Electric vehicles (EVs) are growing in popularity in Ireland thanks to their environmental and economic benefits, and demand for home EV charger installations is now skyrocketing. If you want to protect your investment it’s important to make sure that your EV charger is installed correctly and includes the most essential features. Inadequate charger installations can endanger your home and damage your electric vehicle. To help you navigate this emerging market we’ve compiled a list of important things to avoid, and also the key benefits of using a smart EV charger.
EV charger risks and concerns
Trickle and low charge damage
Inadequate power can damage your electric vehicle’s battery over time, reducing its range and increasing the likelihood of requiring an expensive replacement. Trickle charging occurs when your electrical supply is too low to charge your EV’s batteries quickly enough, which adds strain to the vehicle’s electrical systems. Trickle charging can also result in insufficiently charged batteries – which can diminish the overall battery life of your system.
Risk of causing a fire
Improperly installed EV chargers are a major fire risk. Proper installation requires special training and experience, so it’s critically important that you choose a vendor who specializes in installing EV chargers. Do it yourself (DIY) systems are strongly discouraged because they do not include rigorous testing and are often installed by people who are not adequately trained.
Dangerous electrical shocks
Without the correct safety measures, EV chargers can be very dangerous because they involve high voltages. You can protect yourself and loved ones by making sure your EV charger is installed by a professional, monitored, and regularly serviced. An EV charger service will ensure that your components are regularly checked and replaced as needed. Due to Ireland’s climate and damp conditions, outdoor EV chargers rarely last more than 7 years – no matter what other companies may claim.
Benefits of smart EV chargers
Although basic EV chargers will fill your vehicle’s batteries, they can’t do much else. Smart EV chargers are becoming increasingly popular because they provide a large range of features that can increase your vehicle’s lifespan, save money, and provide peace of mind.
Save money with intelligent scheduling
Smart EV chargers can automatically charge your vehicle during off-peak hours to provide you with substantial cost savings. Charging your vehicle during peak hours may cost more than twice as much as charging during low-demand times. Truly intelligent chargers will soon be able to instantly take advantage of pricing drops, and optimize your charging times to strike a balance between your desired driving ranges and your ideal cost savings.
Dynamic load balancing
Many smart EV chargers will automatically balance the flow of electricity in your home, which will ensure that your car charges efficiently without tripping circuit breakers – even if you’re using other energy-hungry appliances. Dynamic load balancing will increase of decrease the amount of electricity used by your charger to free up capacity for other household appliances, as needed. This is especially important if you own, or plan to own, more than one electric vehicle.
V2G and V2H systems
One of the most interesting developments in energy efficiency involves putting your EV’s battery to work to improve the energy efficiency of the rest of your home, and even the rest of the power grid. Vehicle-to-grid systems can allow you to charge your vehicle during off-peak hours when electricity is inexpensive and then sell it back to the grid during peak hours. Vehicle-to-home systems do the same thing, but they allow you to run other household appliances off your vehicle’s battery – this can save you a lot of money, especially on days when you only plan to drive your vehicle minimally.
Remote updates and troubleshooting
Smart EV chargers are improving and changing constantly, which means you should be prepared for regular system updates. Unless you’re really passionate about maintaining DIY systems, you should choose a smart EV charger so that you can avoid spending hours of your time updating your EV charger’s software. More importantly, smart EV chargers allow for remote troubleshooting and sometimes even remote repair – which means your system can be fixed much more quickly and efficiently if it ever breaks down.
In summary
Smart EV chargers provide a lot of essential advantages over other systems – both in terms of safety and reliability, and also cost savings and energy efficiency. Although there may be some upfront costs associated with installing a smart EV charger, the long-term benefits and savings completely outweigh the cost of that initial investment.
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