Major components of an electric vehicle include the battery, motor, controller, and charging port. An electric vehicle’s smooth and flawless operation requires each of the aforementioned components. Now, just imagine that you are driving an electric car and that the battery in your electric car is dead. To recharge your electric vehicle’s battery, you now require a charging station. A charging port is needed to connect your electric vehicle’s battery to the charging station.
The battery pack receives electrical energy from the charging station through a charging connector. A charging cable used to charge your mobile phone has a connector that is very similar to a charging connector. There is a phone side connector and a wall connector on a charging cable for mobile phones. Similar to this, an electric vehicle’s charging connector has two connectors: one for the charger plug and one for the vehicle’s side. The majority of charging stations worldwide are Grid-to-Vehicle (G2V) stations, which allow only one way for electricity to flow: from the charging station to an electric vehicle. The flowchart below depicts how a charging connector in a G2V charging station functions.
Few charging stations permit the flow of charge in both directions—from the charging station to the electric vehicle and back again. Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) charging stations are the name given to these kinds of stations. The flowchart below depicts how a charging connector in a V2G charging station functions. The direction of the charge flow between the electric vehicle and the charging station through a connector is depicted by the arrow marks in the flowcharts.
WHY AREN’T ELECTRIC VEHICLE CHARGING CONNECTORS DESIGNED LIKE SIMPLE THREE-PIN PLUGS?
The EV Charging Connectors are designed to withstand an average power of 11 kW to a maximum of 43kW. On the other hand, a three-pin plug is designed for a maximum power of 10kW.
The EV Charging Connectors are designed to withstand all kinds of harsh weather conditions. On the other hand, a simple domestic household three-pin plug can be easily affected by slight rainfall and can short the entire household wiring network.
An EV needs more than two-way communication with the charging equipment. This is not possible with a three-pin plug.
FACTORS INVOLVED IN DESIGNING THE EV CONNECTORS
- The weight of the connector cable
- The point at which the connector connects with the electric vehicle
- The shape of the connector
- The complexity in the structure of the connector
- The type of locking/anti-locking system required for the connector
We all know that there are only two types of power supply for domestic household purposes and commercial purposes. i.e., DC and AC power supply. The EV charging station can either operate on AC or DC power. The source of power is used to classify the types of EV Charging Connectors. The types of EV Charging Connectors are as follows:
- AC-EV Connectors
- DC-EV Connectors
AC-EV CHARGING
AC charging is the most common method for charging electric vehicles.
AC charger’s installation and the production cost are lower compared to fast DC chargers, so these are the commonly found chargers. Also, the cost of AC chargers is quite low compared to other models. The AC charging of electric cars is mostly for parking spots or café’s where the vehicle will stay parked for more than 30 minutes. Also, the lowered cost of charging makes the AC car charger the most popular charger for daily charging.
When charging with an AC charger the power from the EVSE gets converted to DC, inside the on-board charger inside the vehicle, and transferred to the battery.
DC-EV CHARGING
Widely used by fast chargers at electric car charging stations, DC charging sends power directly to electric car’s battery after conversion from DC fast charge port. A DC charging draws a lot of power from the source, also the cost of installation, production, and operation is high. Resulting in higher tariffs for charging. However, as it usually allows for much faster EV charging, it is the most preferred charging method by EV drivers.
TYPES OF ELECTRIC CAR CHARGING CONNECTORS & PLUGS
Type 1 EV connectors – 7.4 KW
Type 2 EV connectors – 43 KW
CHAdeMO plug – 100 KW
CCS plug – 350KW