Electric Car charging options

As the information surrounding Electric Cars is coming at us hard and fast, it’s important to be as informed as possible before making the change to becoming an EV driver!

We consulted the EV Owners website www.evowners.ie and they have made the following information available on their website.

Home charge points

A home charge point is usually installed on an external wall of the house and electric car charging is facilitated through your domestic electricity supply. An electric car will draw single phase 16A (3.6kW) when connected to your home charge point. A full charge from 0% will take between 6 and 8 hours. If your car is plugged in overnight it will be fully charged by the next morning. Some electricity suppliers offer discounted electricity tariffs for night time usage of electricity so electric car charging is most efficient at this time. ESB ecars is installing home charge points free of charge for the first 2,000 electric car owners. For more information follow the steps to buying an electric carand register for a free home charge point.

Public charge points

Public charge points are being installed on-street and in locations such as shopping centres and car parks. They are connected to a local 3-phase electricity supply and depending on the car type and battery size, charging takes between 1 and 6 hours. Public charge points are accessed in a secure manner using a special RFID charge point card which is obtained when you register for electric car charging. To see the public charge point installations see our charge point map.

Charge Point Standards

Ireland has decided to standardise home and public charge points with Mode 3 charging using an IEC Type 2 socket, (commonly referred to as a ‘Mennekes socket’) which is a 7 pin socket. This was as a result of extensive consultation and research with input from car manufacturers about the next generation of electric cars. This Mode 3 charging has additional safety features and communication aspects and will eventually be deployed in all European countries. It is accepted internationally as the safest method of charging. The ‘Mennekes socket’ charge point is compatible with Nissan, Renault, Peugeot, and Mitsubishi electric cars and the next generation of electric cars. This electric car charge point infrastructure is now being rolled out across Ireland.

Fast charge points

Fast charge points can deliver higher power to electric cars resulting in a much shorter charging time than domestic charging. Fast charge points are installed mainly along inter-urban routes to facilitate nationwide electric car travel. Fast charging can be done using 3-phase, 63A AC (44kW) or 120A, 400V DC (50kW). A 50kW DC fast charge point can charge a suitable electric car up to 80% in 20-30 minutes. The Nissan Leaf, Mitsubishi iMiEV, Peugeot iOn and Citroen C-ZERO support DC fast charging. Fast charge points are designed to “power up” electric cars at a faster rate. They deliver up to 50 kW of direct current via a special connector developed by the CHAdeMO Association. To see the fast charge point installations see our charge point map.

Public Charge Point Specifications
AC Charge Points	Make	Power Input	Current Input	Phasing	100% Charge Time
	EBGMax Output: 22KW	3.7KW	16A	Single Phase	Nissan LEAF (16A)
		6.6KW	32A	Single Phase	Nissan LEAF (32A)
		6.6KW	32A	Single Phase	BMW i3
		22KW	32A	Three Phase	Renault ZOE
		22KW	32A	Three Phase	TESLA MODEL S
	EVEOMax Output: 22KW	3.7KW	16A	Single Phase	Nissan LEAF (16A)
		6.6KW	32A	Single Phase	Nissan LEAF (32A)
		6.6KW	32A	Single Phase	BMW i3
		22KW	32A	Three Phase	Renault ZOE
		22KW	32A	Three Phase	TESLA MODEL S
	PODMax Output: 7.2KW	3.7KW	16A	Single Phase	Nissan LEAF (16A)
		6.6KW	32A	Single Phase	Nissan LEAF (32A)
		6.6KW	32A	Single Phase	BMW i3
		6.6KW	32A	Single Phase	Renault ZOE
		6.6KW	32A	Single Phase	TESLA MODEL S
	EMTMax Output: 22KW	3.7KW	16A	Single Phase	Nissan LEAF (16A)
		6.6KW	32A	Single Phase	Nissan LEAF (32A)
		6.6KW	32A	Single Phase	BMW i3
		22KW	32A	Three Phase	Renault ZOE
		22KW	32A	Three Phase	TESLA MODEL S
AC / DC Fast Charge Points	Make	Power Input	Current Input	Current Type	80% Charge Time As Per Manufacturer’s Recommendation
	ABBMax Output: 50KW DC	50KW	120A	DC	Nissan LEAF (16A)
		50KW	120A	DC	Nissan LEAF (32A)
	SGEMax Output: 50KW DC	50KW	120A	DC	Nissan LEAF (16A)
		50KW	120A	DC	Nissan LEAF (32A)
	DBTMax Output: 44KW DC/43KW AC	50KW	120A	DC	Nissan LEAF (16A)
		50KW	120A	DC	Nissan LEAF (32A)
		43KW	63A	AC	Renault ZOE
		22KW	32A	AC	TESLA MODEL S
	EFACECMax Output: 44KW DC/43KW AC/44KW DC (CCS)	50KW	120A	DC	Nissan LEAF (16A)
		50KW	120A	DC	Nissan LEAF (32A)
		50KW	120A	DC	BMW i3
		43KW	63A	AC	Renault ZOE
		22KW	32A	AC	TESLA MODEL S

For information about the variety of EV Connectors available, click here.

(Note: Content on this page courtesy of ESB eCars website)