AC charging
LEVEL 1 AC TRICKLE CHARGING
This is the most basic home or destination charging option, where you plug the car into a standard 240V AC (alternating current) socket. While convenient, this is the slowest method, offering only about 2.0kW of power through a normal 10A socket. This means it can take from four to 50 hours to charge your car, depending on the battery size. Calculating charging time is quite simple – just divide the battery capacity (kWh) by the charging rate to gain an approximate time. So, for a Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV with a 20kWh battery - divide that by the 2.0kW charging rate and you get about ten hours. LEVEL 2 AC FAST CHARGING
There’s a quicker home option by installing a Level 2 (wallbox) charger, which increases the single-phase charging power to 7.2kW. A Level 2 unit brings charging times down considerably, with the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV gaining a full charge from empty in 6.5 hours, and a Tesla Model 3
around 11 hours due to its big battery. You’ll get 7.2km travel range for every 10 minutes, or 43km after an hour’s charging, covering the average Aussie commute. A 7.2kW Level 2 charging unit works off standard 240V single-phase wiring with a wall-box costing c.$1000 to $1500 plus installation. LEVEL 2 AC FAST CHARGING (THREE-PHASE)
Level 2 charging can also increase to 11kW or up to 22kW capacity if you have 415V three-phase power available. Since most EVs are limited to charging a maximum of 11kW AC only (via the ‘onboard charger’ inverter), you can get 11km for every 10 minutes of charging, so an hour on the plug will yield about 66km of range. A limited number of models are capable of 22kW, such as the BMW iX1 as standard, and it’s also available on the Mercedes-Benz EQE and Porsche Taycan.
You’ll also find many public charging points are Level 2 (7.2kW, 11kW or 22kW), so be sure you know what capacity they are before you drive to them if time is important.
They may also require your own Type 2 to Type 2 (Mode 3) portable charging cable, which is usually a separate accessory purchase for around $200 to $500. It’s worth noting that most PHEV models, because of their smaller battery capacity and battery management systems, will only charge at a maximum rate of 3.6kW or 7.6kW even when using a 22kW AC charger.