The future runs on electricity
Electricity from renewable energy sources is emission-free and the cheapest drive energy at all. And it is available in every household. A simple three-pin wall box for charging an e-car including mounting is available for less than € 1000 euros. The only requirement is a 400 Volt power supply as is needed for an oven or efficient washing machine. Electricity as drive energy costs about one-fifth of the price of gasoline. The more powerful the drive unit the greater the difference. So a wall box will pay for itself after roughly the first 10000 kilometers you have driven with your e-car.
Sufficient range
Modern gasoline or diesel-powered car has a range of about 1000 kilometers. A new e-car has a range of about 300 to 450 kilometers. Amazingly most of the consumers surveyed demand a range of over 300 kilometers, even though the average “day trip” of a car in Europe is less than 50 kilometers. For longer trips, a growing network of fast-charging stations exists along highways. After eight to ten minutes of charging the batteries are 80% full. However, charging on fast chargers is about as expensive as refuelling petrol or diesel.
Plug and drive
Charging e-cars is developing into a habit like charging mobile your phone. Before leaving the house and driving away the vehicle is disconnected from the power. And after parking, it is reconnected and charges to the max overnight. Periodic visits to the gas station are no longer necessary.
Inspired by the publication
Batterien für Elektroautos: Faktencheck und Handlungsbedarf of the
Fraunhofer-Institut für System- und Innovationsforschung ISI
Hi Julián!
Thanks for starting this interesting topic!
Can you recommend specific wall boxes? What do you think about Tesla‘s offer?
Thanks for sharing your valuable experience!
Dear Hannes
Thank you for your engagement and for your inquiry.
We have been using Heidelberg (https://wallbox.heidelberg.com/#wallbox-home-eco) and are very satisfied. Easy to use and looks nice. Tesla’s option (https://shop.tesla.com/de_ch/product/wandladestation) is very nicely designed and works very easy, too.
Recommending a specific WATTbox would need us to know your specific case and doing market research to match best fitting products – we are currently not able to do this.
Nevertheless, you will find some useful information and tips below for you to find the best solution.
Should you need further help, have questions or need support, just let us know!
Electric regards,
WATTMOBIL.COM
WATTbox Recommendation
SAFETY FIRST
A wallbox should provide the minimum necessary safety for you to charge. Therefore, make sure the charging station has a circuit breaker (prevents overloading of the charging cable) and an integrated RCD (protects against fault currents). These should be standard for products approved in Europe. If your installation is outdoors, make sure it is weatherproof.
-> Normal sockets are suitable for occasional charging of electric cars only. In the long term there is a risk of overheating and even fire hazard!
TIME IS MONEY
You can choose between charging stations with a maximum charging capacity of 11 kWh or 22 kWh. At first glance, the one with 22 kW seems more advantageous, but this not always is the case.
Most of the time an 11 kW wallbox is more than enough. An electric vehicle with a 40 kWh battery, for example, would need around 5 hours to fully charge (the charging curve is not linearly uniform). Even larger batteries that operate at 60 kW would require 8 hours of charging time. This shows that the period of a normal night is always sufficient to fully charge the battery.
A 22 kW WATTbox would halve the charging times above. At workplaces where e-transporters or e-service vehicles have to be quickly charged and ready to be used again, the 22 kW stations can be advantageous.
-> The more “time-intensive” 11 kW wallbox is enough for charging at home and conserves the battery considerably. This saves costs and increases the battery’s service life.
THE DREAM TEAM
In order to get the most out of your charging, the interaction between the car and the charging station is very important. The onboard charging technology of the car determines how quickly the battery is charged. There are electric vehicles that only charge at 7.4 kW per hour. So if you have an 11 or 22 kW charging station installed, it will only be able to charge 7.4 kW.
-> Find out about the charging capabilities of your own e-car before you decide on a private wallbox.