Electric vehicle chargers and connectors.

What types of electric car chargers are there?

To make it easier to understand you can break EV chargers into two different categories: speed or location.

Based on speed, there are four types of chargers:

• Slow.

• Fast.

• Rapid.

• Ultra rapid.

You can also categorise based on location:

• Home EV chargers - these are designed for residential properties and are generally slow to fast electric vehicle chargers.

• Public EV chargers - these are found in areas such as supermarkets or car parks and can vary in speed all the way up to ultra rapid.

EV charging connector types.

Whether you’re charging your electric car at home or in public, you’ll use a charging cable with a set connector. The type of charging connector you use depends on the type of EV you have and the power rating of the charging point.

Here are the five main charging plugs used in the UK:

Uk 3 pin plug.

This is the standard electricity outlet in your home, designed for charging phones but not electric vehicles. They offer very slow charging with a maximum power output of 3kW, which is approximately 5 miles of range per 30 minutes of charging.

Type 1 plug.

These offer a power output of around 3 - 7kW, which can get you about 12 miles for every 30 minutes of charging. Type 1 plugs are less common in modern electric cars and have no locking mechanism when the car is connected to an electrical supply.

Type 2 plug.

These are becoming the standard European charging connector type and offer a power output of around 3 - 40 kW. Type 2 plugs are compatible with both single and three-phase electricity supplies and can give you approximately 75 miles of driving range for every 30 minutes of charging.

Some car manufacturers now offer a 120kW direct current (DC) type 2 charger which will charge your electric car very quickly.

CHAdeMO plug.

CHAdeMO plugs offer a power output of around 50kW and are generally found in older types of EV rapid chargers, offering 85 miles ranges per 30 minutes charge. CHAdeMO plugs are compatible with Japanese vehicles and one reason for their popularity is that they work with the Nissan Leaf.

Combined Charging System (CCS) plug.

The CSS plug is on its way to becoming the most popular DC connector standard and enables high power output of 50 - 300kW. This can support ultra rapid chargers and can give you 85-200 miles per 30 minutes of charging.

What are tethered and untethered EV chargers?

When you choose your new home EV charger you often get the option of it being tethered or untethered. A tethered EV charger comes with a cable permanently attached to it, whereas with an untethered charger you’ll need to have your own separate cable. Normally this comes with your electric car.

Untethered can be useful if you want more flexibility with which cars can be charged at your property and they also tend to be cheaper than tethered.

What types of EV charging cables come with an electric car?

If you get a new electric vehicle then it will normally come with a Type 2 or Mode 1 cable or both.

A Type 2 cable has a Type 2 connector on one end with a socket that fits the car on the other. This socket can be Type 1 or Type 2.

Mode 1 cable or “granny cables” come with the same Type 1 or Type 2 socket for your car but have a three pin plug on the other. This offers the slowest charging but is helpful in a pinch.

More on electric vehicles.