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Electric Cars Can Be Plugged In On a Plug
That is one of the greatest parts about electric cars. Electric cars CAN have plugs and chargers up to 20 amps so that your car CAN plug into your standard household 120-volt AC outlet.
Higher current capacity electric car chargers require a dedicated 240-volt AC circuit?the kind that power your household electric range or clothes dryer.
You See: you CAN install an electric car charger it is EASIER to install than almost any other alternative fuel!
Single Phase versus the Grid
Also, to not be afraid, three-phase electric power is found in industry and the power grid, not in the home. The power delivered to the home is usually single-phase. Very high-voltage power lines have six wires plus a lightning ground at the top. Opposing wires are the same phase. AC electric cars usually use three phase motors where the voltage and frequency must be changed as driving conditions vary.
On Board and Off Board Chargers
Another consideration is to determine whether you want to have an on-board or an off-board charger on your electric car.
Onboard gives the driving convenience charge whenever you like. It is light in weight and low in the consumption of power.
Some commercial EV controllers, like the AC Propulsion model even share components between the on-board inverter/controller and battery charger for minimum parts count and maximum efficiency.
Off-Board Chargers and Permanent Charging Stations
Off-board chargers give you high power capabilities which equal to minimum charging time in a permanent charging station.
That could also include solar charging, Vehicle to Grid (V2G) and other additional features that we'll get into in other posts.
Excerpts Taken From Build Your Own Electric Vehicle, 2nd Edition.
