E-car beginner’s guide: Charging an e-car – but how?
E-mobility is becoming more and more popular in society. Over the last 10 years, the technology has become more and more advanced, for example with the development of the lithium-ion battery. However, beginners often think that the topic of e-cars is far too complicated and still opt for a classic combustion engine when buying a car. Many technical terms, the fear of an empty battery or the charging process itself often put people off – but it’s actually not complicated at all!
In our e-car beginner’s guide, we want to clarify the most important questions, dispel prejudices and give a few helpful tips – because charging anxiety doesn’t have to be a problem, on the contrary: e-mobility can be really fun!
The electric car charging station at home – the safe haven
The easiest way to always have a full battery is to have an electric car charging station at home, also known as a wallbox. Once installed, you can charge your car conveniently overnight and start every day with a full battery. No more annoying trips to the petrol station. However, this is not always possible: in apartment blocks or in the city, it is often difficult to install and use your own wallbox. Fortunately there are more and more options for charging your car away from home.
E-car charging cards: is chaos in your wallet inevitable?
Almost everyone has seen a public e-car charging station, because fortunately there are more and more of them. Be it at supermarkets, where you can even charge for free while you shop, in city centres, in large car parks or even in smaller villages. The number of nearby electric charging stations is constantly growing. The charging points are installed and operated by various companies or municipal utilities.
But don’t worry, that doesn’t mean you need loads of different charging cards. In Germany for example, there are several apps that cover a large number of charging points, such as the mobility+ app from EnBW or the LadeVerbundPlus app. These contain up to 500,000 charging points throughout Europe from various operators, which can be easily activated and paid for via the app. The utilisation of the individual charging stations and the plug types on offer can also be viewed there in real time. Tesla has also followed suit and has opened some Supercharger charging parks for third-party brands since November 2021. Payment and activation of the charging process is also straightforward for third-party brands via an app. Tesla drivers themselves enter a credit card in their user account and then simply plug in their car. The charging process starts automatically without activation in the app.
Charging an electric car – saving costs thanks to your employer?
Many employers now also offer their employees the opportunity to use the company’s own e-charging station – often completely free of charge as an employee benefit. This can save a lot of money. It is also one of the easiest options, as an extra charging card or registration is rarely required.
Charging an electric car over long distances – that takes time, doesn’t it?
On long journeys, electric cars usually have to recharge despite the increased range. However, this is now also possible without any problems – and quite quickly. The fast-charging stations are located at convenient traffic points and are installed by Tesla, EnBW or Ionity, for example. Here, too, the charging process can be started and paid for using an app. These electric car charging stations have an output of 250 kW or even more, for example. This means that a charging time of around 30 minutes is usually all that is needed to fully charge the battery. If the rest of the journey is not so long, it may only take 10 minutes to continue the journey.
The time needed for the charging break is often an argument used by e-car critics. With a classic combustion engine, refuelling takes just 5 minutes and you arrive at your destination earlier. However, the charging time can also be put to good use instead of simply waiting. In lounges such as bk World, there are plenty of opportunities to make the most of the break, in addition to snacks, drinks and coffee. Be it playing video games, relaxing on the comfortable lounge furniture or making phone calls in soundproofed offices. This turns the charging break into quality time!
As you can see, there are many different ways to charge an electric car. Range anxiety is therefore completely unfounded. A lot of tried and tested e-car drivers can confirm this!
