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September 14th 2020
Electric vehicles (EVs) are better for the environment and very cheap to run. In recent years, the demand for EVs has been growing due to the increasing choice of car models, government subsidies (EVs don’t have to pay road user charges until the end of 2021), and consumers’ awareness of the environment and climate change. As of July 2020, there are 21,568 EVs in NZ. This number is expected to grow to 60,000-135,000 by 2023.
EVs require a lot less maintenance than petrol and diesel vehicles as an electric engine only has around 20 moving parts compared to an internal combustion engine (ICE) which has almost 2,000 moving parts. They accelerate smoothly because there is no clutch or gears. There is also no engine noise or unwanted petrol or diesel smell.
There are two types of EVs, plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) and battery electric vehicles (BEVs). PHEVs have both a petrol and electric engine, whereas BEVs are completely electric.
AC stands for alternating current and DC stands for direct current. AC power comes from the electricity grid, but EV batteries require DC power. Therefore, AC power needs to be converted to DC power to charge an EV. With an AC charger, power is converted from AC to DC inside the car. However, with a DC charger, the conversion is done outside the car and feeds DC power straight to the battery. This means that it charges a lot quicker. Because of the high power demand, DC chargers aren’t suitable as residential chargers.
The most affordable way to charge your EV is at home off-peak overnight when the demand for electricity is at its lowest. The two main EV chargers are a portable three-pin cable and a wall-mounted charging unit. A portable three-pin cable, or charging cable, is usually supplied with an EV at the time of purchase. It’s portable and can be plugged into any standard electrical outlet.
For safety reasons, don’t use extension cables, multi-boxes, or double plugs. It can generally be used in most houses without upgrading the wiring. Higher-end charging cables can include timer features. A wall-mounted charging unit can charge your EV faster than a charging cable and includes a lot more features, such as remote control and monitoring. It must be installed by a certified professional.
In New Zealand, there are over 65 EV charger models to choose from. If you are looking to install an EV Charger at home get in touch. We’d love to help.
You may have seen one of our EV Charger installations at:
References and further reading:
