Charging guide: What is a charging station? / charging box?

A charging station keeps track of all safety in connection with charging electric vehicles.

Simply explained, the charging station does the following:

• The charging station tells the car how much electricity it can draw
• The charging station does not apply voltage to the charging cable until the car says that everything is ready for charging
• The charging station cuts the power if an error occurs
• The charging station ensures that charging is terminated correctly so that the contacts are not damaged by electric arcs
• If it is charged with a loose charging cable (mode 3), it examines how much current the charging cable can handle so that the charging current is limited if necessary

There are many good reasons for installing a charging station.

• A charging station that is installed on a dedicated course and fuse provides safe charging of your electric car / plug-in hybridA charging station that is installed on a dedicated course and fuse provides safe charging of your electric car / plug-in hybrid
• A charging station gives minimum 16A and this provides at least 60% faster charging.
• Charging from a charging box will usually be more energy efficient compared to a portable charging cable, as there is less heat generation in a correctly sized installation
• A mounted charging station has a permanently built-in control and safety function in the charging station's control unit. It ensures that there is communication via control signals with your electric car / plug-in hybrid and it will be able to regulate the current. The charging cable will only be live when the car and the charging station have communicated together and a connection has been established.
• It is more convenient to charge from a charging station, as it is always ready and the charging cable can be inserted directly into the electric car or plug-in hybrid
  

  Charging Speed (effect) 

It is the number of kW (kilowatts) that tells the charging speed of a charging station. The table below shows the power (kW) charging stations primarily deliver.

*Applies to 400V Power Systems

At the same time, the car's on-board charger is a factor that will limit the maximum charging power/speed. For example, a regular Nissan LEAF with an on-board charger of 3.6kW will not be able to benefit from a charging station that produces 7.4kW. Thus, it will draw a maximum of 3.6kW from the charging station, despite the fact that the charging station can provide more power. To calculate the time it takes to charge an electric car or plug-in hybrid, you must take the size of the battery (kWh) and divide by the charging power (kW).

For example, the KIA Soul EV (1st gen) has a battery size of 27kWh. If you use the supplied charging cable that produces 2.3kW (10A), the theoretical time consumption to charge the car from 0-100% is as follows: 27kWh / 2.3kW = 11.7 hours.

  Semi-portable charging station

What distinguishes semi-portable charging stations from fixed charging stations is that these are supplied with a supply cable and industrial plug/plug. Thus, this is not considered a permanent installation and you do not need an authorized electrician to mount the semi-portable charging station. Many people therefore choose to have a CEE connector installed by an electrician, and connect to the charging station themselves. The advantage of a semi-portable charging station is that it can be taken on trips if necessary. The disadvantage is that one must be careful not to pull out the CEE plug while charging, as this can cause electric arcs which are potentially very dangerous.

  With or Without a permanently fixed charging cable

Many people wonder whether they should have a fixed charging cable with or without a fixed charging cable on their charging station. Below we have summarized both the advantages and disadvantages associated with this, so that you can make an informed choice.

Wondering which charging station to choose? Check out our charging guide on choosing charging stations.