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Electric vehicle
charging station
An electric vehicles (EV) has many benefits over a gasoline powered car but perhaps the biggest advantage is that it can be charged at your own home. The charging of an EV is done using a charging station. There are 2 types of charging stations that are prevalent in homes today: level I and level II charging stations.
Level I and Level II charging stations
Level I charging stations operate at 120 volts and can be plugged into any standard outlet in a home
A level I charging station is included with any new EV purchase and is the bare minimum an EV owner must have in order to charge their vehicle. The benefit of a level I station is that it can be plugged into a standard 120 volt circuit and typically does not require any custom electrical work. The drawback of a level I charging station is that it takes much longer to charge than a level II charging station.
Level II charging stations operate at 240 volts and have the advantage of being able to fully recharge an electric vehicle 2 to 4 times as fast as a leveI I station
Due to the fact that level II stations operate at 240 volts an electrician would need to be necessary to install the double pole breaker which will cover two buses at 120 volts each for the extra voltage. Additionally, you will want at least a dedicated 50-amp circuit to insure adequate amperage and too "future-proof" you charging stations for any chargers that may require it in the future. But for some Level II chargers you can still go technically as low as 40 amps.
Summary
For hybrid vehicles that run on both gasoline and electricity a level I charging station is usually sufficient.
For purely electric vehicles a level I station may still be adequate if you are only commuting a few miles each day with the option to recharge daily. But for people with longer commutes or for those who may not have a chance to charge on a daily basis a Level II charging station is most likely the appropriate choice.
A few other factors to consider are whether you charging station will be outdoors or inside a garage and of course budgetary constraints.
Considering a charging station?
Give us a call for help planning the installation of a charging station.
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