vehicle recharge infrastructure). In addition, such an installation requires maintenance every two years, for a hundred euros.

If this is the safest installation, the Wallbox also offers the highest load powers for home recharge. Depending on the model chosen, they are generally 7 kW by single -phase current and 11 kW to 22 kW by three -phase current. It will also be necessary to take out an adapted electricity subscription to your supplier.

To facilitate equipment, some manufacturers offer their own Wallbox in the options catalog. It may be interesting to negotiate a discount on the latter at the time of the acquisition of your electric car. In addition, the State grants a tax credit of € 300 and a 5.5 %reduced VAT, enough to give a slight boost to the energy transition.

Recharge

Often, the arrival of an electric car in the home goes hand in hand with a new contract with the energy supplier. Obviously the subscribed power must correspond to the new needs, but also that the pricing of the kilowatt hour is profitable investment as soon as possible. Not surprisingly, suppliers like Engie or Totalenergie offer special contracts for electric cars, often corresponding to full hours/hollow hour pricing.

To make the most of it and without constraint, it is essential to plan the vehicle recharge well. To do this, some Wallbox allow you to program recharge on a time slot and weekly. Most electric cars also make it possible to plan the recharging, either from their infotainment interface, or from the associated smartphone app.

News: car accessory
Which charging card to choose for your electric car ?

Indispensable for all owners of electric vehicles, cars as motorcycles, the charging card offers access to Po.

How to choose your home charging solution ?

More than 80% of the owners of an electric car recharge at home. In front of a house, in a garage, in a private parking, the vehicle often loads at night for several hours. There are different ways to connect your car to home to refuel more or less quickly and save on your electricity bill. Automobile-proper takes stock of these solutions.

This is one of the first questions that you are asked when you prepare for the purchase of an electric car: where are you going to recharge it ? If a minority prefers to fill up on public limits or at its workplace, a sometimes advantageous choice if they offer free recharge, the vast majority of owners opts for home recharge: simple, practical and economical.

Check your electrical installation

If you want to load at home or in your private parking, you must first learn about the configuration of your electricity network. It must be properly sized, wired and protected to ensure secure recharge. Some cars refuse to launch the charge when they detect an anomaly on the network. Indeed: connected, an electric vehicle consumes a large amount of energy for many hours.

Most models can load at a power of 2.3 kW (the equivalent of a dryer) for 20 to 30 hours in a conventional socket. On a dedicated terminal, the power can reach 7 to 22 kW (the equivalent of around twenty microwave ovens) for recharging in 3 to 10 hours. The ideal is to use an electrician to check his installation.

An electrician checking an electrical panel – Worldskills Belgium – Flickr CC

Recharging an electric vehicle if you live in collective housing

From the individual house to collective housing, the solutions differ. Indeed, if one is completely free to install the socket or terminal of your choice in individual habitat, the process is a little more complex in co -ownership. In a building parking lot, you must first obtain the agreement of the condominium union or the lessor. An approach that can be long since it takes a period of six months to serve any opposition. The terminal must also integrate an electricity counter in order to postpone the invoice to the user. To avoid the puzzles, several companies offer key-in-hand packs and take care of the steps until commissioning of the terminal through energy billing.

Although it is illegal, some users still recharge their electric car on a plug in their parking lot, without any agreement. If it is detected, the act will cause the ire of co -owners who then pay the electricity bill in their expenses. It is therefore better to carry out the installation in the rules of the art, especially since subsidies are planned to finance it up to 50% of its price within the limit of € 1300 excl. With a load control system). This is the “Advent” program, which can also meet Installing an individual habitat terminal.

A co -ownership charging station – BRS credit charging station Service

Recharging an electric vehicle if you live in individual accommodation

If you are in this type of accommodation, blow ! There is no other limit than your personal budget. In your house, you can Install the terminal of your choice at the place of your choice. The cheapest solution is to connect your electric car to a conventional socket, however, taking care to check that your electricity network can support the load for very long hours. On such a socket, the power will not exceed 2.3 kW. This is quite enough to recharge overnight enough to make your daily trip, up to 150 km round trip (see our online charging time simulator).

If you want to recharge a little faster without breaking the bank, you can buy a reinforced socket Legrand Green’up. Identical to an exterior garden socket, it allows you to pass the power to 3.2 kW. That is enough to recover about 200 km of autonomy in ten hours. This equipment costs around 60 euros alone or 130 euros in kit including a differential circuit breaker. It must be installed by an electrician or a very competent person in terms of electricity.

Legrand Green’Up charging recharge.

Domestic charging stations for electric car

Even if it means calling a professional and if you have a wider budget, you can finally get a “wallbox”: A domestic charging station. Costing 500 to 1500 euros, it allows you to load from 7 to 22 kW provided that the electrical installation is correctly dimensioned. This is the fastest and flexible solution to load an electric car at home. There is a very wide range of products offering various options such as power adjustment, remote control, consumption data recording and consultation via an integrated screen, locking and access control.

A HAGER domestic charging station.

