Stupid question:
Why do we need public EV chargers at all?
Can't they make an on board charger that just plugs into am outlet? Or do those exist?
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Pretty much every EV out there (ironically, short of the BMW i3) ships with an included “Level 1” charger (or EVSE as they’re technically called, “Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment”, the actual charger itself is always part of the car) and these are designed to be plugged into a regular outlet.
The problem is that a regular outlet can only supply so many amps, and given the size of the batteries in most EV‘s they are not realistic in many applications. Our Volts for example take about 8 hours for a 55-65KM charge on a regular outlet. For something like a bolt for example, a level one charger from dead takes something in the range of 50+ hours to recharge IIRC.
Fine if you’re at a cottage for the weekend or something...not so much If you’re on a road trip and overnighting at a hotel or something. Unless you’re not dead. ;
This is where level 2 and 3 chargers come into play - they are 6 to 20+ times faster than a level 1.