Level Up with a new EV Charger

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“Why can’t you charge FASTER?...I need to get my wife an anniversary present before the mall closes!”

“I forgot to buy her a gift, I let my electric car sit at near empty for days and now Karen is going to murder me if I don’t get to the mall before it closes.  Maybe if I peddle really quickly on my kid’s bike I can get there in time?...better take the tassels off the handle bars they will just slow me down.”

When you first get an EV this might be a scenario you or a loved one have to deal with.  But did  you know there are 3 levels of EV chargers that are on the market today.  Each one is more powerful than the last!

When you leave the dealership with your new EV you are basically given a cord just like when you buy a cell phone (ok not exactly like a cell phone but you get my drift).  This is called a Level 1 charger.  But there are 2 more levels of chargers that exist today.

Level 1

A level 1 charger typically plugs into a normal outlet into your home and generally gives you about 8km of range for every hour of a charge.  This is not much if you are on a time crunch and need to get to the mall.  With urban sprawl, barely any destination from  your home is 8km.

These chargers typically use a 120V outlet and are around $200 to replace (check out amazon.ca)

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Level 2

A level 2 charger is a full on EV charging station in your home!  These ones typically use a 240V connection (like the ones that power your oven and clothes dryer).  They are mounted to a wall or use a post and can typically charge at a rate that gets you about 30km of range per hour of charge.

This is commonly what a homeowner would invest in to ensure a great EV experience.  

A good charger like the VersiCharge Gen 3 comes with:

  • 20ft cable

  • Wall or Post mounting

  • Indoor or outdoor

The premium model also includes

Level 3

A level 3 charger uses a direct current connection to an electrical system.  It has the capability to charge a car for 100km of range within 30min (depending of course on the vehicle type itself).  It is mostly used for business environments like what you see sitting outside malls.

These ones are designed to be like gas stations.  Pull up, pay for a 30min charge while you are given the chance to shop for a bit and buy more.  Ingenious really!  Not only is a shop now becoming a make-shift gas station, they are attracting customers to come into their store, linger and buy more stuff!

For commercial owners, your parking lot now has the potential to make you money and attract new customers that would have otherwise just gone to a gas station on their road trip!  

Commercial providers can charge for convenience.  Myev.com states that the price per kWh can range between $0.39 and $0.79.  Far more than the Level 2 at home EV charger cost.  

Still, to fully charge a Chevy Bolt would cost only $6/100km of range compared to filling up a Chevy Malibu at a gas station at $1.45/L which would be $9.50/100km of range. So still way cheaper than a gas station.

So next time you are debating what you should buy next for your electric vehicle I would suggest an EV charger.  More specifically I would go with a premium charger like the VersiCharge Gen 3 because of the great additional features it has including Bi-Directional charging and Smart charging.

EV ChargersTyson Nicholson