Different types of home EV chargers in Australia
Advice to help electric vehicle owners understand what the varieties of home EV chargers are available and suitable for Australian homes.
Australian EV charger overview
Increasingly in Australia, we are seeing more and more Electric vehicles (EVs). As motorists make the move to electric power, understanding how to make the most of charging vehicles at home is important. Getting the right set up for your home and situation can help with efficiency, convenience and cost of running your vehicle.
Home EV chargers come in various forms, each with unique features and benefits, making it crucial to choose the right one for your needs. While there are a lot of resources and advice online, much of it has been written with North American drivers in mind and can be inaccurate for Australia. In the US chargers are divided into Levels, but Australian homes and vehicles use different specifications. The terms to look for when considering EV home chargers in Australia is mode in relation to the chargers, and type in relation to the cables.
This article will explore the four modes of EV charger available in Australia, discussing their functionalities, advantages, and how they can integrate with solar power systems for enhanced efficiency. It will also cover the plug and socket varieties that you will find for the two types of EV cables. By the end, you should have a clearer understanding of which charging solution best fits your needs.
What charging options do we have in Australia?
Just remember, when it comes to EV charging, it's mode in Australia. If you find an article talking about levels, then it's probably focused on North American customers. One industry term you might see out there is EVSE, this stands for Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment and is used when talking about EV chargers.
Mode defines how the power gets delivered to the vehicle. This includes communication controls and any safety protections in place when a vehicle is being charged. There are four modes of chargers, and this how they get differentiated in Australia. The table below shows a quick comparison, but then we'll go into a bit more detail on each mode.
On-Board vs Off-Board charging
Modes 1, 2 and 3 use what is called On-Board charging. This means the charger is inside the EV. It uses AC charging and is slower than Mode 4. The car's internal charger converts the electricity into the DC form that the battery can store. The technical name for the AC to DC conversion is rectification.
Mode 4 uses Off-Board charging. This means the charger is outside the EV and the external charger does the work of converting the electricity and providing DC power directly to the car's battery. By supplying DC power, it makes fast charging possible, and this is what you can find at charging stations outside the home.
Mode | Usage | Specs | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
1 | Wall socket | • <15A, usually <10A | • Basic / 'Dumb' Charging |
2 | Wall socket with inline protection | • <15A, usually <10A | • Basic / ‘Dumb’ Charging |
3 | Specific plug/socket | • 7kW – 22kW | • 'Smart' charging |
4 | Specific plug/socket | • 25kW – 350kW+ | • 'Smart' charging |
*CPO - Charge Point Operator - EV charging networks like Chargefox or BP Pulse
Mode 1 charging
Mode 1 charging is also known as trickle charging. This is where your electric vehicle is connected to a regular wall socket just like you might plug in a vacuum cleaner. With this setup there is no communication between the vehicle and the charger to let you know how much charge your vehicle has. As the 'trickle' nick name suggests, this mode is slow. If you drive a lot, you wouldn't be able to fully recharge a vehicle overnight with mode 1 charging.
If you don't travel far each day and can easily charge your vehicle for long periods at home, this may be all you need. Mode 1 charging doesn't have safety protections of the other modes, and most EV drivers prefer to take advantage of faster charging modes with additional features.
Mode 1 charging summary
Feature | Details |
|---|---|
Voltage | 240 volt - standard Australian household outlet. |
Range per hour* | ≈ 11 kms range per hour of 8Amp charging. |
Installation | None needed. Note, Mode 1 can trip your fuse if sharing a circuit with other appliances that use a lot of power. |
Best for | EV owners who do minimal city driving. |
*Range will depend on specific efficiency of the EV model. See calculations below.
Mode 2 charging
Mode 2 charging also connects to a standard power outlet and is a fairly slow charge rate. The main additional benefit of mode 2 charging is safety. It has something called an in-cable control and protection device.
The safety features will provide protection against overcurrent (too much power flowing through) and overheating. It charges more quickly than mode 1, and might be sufficient to charge your EV overnight if you're not doing too much driving.
Mode 2 charging summary
Feature | Details |
|---|---|
Voltage | 240 volt - standard Australian household outlet. |
Range per hour* | ≈ 11 kms range per hour of 8Amp charging. |
Installation | None needed. Note, Mode 2 can trip your fuse if sharing a circuit with other appliances that use a lot of power. |
Best for | A safer option for EV owners who don't do much driving. |
*Range will depend on specific efficiency of the EV model. See calculations below.
Mode 3 charging
Mode 3 charging requires dedicated hardware to be installed by a licensed electrician. These smart units come in single phase and three phase charger varieties. They are much faster than mode 1 or 2 charging. A single phase charger can recharge a vehicle in about 10 hours. A three phase charger supplies up to 22kW, and can recharge a vehicle in under 4 hours.
