Do you have an electric car or are you considering buying or leasing one? Then you are faced with the question: do I want to install a charging station at home? The answer could very well be ‘yes’, because charging at home is the cheapest and easiest way. But what should you pay attention to when considering a charging station? We explain it to you
When you buy or lease an electric car, you never have to refuel. From now on you will charge. This can be done in many ways and for various amounts. Charging at home is the cheapest, you pay more at a public (fast) charging station. It makes little difference to your wallet: electricity is almost always cheaper per kilometer than fuel.
At the end of December, the average national suggested retail price for petrol was EUR 2.092. And that means that an economical petrol car with a consumption of 1 in 17 will cost you about 0.12 euros per kilometer. The fuel costs for a modern diesel, with a consumption of 1 in 20, come out at a suggested retail price of 1.72 euros at 0.08 euros per kilometer.
How much cheaper an electric car is depends on where you charge it. If you want the biggest advantage, you can charge at home. This is for the simple reason that you pay the price per kWh directly to the energy supplier. At the time of writing, it is around 0.24 euros per kWh, which means that the kilometer price of an EV with a consumption of 15 kWh/100 km is 0.03 euros.
Having your own charging station therefore offers quite a few advantages. This way you can charge when you want and it is a lot cheaper than charging at a public charging station. For having a charging station installed at home, you usually pay between 1200 and 2000 euros, depending on the type of car, your electrical installation at home and the distance that has to be dug.
What is the ideal place for a charging station?
You can hang a charging station on the wall or install it on a pole, depending on your preference. It is therefore useful to check with yourself: where in the driveway do I park the car, on which side is the charging opening, and do I then have enough cable to get to the charging station? Note: It is important that the cable is not in public areas, such as on the sidewalk, during charging. The latter is not allowed in most municipalities.
Which charging station should I choose?
That depends on a number of factors. It is advisable to use the online decision aid of 50five.com, but keep the following in mind in any case. How many connection points should the charger have: one or two? What is the maximum charging capacity of your connection? And about your car? Do you want a regular charger or a smart variant? The latter is more expensive, but takes into account the off-peak rate, can be combined with solar panels and automatically settles the charging costs with your employer, without having to fill in a claim form.
Do I need a 1-phase or 3-phase charging station?
One of the first things to consider when choosing a charging station is the type of connection: 1-phase or 3-phase. The latter is by far the fastest and is supported by most new electric cars. Your meter cupboard just has to be suitable for it. If you have a 1-phase connection, as most houses have, you can have your meter box ‘weighted’. The network operator will do that for you. It costs about 300 euros. Keep in mind, after that your annual costs will also increase.
Does my meter box need to be modified before installation?
In new houses, the electrical installation (40 amps) is often ready for the installation of a charging station. If you have an older home, the standard connection in most municipalities can be adjusted to 1-phase 35 amps free of charge. It is advisable to create or have a separate group made in the meter cupboard for the charging station.
Get a charging station with Dynamic Load Balancing
Charging an electric car puts pressure on the power network in your home. Simply put: if you have the car plugged in, the washing machine is on and you start up the game console, the plugs can fly out. To prevent this, it is recommended to choose a charging station with Dynamic Load Balancing. It monitors how much electricity is used in the house and adjusts its charging speed accordingly. If you have many devices on, the pole will simply charge a little less hard.
Not sure which charging station you need? Then you can get started at 50Five with an online decision aid.