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What do I need to charge my electric car at home?

Electric cars can be charged via a conventional socket or by installing a charging station, also called a wall-mounted charging base. We explain the differences and the best ways to charge your car up to 100% power.

How much power do you need to charge an electric car?

The minimum charging power for electric cars is 2.3 kW, although we recommend at least 3.6 kW. The best and most common option is to have a charging station with 7.4 kW of power.

In this way, if one day you drive further and consume more of your battery, next day you can still have a fully charged car.

For example, an average electric car battery of 35 kWh takes about 15 hours to charge fully using 2.3 kW of power. With 3.5 kW of power the charging time is 10 hours, and this time is reduced to less than 5 hours with charging power of 7.4 kW.

 

Where can I charge my electric car?

The most important thing you must know before deciding to buy an electric car is where you can charge it. In this way, you can be sure that deciding on this more sustainable alternative to mobility is really comfortable. In general, the most common charging points for your car are:

 

1. At home

This is the most practical and comfortable place to recharge your electric car. In fact, according to AEDIVE (the Business Association for the Development and Promotion of Electric Vehicles) recharging your car at home we will cover between 85% and 90% of the energy needs of your electric car.

Aside from the occasional long-distance trip, a charging station at home is more than sufficient for making the most of your electric vehicle.

If you choose to install a supply point at home, you can benefit from special optimised electricity tariffs for charging for your electric car, in addition to 24/7 warranty and maintenance schemes.

2. At public charging stations

Normally you can find them in office complexes, shopping centres, hotels and large supermarkets.

They are known as opportunity charging stations and are the ideal place to recharge your electric car while you do other tasks such as going to work, shopping or having a meal in a restaurant. One of their advantages is that they are often free for users of electric cars, as they are an added-value service.

 

3. Reserved parking spaces

In many cities in Spain it is possible to reserve a parking space that includes a charging station and 160 kWh of energy (about 1,000 kms) included in the monthly rent.

If you have one of the PARKELECTRIC places near your home or place of work, this is a very practical option if you can't or don't want to install the station in your home.

 

4. Roadside charging stations

Roadside charging stations are power supply points where you can charge your electric car. They are very useful, above all on long trips.

European plans to electrify cars include the installation of electric charging stations inside conventional petrol stations, as well as the creation of charging parks.

These are usually fast charging stations which operate at a higher power than domestic charging stations. That is why it is important for your electric car to be compatible with charging power above 150 kW of direct current.

 

Do I need to have a higher power limit on my contract if I want to charge my car at home?

Normally you don't need a higher power limit to charge your electric car at home. However, we do recommend it highly if you really want to enjoy the full capacity of your batteries.

Charging your car with a 3.6 kWh charger

Most Spanish homes have an average maximum contracted power of between 4 and 5 kW for their electricity supply. That means that if you have a 3.6 kWh charger two things can happen:

  1. If you have a smart charger, it will vary its power according to the amount you are using in your home. In other words, if you are consuming 2 kW and you have a maximum contracted power of 4.5 kW, the charger will only use the remaining 2.5 kW to charge your car. In this scenario what happens is that you increase significantly the time needed to charge your car batteries.
  2. However, if you do not have a smart charger and it always works at 3.6 kW of power, if you are consuming 2 kW as before and you have a maximum contracted power of 4.5 kW, this would trigger the fuse, as you would be exceeding the maximum contracted power.

  

Using 7.4 kWh chargers to charge your car

Using chargers of this type, or a wall-based charger, is the option chosen by most people who have an electric car. They can be installed in single-family homes or in shared parking spaces and can be used for 100% electric cars and plug-in hybrids

In the case of community shared spaces, you have to inform the owners' association. Although their approval is not required for electric car charging installations with a capacity of less than 9.2 kW, it is important to get the right advice on the necessary procedures to carry out.

The Endesa Group, through Endesa X, can take care of all the paperwork, and install and maintain your home charging station for electric vehicles.

We also have a special tariff designed for charging electric cars, which allows you to optimise your energy consumption at the car charging station without this affecting your normal home electricity tariff.

Charging power for large capacity car batteries

Although most current electric cars have batteries with an average capacity of 40 kWh, there are already models on the market that have large-capacity batteries of between 80 and 100 kWh. To charge a long-range battery completely, you need greater power if you want to charge your car within a reasonable time.

 

Battery capacities of electric cars and hybrids

The capacity of electric car batteries is measured in kWh and varies by type of vehicle: about 12 kWh for plug-in hybrids, 40 kWh for utility vehicles and around 80 kWh for electric cars with the longest range.

Car model Type Battery capacity(1) Full charging time at 7.4 kW(2)
Tesla Model S (long range) electric 100 kWh 13.5 hours
Tesla Model 3 (long range) electric 78 kWh 10.5 hours
KIA e-Niro electric 64 kWh 8.6 hours
Tesla Model 3 electric 54 kWh 7.3 hours
Renault ZOE electric 41 kWh 5.5 hours
Nissan Leaf electric 40 kWh 5.4 hours
Dacia Spring electric 27 kWh 3.6 hours
FIAT 500 electric 24 kWh 3.2 hours
Smart EQ ForTwo electric 18 kWh 2.4 hours
Mercedes-Benz Clase A hybrid 16 kWh 2.2 hours
Hyundai Tucson hybrid 14 kWh 1.9 hours
Kia XCeed hybrid 9 kWh 1.2 hours

(1) According to the technical specifications released by the manufacturers. In the case of models with three different battery options, the intermediate value has been selected for the comparison. Models selected based on sales in July 2021.

(2) Full cycle from 0% to 100% capacity.

When models have battery capacities close to or greater than 80 kWh, a maximum contracted power of 7.4 kW may not be enough to charge the battery overnight.

In this case, you can modify the current of your charging station, which normally uses one-phase current, to three-phase. The Endesa X charger model, the JuiceBox, allows your electric car to be charged using three-phase current with an electrical power of up to 22 kW. Thus, instead of needing 10.8 hours to charge a 80 kWh battery, it would be fully charged in only 3.6 hours.

Endesa can analyse your specific needs, depending on your type of home and model of electric car, to offer you a customised solution with a free quote.

Comparison of Electricity and Gas Tariffs

You don't need to adapt to Endesa's tariffs because they adapt to you. If you go to our catalogue you can compare the different tariffs for yourself. Or if you prefer, you can answer a few questions and we will take care of comparing all the different electricity and gas tariffs and then make a customised recommendation.

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