What types of sockets to recharge your electric car

Specific to electric vehicles, Type 2 socket is today the European standard for alternating current load. Considered an intermediary between domestic socket and the different rapid sockets, type 2 accepts more power which reduces the recharging time. Present on the wallboxes, these charging stations to install at home, it is also used on a large part of the public terminals.

How much is a charging station for electric car ?

You want to install a charging station for electric and hybrid vehicles at your home ? Maniable, silent and less polluting than traditional cars, more and more drivers allow themselves to be seduced by electric cars. But how much is a charging station for an electric car ? What are the elements to take into account to budget this charging solution ? Follow the guide to find out more !

What price for which charging machine ?

It will take between € 500 and € 2,000 for the installation of an electric recharge at home. Let’s see it in more detail.

Reinforced socket: more secure than a wall outlet

This type of device guarantees recharge of your vehicle safely to around 500 euros, installation included. Note that the recharge of your vehicle will be slower with a reinforced socket than with a charging station. Count between 8 a.m. and 16 hours of charging for a 100% electric car with a reinforced socket. So remember to recharge preferably at night or during the day if you don’t need to move around. This solution is recommended for rechargeable hybrid cars. For 100% electric, it is preferable to opt for a charging station.

Domestic charging station: the best solution

The home charging station is both fast, secure and powerful. Its price, ranging from 1200 to 2000 €, may seem expensive, but this is not the case. Indeed, you benefit from aid in the form of a Tax credit of € 300 and VAT reduced to 5.5%. These aids can represent a substantial sum. And above all, the installation of a home charging station is quickly amortized. Indeed, it is enough for about a year. For example, if you replace your petrol car with an electric city car to drive in an urban environment, you can save around € 833 over a year (10,000 km). For more powerful cars, the savings made are even more important. If you ride on an electric SUV on mixed environments, your energy consumption savings will amount to € 1,316 over the year. The advantage of a home wall recharge terminal compared to the reinforced socket is its quick charging time (4 hours of charging for a Renault Zoé with a 7.4 kW terminal) and its larger electric security to avoid overvoltages and overheating. In addition, domestic charging stations allow Take advantage of off -peak hours to fill up at low prices. For example, for an average consumption of 12 kWh/100km, the price in off -peak hours will be € 1.34/100 km. If you recharge it on an external terminal, the current price of the Ionity network is € 0.79/minute. Home recharging, which involves installing a terminal, therefore remains the most economical solution when driving electric.

What types of sockets to recharge your electric car ?

For anyone interested in buying an electric car, recharging is obviously an essential question. We go around the main standard to avoid “headache”.

AC or DC, two types of current

Before you start presenting the different types of sockets, let’s talk about current. For recharge electric vehicles, there are two types:

• Alternating current (AC for Current alternative in English), in the vast majority of cases used for slow and accelerated recharging
• Direct current (DC for Direct Current), reserved for high power for fast load

Domestic socket

Present at your home or in your garage, the so -called E/F socket is the easiest way to recharge your electric car.

Most electric vehicles sold on the market include a cable to plug into this universal socket. Be careful however: Before connecting your electric car, remember to have your installation checked by an electrician, the recommendations being to use a socket connected to your own circuit breaker.

If it is today the simplest and most economical solution, recharging on a domestic socket is also the slowest. The cables limit the authorized power to 10A, the equivalent of just over 2 kW. It will take a little more than 20 hours to recharge a 50 kWh battery. The most in a hurry can opt for a reinforced socket “Green’up”. Associated with a specific cable, this allows the load to be climbed at 14A, just over 3 kW.

Type 2 socket

Specific to electric vehicles, Type 2 socket is today the European standard for alternating current load. Considered an intermediary between domestic socket and the different rapid sockets, type 2 accepts more power which reduces the recharging time. Present on the wallboxes, these charging stations to install at home, it is also used on a large part of the public terminals.

The accepted power will depend on the configuration side of the terminal but also on the charger on board the vehicle. Today, most electric cars incorporate a 7 kW charger as standard. Others, like the Renault Zoe, accept up to 22 kW.

If it is mainly used today for slow and accelerated load, the Type 2 socket is also used to fast. This was particularly the case on the first generations of Zoe, whose charge power climbed to 43 kW. Tesla also uses a configuration of the standard on its network of superchargers. Used for Model S and Model X, it delivers more than 100 kW.