Smart Charger Regulations

New regulations came into force in June 2022 ensuring that all charge points adhere to Smart Charger regulations. Charge points can no longer be sold that do not comply with these regulations.

In short the regulations ensure charge points meet cyber security regulations, allow random delays at charge start times, allow default off-peak tariff charging and promote the sign up of demand side response services.

Full details of the regulations can be found on the gov.uk site.

Tethered

EV Charge Points can either come as socketed or tethered. Basically is the charging cable permanently connected to the unit or do you carry it with you.

Which one is right for you is down to personal preference. You may prefer the look of untethered, or you may prefer the convenience of having the cable easily accessible.

Read below in our EV Frequently Asked Questions to find out some other differences with charge points.

Connector Types

Electric Vehicle charging can come in a couple of different variants. This is basically the type of connector that is used on the cable that plugs into the car.

Check the type you need with your vehicle manufacturer, by far the most common are the Type 2 AC connectors. However, some older vehicles do have Type 1, such as the earlier Nissan Leaf.

We explore both AC and DC connector types further down in our EV Frequently Asked Questions.

AC vs DC Charging

AC Charging is typically the type of charging you will find at home or most destination charge points. Power is provided as Alternating Current the vehicles internal inverter converts this to Direct Current to charge the battery.

DC Charging is the type you would find at fast or rapid charge points. The type you would use mid journey to charge the vehicle as fast as possible.

AC charge points on single phase charge at 7.4kW. You can however have charge points connected to 3 phase supply which will charge up to 22kW.

DC charging is usually faster than AC, with charging capacities of 50kW and upwards. At these levels your vehicle might be the limiting factor, charge speeds will be less than the capacity of the charge point.

Solar Charging

Some charge points can be set to only take charge when your solar panels are generating excess power. This power would otherwise be exported, but it is more economical if you use the excess to charge your vehicle.

Cable Lengths

Charging cables, either those tethered to your charge point, or separate come in various lengths, usually from around 4m up to 10m.

When choosing the right charge point for you, make sure you select one that has enough cable length to reach from your chosen charge point location, to the charging point on your vehicle. Don’t forget you may change your vehicle in the future.

PEN Fault Protection

Devices with PEN fault protection have an internal system that detects faults in the charge point and cut off all conductors to prevent electric shock.

By introducing PEN fault protection into charge points, manufacturers have removed the need for ground earthing spikes and other devices to ensure electrical safety.

Dynamic Load Management

Devices with dynamic load management monitor the energy being drawn by the property and can balance this load to the charge point. If the property starts to draw higher power, then the charge to the vehicle can be automatically decreased ensuring that the draw in total to the property does not exceed the rating of the main fuse.

Further up in our EV Frequently Asked Questions you can read about PEN Fast Protection, another key safety feature with modern EV Charge Points

Warranty

Here at Evergreen EV we provide a 1 year warranty on the installation and equipment we provide.

Warranty for the charge point is provided by the product manufacturer and can vary depending on which manufacturer you choose.

Communications

Charge points communicate to the internet to allow you to access them through online applications. Charge point manufacturers have a standard communication method but often they also provide options in the event one method works better than another in each installation.

When you select your charge point check things like mobile signal strength and strength of your WiFi at the installation point.

Type 1, Type 2, CCS and CHAdeMO

Most modern electric vehicles have Type 2 sockets for AC charging, Type 1 sockets are found on older model Nissan Leaf vehicles but as standards change these have been phased out.

If you do have a Type 1 socket on your vehicle then you will need to choose a charge point that either has a Type 1 tethered cable, or go for a socketed unit that will give you the option to use your own cable, these typically come with the car and have a Type 1 plug on the end that plugs into the car.

There are a multitude of different socket types, AC you will find Type 1 and Type2, DC you can find CHAdeMO and CCS. Like Type 2 for AC, CCS has become the most common DC plug type although you will find some vehicles with CHAdeMO, again the Nissan Leaf is a good example.

While we would love you to stay on our EV Frequently Asked Questions page, there’s a very informative article on the EVA England website that shows the difference in some very useful diagrams.