Program its recharge of an electric vehicle to save

That you opt for a terminal or a classic socket, Remember to plan your electric car charging times. If you have an electricity subscription full hours / off -peak hours, it is more economical to load the night during the low rate niche communicated by your supplier. This saves several hundred euros per year according to your recharge needs. Most electric vehicles offer to program recharge via the on -board computer. Otherwise, on a classic socket, a simple automatic hourly switch is enough like the one you may already have for your hot water tank. Some terminals also offer a steering function.

Be careful to have the right charging cables for electric car

You may need Buy a charging cable specific If it is not provided with the car. Often, the manufacturer delivers two cables: one allowing to load on a classic socket and the other on the terminals via the type 2 connector. Count around 200 to 500 euros if necessary, for example on certain sales of used vehicles.

You want to be sure not to miss anything about the news of electric cars ?

What is the cost of a home recharge for your electric car ?

We all heard it ! The electric car makes it possible to largely save energy cost, if it is compared to its diesel and petrol counterparts. But what is really the Recharge cost of an electric car ? And if you charge it with a home charging station, how much is the consumption of electricity ? Caroom takes stock of this detailed article.

• 1 The installations necessary to recharge your electric car
  • 1.1 costs for a reinforced socket
  • 1.2 costs for a wallbox
  • 2.1 Factors related to the home electricity contract
  • 2.2 and the factors related to the electric vehicle model
  • 2.3 How is the price of recharges calculated ?
  • 2.4 The example of the Renault Zoé Z.E. 50

  Listen to this guide in podcast ��

  The installations necessary to recharge your electric car

  For recharging electric vehicles at home, it is preferable to avoid connecting them to a conventional outlet. This, so that you do not worry about the electrical network. The recharge time of the electric car will be longer. A overheated or a overvoltage could happen, due to the lack of power delivered by the domestic socket (intensity of 10 A, power 2.3 kW).

  It is therefore more judicious to use other solutions such as reinforced or the charging point. But how much these installations cost ?

  Costs for reinforced socket

  Cheaper to purchase, but also to installation, reinforced socket is a special socket installed by an electrician. Normally, the intervention only takes an hour. The price includes the installation of the socket and a differential circuit breaker. According to the supplier, the price of the reinforced taking goes from 130 to 230 euros. In total, count around 500 € TTC to go from a power of 2.3 kW to 3.2 kW (14 A). Note that battery recharging is not yet fast, even if there is already an improvement in power.

  Costs for a wallbox

  To enjoy more flexibility, bet on a wall or wallbox. It is a charging station to have a professional installed and you cannot install it yourself. It optimizes the load. And here again, the purchase price varies depending on the power delivered by the wallbox. Some models of charging stations display a power of 7 kW single -phase (intensity 32 A), other terminals for electric cars go further with a load power of 11 to 22 kW three -phase. In both cases, an electrical protection device must also be installed. The price of the full installation is therefore substantial, either from 1,000 to 2,000 euros including tax. However, the investment is worth it, because a wallbox offers a fast recharge time. An option that will also save you on the electricity bill. Do not hesitate to find out beforehand to find out how to choose your home charging station.

  The charging cost of an electric car

  In addition to the installations, several factors come into play to determine the real cost of recharging electric car batteries at home.

  Factors linked to the home electricity contract

  Before you even buy your electric car, remember to renew your electricity subscription contract (basic price, hollow time rate, etc.)). Your current pricing could be unsuitable for your new consumption. Remember that in addition to using other electrical devices, you must load the electric vehicle. The power subscribed to your supplier will therefore not be sufficient.

  The cost of recharge electric vehicles will also be modified according to Kilowatt hour price for electricity.

  And the factors related to the electric vehicle model

  The cost of the battery load will also depend on the car consumption. For example, a BMW i3 offers, in theory, 16.6 kWh/100 km, while a Renault Twizy consumes 10 kWh/100 km. The Nissan Leaf is more energy -consuming with 20.6 kWh/100 km.

  Of course, these indications will change according to the Type of driving adopted (Brake, deceleration, acceleration, driving on the highway, driving in town, etc.) and the weather conditions (loss of autonomy of 18.5 % of the electric car in cold weather).

  How is the price of recharges calculated ?

  The formula is simple, you only have to find the product of the consumption of the electric car and the price per kilowatt hour offered by your energy supplier.

  The example of the Renault Zoé Z.E. 50

  

  Take the example of the best -selling electric city car in France, the Renault Zoé Z.E. 50. It has a battery with a capacity 52 kWh, offering an indicative autonomy of 317 kilometers. Its average consumption is 24.7 kWh/100 km. With the off -peak price of EDF in 2020, the cost of a charge is:

  0.380 €/kWh x 24.7 kWh/100 km = € 3.40/100 km.

  For a complete recharge, this makes us on average 10.77 euros. A price significantly lower than a full fuel for the same type of car.

  The main thing to remember

  With a cautiff with thermal engine, you will pay more than 60 euros on average to refuel. The economy made by having a electric car is therefore gigantic. Other tips can still make you decrease energy costs. So you can opt for:

  • An electric car model with a programming system recharge during off -peak hours.
  • A solar installation To power your electric vehicle with renewable energy.

  You now know more about the cost of recharge, but do you know how to recharge your electric car in condominiums ?

  And for you, what is the cost of recharging your electric vehicle ? You are rather wallbox or reinforced taking ? Tell us while comments !