When it comes to charging your electric car at your home or business premises, it is standard to use charging stations. However, if you cannot or do not want to install a charging station, it becomes considerably more difficult to find the right information. Does this mean that it is not possible to charge your EV at home if you do not have a charging station? Not at all and we are happy to explain to you what the options are and what you should pay attention to if you want to charge your EV without a charging station.
Do you always need a charging station to charge your electric car?
Charging stations are always preferable when you want to charge your electric car at home. The high-quality charging stations are specifically designed to optimally charge the electric car. In some cases, however, it is not possible to install a charging station. For example, if you do not have your own property on which you can park your car, you will quickly run out of options. Especially when a wall box is also not an option, because you are not allowed to place it in the garage.
In those cases, the mobile charger can be a solution. However, there are a few things you need to pay attention to when you want to go for this option. Of course, you will find all these points below.
Why doesn't the mobile charger get more attention and why is it always about charging stations?
The reason is simple: the charging station is a better, optimal and safer option than the mobile charger and mobile charging station. A fixed charging station has its own connection and does not need to be constantly reconnected. The average capacity of a charging station is also higher than that of a mobile charger and a standard charging station has more functions and features than the mobile charger.
However, this does not mean that the mobile charger is not a good option. The fact that it is less suitable than a charging station does not automatically mean that the mobile charger should not be used. This is clearly visible from the fact that the mobile charger is recommended by many people when it comes to holidays with the electric car.
Is the mobile charging station preferable when you want to charge your EV at home?
The mobile charging station (or mobile charger) is therefore not preferable if you want to charge your electric car at home, but it can be an excellent option if you want to be able to charge your car in front of your door and cannot or do not want to have a charging station installed.
All the information you need to charge your car at home without a charging station
If you want to use a mobile charger to charge your car, there are a number of points you need to pay attention to. Before we look at that, we will first briefly list the points so that you can see if this is a solution for you:
- You have your own power connection or a connection that you have express permission to use to charge the EV.
- You can get the car near the junction and park it in a place where this is allowed.
- You can place a charging cable between the connection and the EV without creating dangerous situations.
Do all of the above points apply to your situation? Then the mobile charger is an option for you. Keep the last points below in mind, which are important if you want to be able to charge safely and optimally. Especially when using a mobile charger, a little more attention is needed to prevent problems and risks from occurring.
The right connection to the right contact
The first point that deserves full attention is the connection that you use as a source point. This can be a Schuko or CEE connection, but all connections must be undamaged and modern. Old or damaged contacts can cause the contact (or the area around it) to become too hot and start to burn.
In addition, it is particularly desirable that the connection is on a (relatively) empty group. The mobile charger will want to use the full power of the group in order to be able to charge optimally. When the contact is on a group without other consumers, this means that charging your car does not disturb the rest of the house.
Does a new contact need to be installed? Then call in an electrician and have him look at the possibility of putting a higher power on the group. The average 3.7 kW connection (1x16A) is a fine option, but a higher power reduces the charging time considerably and you benefit from that every day. Especially when you have a new connection installed, it may be possible to use a heavier mobile charger (sometimes up to 11 or even 22 kW).
Please note: do not order a mobile charger before you know at what capacity you can charge. If, for whatever reason, you have to order now, choose a heavier mobile charger where you can set the charging voltage. This way you can be sure that you can use the mobile charger optimally on every contact you have.
The capacity of the mobile charger
We have already touched on it briefly: the capacity of the mobile charger. Many (older) mobile chargers have a charging capacity of up to 3.7 kW, because this can be obtained from an average socket. However, now that many more people drive electric and solutions are being found for each home and business premises, a higher capacity is desirable. Imagine that you can create a group at 7.4 or even 11 kW, then a 3.7 kW mobile charger limits the maximum charging speed enormously.
Therefore, pay close attention to the capacity of the mobile charger and choose a heavier charger if in doubt, especially when you are considering making adjustments to or around your home in the near future. If you could create a group with a higher capacity and you already have the heavier mobile charger, you will not only save yourself a lot of money, but you can also immediately halve the charging time when charging your EV at home without a charging station.
Regular checking prevents problems
Many mobile chargers are now equipped with overheating protection, but that does not mean that you cannot prevent problems by regularly taking a good look at the contact that is used and the condition of a mobile charger. Unfortunately, the mobile charger is often in a place where people walk by and an accident is often just around the corner. If you are sure that the charging cables of the mobile charger are in order and the source contact has not been damaged, then you can charge with peace of mind.
The features on the mobile charger
One of the features that should not be missing from the mobile charger (anymore) is the overheating protection. Especially when you regularly plug the plug into a different socket, it is not always possible to check the condition of the socket. However, the mobile charger will demand a lot from the socket, whereby older wall sockets can definitely become hot and start to melt (with the risk of fire as a result). Mobile chargers with overheating protection switch off when they notice that the contact is getting too hot, and are therefore always the safest option.
Of course, there are many other features that modern charging stations are equipped with. For example, you can often view the charging history, follow the current charging session in the app or even charge dynamically. The main question here is what you want yourself and whether the mobile charger is a permanent or temporary solution. If you want to use the mobile charger as a permanent charging solution for a long time, a somewhat more extensive mobile charging station is not only more convenient, but also much more fun.
Conclusion: you can charge your EV at home without a charging station, but it is often not optimal
If you can have a charging station installed, this is always preferable. However, if that is not possible, a mobile charger will do just fine, especially if you pay attention to the points you have read above. On our page with mobile chargers for electric cars you can find all models, with a handy filter menu to be able to directly view the models that are interesting for you.
If you can't find the right mobile charger or would like an expert to help you determine which mobile charger is the best option for your situation, please contact us so we can help you personally.
