Everyone who considers buying an electric car has the same concerns: the autonomy that the car will have and how long it takes to charge. And it is that having to leave the car charging for hours and hours is often not good. That is why when installing a charging point at home we try to put one that is more or less fast. Even so, there are those who want the loading time to be even faster, in those cases the option that exists is to use a DC charger, but how much does it cost to install one of these chargers? can we install it at home?
How do DC chargers work?
DC chargers work differently from AC chargers. Whereas when we charge an electric car with alternating current, it becomes continuous inside the car, direct current chargers charge directly with that current, it is not necessary to transform it. Normally the power from the electrical supply network comes in alternating current, the difference is that with a direct current charger, the energy is transformed inside the charger thanks to a converter that they include.
These chargers They charge quickly up to 80% from the car battery. From 80% and as we get closer to 100%, the load becomes slower.
Where can we find these chargers?
DC chargers are in short supply because they are quite expensive, so it makes more sense to look at them in electrolineras, or next to highways than in private homes or community garages, where it would be more logical to find an alternating current wallbox.
This is so, because DC chargers need more power than we usually have at home and, in turn, they are also much more expensive.
How much does a DC charger cost?
As we say, install a direct current charging point It is more expensive and this is because a dc station is more complex than an ac one.
The price range depends on how fast the charge is, if it is a device that has up to 50 kW of power, the price will be between 22,000 and 29,000 euros. Those with a power of between 60 and 150 kW are among the 26,000 and 40,000 euros. Devices between 150 and 350 kW can be located between the 54,000 and 80,000 euros.
These devices are usually columns and have several chargers to be able to load more cars at the same time.
Why are there no DC chargers at home?
Apart from that It is expensive and the power they require, it is not interesting. That is to say, when we go to sleep we do not need the car, with which we can plug it into an ac wallbox for the hours it needs to have a full battery without problem. Also, we do it during business hours. “Valley”, which is when the electricity is cheaper, so even if our bill increases, it will not be too much.
It is true that we will need to do a fast charge at some specific moments, for example when we travel, but for that there are electrolineras, in which we can stop for half an hour to charge the car up to 80% and while we can take the opportunity to rest.
So, installing a direct current point at home is not possible, although it is true that the Wallbox brand has already released one that can be installed at home, called Quasar, but in this case the charge is not faster, it is bidirectional. What does this mean? Bidirectional charging means that we can load and unload our car, which allows us to use it as a storage unit that can increase the energy capacity of our house. Our car becomes a power source thanks to this charger.
Even so, if you want a fast charge, it is best that you go to an electric station or a charging point in your city that has a direct current charger.