Mode 3 charging has more control and safety functions in addition to the improved charging speed.
Mode 3 charging summary
Feature | Details |
|---|---|
Voltage | The charging station manages the AC power supplied by the electricity grid to charge the electric car's batteries, which are DC. |
Range per hour* | Single phase: ≈ 40kms range per hour of 30Amp charging |
Installation | Requires professional installation |
Best for | EV drivers who need their vehicle to charge quickly and have high-range EVs. |
*Range will depend on specific efficiency of the EV model. See calculations below.
Mode 4 charging
Mode 4 charging is what you are likely to find at commercial sites, shopping centres and service stations. They are meant for commercial charging, potentially multiple cars an hour and would be overkill for most people's residential needs. They would also be outside of most residential budgets as they're quite expensive.
Mode 4 charging summary
Feature | Details |
|---|---|
Voltage | Can deliver between 25kW and 350kW of DC power. |
Range per hour* | At the upper end, can fully recharge a car in 10-15 minutes. |
Installation | Requires professional installation |
Best for | Commercial sites rather than residential installations. |
*Potentially can charge an EV battery to 80% in 10-15mins, depending on output power of the DCFC (DC fast charger), the battery capacity and SoC (state of charge).
Electric vehicle plug and cable types
In a nutshell, Type 1 chargers are on the decline in Australia, and any new EV purchased would have a Type 2 (Mennekes) as standard. That Mennekes name is a manufacturer like calling tissues 'Kleenex'. But just in case you're getting a second hand vehicle and equipment, the tables below will cover both types.
Keep in mind too, if you wish to take advantage of the Mode 4 super-fast charging, you will need a vehicle and a plug that has Type 2 (DC) you can see on the right. Chances are that you won't find these chargers if you're out at a shopping centre, but you will encounter the faster DC charging stations on major freeway routes, especially between Brisbane, Sydney, Adelaide and Melbourne.
Type 1 Chargers
Plug design: | These have a single phase, 5-pin connector |
Charging speed: | These support single-phase AC charging, (typically up to 7.4 kW). |
Compatibility: | Were more common with older (some of the first) electric vehicles on the Australian market like the Nissan Leaf. |
Availability: | Becoming harder to find as the Australian industry as a whole moves towards Type 2 chargers as the uniform standard. |
Type 2 Chargers
Plug design: | These have a 7-pin connector |
Charging speed: | These support single-phase AND three-phase AC charging. (up to 22 kW for AC, and up to 350 kW with DC fast chargers using CCS2*). *CCS2 is 'Combined Charging System 2' it's a standard for very fast charging. It's the DC plug above with the extra bit on the bottom. |
Compatibility: | This is the Australian standard for all new electric vehicles. (This includes Tesla) |
Availability: | This is what you'll find at most public charging stations around Australia. |
Given Australia has officially adopted Type 2 as the standard, any new public charging stations any new ones that open will predominantly support Type 2 and CCS2 for DC super fast charging. If you do have an older vehicle on Type 1, you may need to use an adaptor to take advantage of Type 2 chargers.
How much might charging at home cost?
Powershop has a handy calculator you can use to give you an approximate of how much it may cost to get your EV fully charged for the road.
Powershop also have plans designed to help EV drivers whether they charge their vehicles day or night.
EV range calculations
Mode 1
Range is typically expressed:
kWh/100km (akin to litres/100km), or
km/kWh (akin to kms/litre or miles/gallon)
Typical EV efficiency numbers used for modeling are:
15 - 20 kWh/100km, or
5 - 6.7 km/kWh
depending on specific efficiency of the EV model.
Example of range (kms) per hour of charging:
Pick a value between 5-6.7 and multiply by the charging power.
Let's pick 6 kms/kWh.
Then determine the output power of the charger:
~8Amps from the wall socket x line voltage 230V (220-240Vac)
= 8 x 230
= 1840W
Finally,
6km x 1.84kW
= 11 kms range per hour of 8Amp charging
Mode 2
Same as Mode 2.
6km/kWh x (8Amps x 230Volts = 1840W)
= 6 x 1.84
= 11 kms range per hour of 8Amp charging
Mode 3
Determine the output power of the charger:
Single phase
~30Amps x line voltage 230V (220-240Vac)
= 30 x 230
= 6900W (~7kW)
6km x 7kW
= ~40kms range per hour of 30Amp charging
Three Phase
The above calcs x 3 (over simplified)
6km x 22kW
= ~130kms range per hour of charging