Charging station for your own home: easily charge your e-car at home
More than three quarters of a million e-cars are now registered in Germany. If you want to “refuel” your electric car on the go, you will now find many public charging options, especially in large cities. But what about the place where you usually spend the longest time anyway: in your own home? “You can actually charge your electric car at a conventional household socket. But this happens at a snail's pace and involves certain safety risks, so it should not necessarily be used for permanent charging. As well as this, the process itself is quite tricky with a charger and a rigid cable,” says David Ludwig, used car expert at kfzteile24. "The most convenient way to charge your electric car is via a wall box." It enables an all-round safe and fast recharging of the e-car.
But there are countless manufacturers and models on the market. It can be easy to lose track of everything: David Ludwig clarifies the five most important questions about the home charging station and gives advice that can guide you when buying a wall box.
Why do you need a wall box?
Charging an e-car from a conventional household socket is possible, but at the same time can be a major safety risk. In particular, old wiring, in the worst case still without Schuko sockets, is not always designed for the permanent delivery of the required current. Not designed for the permanent delivery of the required current. This can lead to overheating of the power cable or socket. In the worst case, this could even lead to a cable fire. The charging time for fully electric e-cars is also very long at around 10 to 12 hours. With a wall box, on the other hand, the risk of overheating is virtually eliminated, as the installer usually wires it directly to the house connection. Apart from safety aspects, wall boxes also have the advantage of significantly reducing the charging time thanks to a higher charging capacity. In contrast to charging at a public wall box, charging from home is often cheaper - even in these times. Especially in combination with your own photovoltaic system: charging the e-car with solar power is not only inexpensive, but also environmentally friendly. Attention: If you charge your car at home, you automatically have a higher power consumption. This should be factored into the additional rental costs.
How much does it cost to purchase a wall box?
The price range for buying a wall box is from around 400 to 2500 euros. Annoyingly, the KfW subsidy for charging stations, which in the past made it possible to get the system for next to nothing, has expired. The large price differences for wall boxes are mostly due to the different charging capacities. When buying, consumers can also opt for a smart charging station. Charging processes can be monitored and controlled via their apps. In addition, you can see current charging data in real time and thus have a better overview of the total consumption. Compared to the basic versions, you pay at least 300 euros more for this. In addition to the general purchase price, there are also the installation costs for a specialist electrical company: if you only have the charging station connected to an existing three-phase connection, you should budget another 500 euros. If a house connection has to be completely re-routed, it can quickly add up to several thousand euros for the installation alone.
How much power should the wall box have?
For pure electric vehicles, there are wall boxes with 11 kW and 22 kW. The specification indicates how high the maximum charge in the electric car is. A higher power output results in a shorter charging time. But be careful: in most cases, the e-car itself does not allow higher charging speeds. There is no point in installing a 22 kW wall box if the electric car can only be charged with 11 kW. The most common is a charging capacity of 11 kW, for which most electric cars are also suitable. With it, fully electric or hybrid cars can be fully charged in just a few hours. An important difference is also the approval: According to the current legal situation, the connection of the wall box up to and including 12 kW has to be reported only to the grid operator. Anything above this must be officially approved. This can entail costs and, above all, take some time depending on the electricity grid operator. As electric cars are usually left at home for several hours anyway, 11 kW are completely sufficient. If you plug in the electric car in the evening, you can drive off again in the morning with a fully charged battery. To complete the picture: There are also wall boxes on the market with a lower power than 11 kW. These are particularly suitable for plug-in hybrids - they usually cannot accommodate more power anyway. Since you cannot always minimise the costs of a small wall box, it is advisable to take a look into the future before making a purchase. In the event that the hybrid car is replaced by a purely electric car in the future, it is of course worth installing a more powerful wall box now.
What do I need to know about the charging plug?
Before buying a charging station, you should make sure that the wall box has the right charging plug for the electric car. In Europe, charging stations are equipped with a type 2 plug as standard. The so-called Mennekes plug has been defined as the standard by the European Commission. For this reason, it can be found at most public charging stations in Europe. And most European car manufacturers and Tesla deliver this type of plug together with their e-vehicles. If you drive an American or Asian model, you may also need a different plug. Another important decision criterion is ease of use. A fixed charging cable, a display to show the charging process and smart networking options (e.g. with an app) are very practical here. Attention: If there is no charging cable permanently installed on the wall box or not included in the scope of delivery, you will also need a cable. Above all, this should be selected so that it corresponds to the respective plug in the car. Since the position of the charging socket on each vehicle, in combination with the position of the wall box, depends heavily on local conditions, the length of the charging cable is a very individual decision.
What other features should you look out for?
A good wall box is safe, reliable and easy to use. When purchasing, it is essential to ensure that protective devices against direct and alternating current faults (AC and DC residual current protection) are installed. Without this, they are expensive and time-consuming if they have to be set up outside the wall box in the house installation. A charging cable permanently attached to the wall box and the ability to continue charging after a power cut are also important features. In view of rising energy prices, more and more owners of electric cars are opting for their own wall box, because "charging up" is still cheaper than at a public charging station. Especially if you can use electricity from your own PV system. If the electricity is generated 100% from renewable energy sources, then you really are "green" on the road with your e-car.
