Are you planning to buy an electric car for your family? It's definitely an interesting option for a second car in a household. On the market of new cars, there is already a decent base of electric vehicles, which are already used, but still 'smell' new. Although these cars have a low mileage, the price is already significantly lower than for new vehicles. We can recommend the facelifted BMW i3. There is also a 120 Ah (37.9 kWh) version. We can also recommend the facelifted Hyundai IONIQ with a larger battery capacity of 38.3 kWh or a Škoda Citigo-e IV with a capacity of 36.8 kWh. The best-selling electric car is the Renault ZOE with a 41 kWh battery. For electric cars enthusiasts, there are Tesla cars on the market such as the Model 3. But in this case you would have to dig deeper into your pockets.
BMW i3 Interior
If you already own an electric car, you have to think about the fact that you will have to charge it someway. The ideal choice is to buy a small home electric car charger called wallbox.
But which wallbox is the ideal solution for your house and your car? It certainly does matter! As well as the installation of the wallbox and its inspection matter.
Car manufacturers protect themselves because an electric car is actually an electric appliance and its charging must have the necessary parameters and protections to prevent damage to the car. In the case of any misconduct while charging, the first request of the carmaker is to prove the certified installation of the wallbox.
How to choose a wallbox?
First of all, you need to figure out where you will charge the vehicle and where you would like to place the wallbox. There are indoor wallboxes and wallboxes with IP protection for outdoor use.
On the market there are stand chargers or wallboxes to attach on the wall or on a stand that is anchored to the ground. Portable charging stations are an alternative.
We will recommend you the most suitable solution depending on the capabilities of the house and your requirements for indoor/outdoor car parking.
Wallbox OlifeEnergy Base 22kW
Charging vehicles with alternating current (AC) is limited to 11 kW by the car's on-board charger for most of the vehicles. However, there are cars with 22 kW AC charging, too (eg Renault ZOE).
The DC home charging station makes no economic sense. We strongly do not recommend this. These stations are used for quickly charge a car alongside major roads or at EV charging centers (modern petrol stations).
You can usually find out the information about the possibilities of your house from your electricity supplier or the main switchboard where the main circuit breaker is located. Most of the family houses have a 3×25 A main circuit breaker. In this case, you bring the appropriate cable to the wallbox. Then you place the secondary switchboard with a secondary electricity meter, overvoltage protection, circuit breaker type B 3×20 A (usually a circuit breaker which is lower than in the main switchboard) and a type A circuit breaker and you set the power limit on the wallbox at 11 kW. If you buy a vehicle with 22 kW charging or two electric cars, you need to have a 3x32 A main circuit breaker, so the wallbox works at full 22 kW or 2×11 kW.
While installing the equipment, it is necessary not to forget to protect the house from a blackout or 'blowing the fuses' throughout the house. Therefore, it is important to install a SmartMeter in the main switchboard, which monitors the consumption of the house and in case of fluctuations it adjusts the charging power of the electric car.
OlifeEnergy SmartMeter
When choosing a wallbox, always think about the future! Therefore, consider buying a wallbox that can also communicate with a photovoltaic power plant, so it can use energy from the sun and charge the car directly from solar panels. This will not burden your batteries and save you several charging cycles.
For additional information feel free to contact us at sales@sectron.cz. We will help you with the realization of the project from A to Z.
Our technicians are qualified for the certified installation of the wallbox. The inspection technicians check the installation of the wallbox itself and also simulate its behavior towards the electric car. This way you can be sure that everything is well connected and works according to the regulations.
