Alright, so the new EV vehicles coming into the U.S. market have peaked my interest. But I'm really confused on how these vehicles charge!!!

I thought the point was that you could literally plug the EV directly into your home and charge your batteries. But now I'm hearing about "special" plugs with lines of communication built into them. I've seen pictures of some charging stations that use "paddles" for charging. And more recently I read an article stating that Nissan will give you a free charger if you share your information with them. What in the world do you need a $500 charger for if you're just plugging into the wall?

I think I understand that there needs to be a conversion from AC to DC but won't the cars come equipped with this? Will I need to do as much research on Chargers as I am on the stinking car? Am I going to have buy some type of adaptor to allow me to plug in wherever I go? Will I only be able to use certain types of charging stations and not others?

Thanks for any clarification you can provide.

Technically you will plug it into a NEMA 5-30 or 5-50 receptacle The kind you use for your electric dryer. However there will probably be a propitiatory charger required.

You have to have a rectifier and controls with built in algorithms for the battery chemistry being used

Maybe someday, but from what I have seen it will be external of the car to conserve weight. Weight is a killer for EV's


Certainly yes

For now you will only be able to charge from your home. You will probably have to hire an electrician to run you a dedicated 30 or 50 amps, 240 volt circuit with the proper receptacle

What charge stations? It will be your home.

The problem is there is no standards for EV's. For now every manufacture will have their own propitiatory charging specifications. For example every manufacture uses a different battery chemistry like NIMH and Lithium which cave their own unique charging characteristics. In addition each EV has different operating voltage levels.

IMO the best route for the EV is to have the charger built into the car that will accept both 120 20 amp, and 240 30 amp, plus a universal connector for when and if charge stations ever become reality.

Don't hold your breath waiting for them to be standardized. At this point there is no battery technology available to bring the EV from a cult market to mass public market.

The charger for my car weighs 20lbs, hardly a weight killer. I've read about the new proprietary plug. It sounds like a way for someone to charge lisence fees. 120v and 220volt ac NEMA plugs are everywhere. There is no need for a "new" standard.