Let’s Not Forget About AC Charging

 

While DC-fast charging an EV and refueling a gas-powered vehicle require different forms of energy, they are essentially the same activity. A person drives their vehicle to the location, connects that vehicle to the device, and waits. For some older vehicles, DC-fast charging can take up to an hour, but with quicker charging vehicles on the road, it’s the same action we’ve been a part of for decades. 

DC-fast charging has become an integral part of the adoption of EVs. It’s the main source of frustration for current EV owners and a concern from potential electric vehicle buyers. It’s such a big deal that the U.S. government is offering financial incentives to improve the infrastructure of the DC-fast charging network. Yet, there is another, more—let’s just say—relaxed way to charge an EV.

That’s AC charging. 

For those with a home, forward-thinking landlord, or gracious employer, AC charging is how most EV owners will charge their vehicles more than 80% of the time. Slower than DC-fast charging, AC charging happens while the owners are asleep or working. The vehicle charges while the driver is doing something else. 

A widespread infrastructure of AC charging units would alleviate many of the concerns associated with range anxiety. If a person charges their vehicle in the parking lot every time they go to a movie or shopping, there’s less need for at-home and DC-fast charging. Normal errands become charging opportunities. 

For those in dense cities without dedicated parking spots, AC curbside charging will become more relevant as EV adoption grows. In Europe, many of these stations are “bring your own cable,” a compromise that reduces the chances of hardware vandalism and keeps pesky unused cables from lying on the sidewalks, blocking pedestrians. 

For cities and businesses, deploying AC charging is far less expensive than DC-fast charging. Plus, there are other benefits, particularly to the grid. 
“The amount of power you need for AC charging is so much less than for DC charging that the capacity of our grid to support that would actually make it a lot easier to roll out a lot more curbside charging,” Sam Abuelsamid, Guidehouse Insights’s principal research analyst into e-mobility, told SAE. 

Fortunately, for the future of charging, the SAE J3400 (aka NACS) port and connection standard is implemented in a way to ease the installation of AC charging by supporting the type of power typically delivered to commercial and new building locations: single-phase 277 volts. It also helps with curbside charging deployment. 

Rodney McGee, Ph.D., SAE J3400 NACS Task Force chair and chief engineer at the University of Delaware, told SAE that the new standard can save space while using the already established infrastructure. 

“I mention street lighting is often 277 [volts] and not utilizing those existing circuits, but being able to use that same feed from the utility and run some new conduit,” McGee said.

With the standard set up to make AC deployment easier on all those involved, it’s clear that many in the industry understand the importance of AC charging. It’s the charging drivers do while doing something else. 

DC-fast charging is vital to the deployment of EVs. There definitely needs to be a quick way to charge a vehicle that is reminiscent of our time with gas-powered vehicles. But let’s not forget the new dynamic afforded to us by electric vehicles: the ability to not have to wait while refueling and, instead, complete other tasks—including sleeping.