Complications, costs and inconveniences. Let's be honest: the pioneers of the electric car (or motorbike) don't have an easy life. But something is moving. The "column plan" promised by our institutions promises to finally create one real charging network widespread in the area also thanks to a geo-locator national service available to operators to best place the new charging stations in existing service stations. But the most interesting news comes on the home charging front, which represents the real trump card in terms of costs and therefore economic convenience for the use of electric vehicles as an alternative to combustion engines. Let's see why.
“Domestic” charging is always worthwhile
Navigating the formulas and package offers of the various public charging station operators with relative comparison with "home" charging is an arduous operation, because the rates change continuously. It is best to rely on some general principles. The first: tariff packages with special cards are always cheaper than spot top-ups. The second: the faster the charging (compatibly with the absorption capacity of our car), the higher the cost per kilowatt hour. Third: especially in the case of rapid and ultra-rapid recharging, the cost per kilometer of our electric mobility (both in the case of a car with only an electron engine and in the case of "plug ins" which couple the combustion engine with the electric) may prove to be equal or superior to that of a similar model with a traditional combustion engine. Fourth: the real savings it is therefore only guaranteed with a self-charge, especially if we are able to use an extension of our home user and especially if this user is coupled with solar panels and battery storage units.
Fifth general principle: our rulers periodically propose not only the incentives for the purchase of electric vehicles but also the bonuses that cover a large part of the costs of installing private charging stations, typically using the reimbursement formula of up to 1.500 euros for individual charging stations (which covers most if not all of the expense) and up to 8.000 euros for condominium charging points in the common areas. So let's keep up to date by consulting institutional sites or the best online newspapers, starting with this one.
Our column
To equip ourselves with home charging, there are essentially two lines of action. First solution: convince our condominium to equip itself with a small one consortium structure with one or more condominium columns in the common areas, if they allow it. In this case it is possible to use a medium power column (typically 22 kilowatts), or connected to the condominium meter, if the available power allows it with respect to the already active condominium contract, or a new and specific user with a contract is a dedicated electricity supply. There condominium column will include a system for sharing the costs of top-ups, typically with cards assigned to condominiums.
In case we wanted to install our own exclusive column (or wallbox, i.e. an apparatus fixed to the wall, as in the majority of these cases) must first be checked whether the environment is suitable. The presence of our exclusive garage connected directly to the home electricity supply represents the ideal case: we contact the operator and choose the type of contract and the technical specifications of the device, without any permission to be requested from the condominium.
If the infrastructure or simply the charging space occupies even a minimal amount of a condominium area, it will be necessary to formally request the permitted to the condominium, who will eventually have to grant it on the basis of a decision to be brought to the assembly, unless the condominium regulations already provide for a specific procedure with a pre-consent for installations of this type with related regulations.
The technological and regulatory innovations coming soon
Once the necessary checks have been carried out, the installation of our private column is neither difficult nor excessively expensive. Our advice is to contact one of the main electricity supply managers directly, starting with the one you are already a customer of. There “basic” solution involves the use of your existing electricity line without any particular modifications, which naturally must also reach your garage or the condominium space for which you have obtained authorization. Naturally, no one forbids asking for a second electric user dedicated only to charging. But the burdens and complications in this case increase.
If the contractual formula of our domestic users provides for the classic 3 kW of maximum deliverable power, the request to the electrical distributor to increase power to 6 kW was practically obligatory until today, even if less onerous than in the past (200 euros one-off and a increase of around 10 euros per month for the same consumption). The operation, if limited to the transition from 3 to 6 kW, does not involve either changing the meter or making significant adjustments to your electrical panel: the private electrician you will call before connecting, especially if you have to bring your own power line house up to the garage or in the dedicated space, he will check if necessary adjust some switches circuit breaker or differential (the so-called “circuit breaker”).
In any case we do not have to worry about the absorption of the recharge of your electric vehicle, even if it is good practice to recharge at night so as not to overlap the power draw with normal domestic users: the recent wallboxes provide a intelligent management with priority to normal consumption and, if anything, temporarily suspends charging of the electric vehicle.
But it is a last-minute innovation that will make things a lot easier for us, making the increase in power that we may need to simultaneously manage home consumption and charging the electric vehicle "automatic" and without costs. In fact, it started “smart experimentation” of the Energy and Environment Authority (Arera) and the energy services manager (GSE) for a temporary increase and at zero cost of power at night and on holidays at 6 kW in case of installation of charging stations.
The steps to take, a practical example
We have drawn up the reference framework. But what is the operational path in more detail? What will our new column or wallbox allow us to do in practice? Let's take a practical example using the operational and contractual scheme proposed by a primary operator: Enel
After having carried out all the installation procedures according to an absolutely intuitive path (signing the contract, inspection, payment with possible financing and subsequent installation) you find yourself with a wallbox of size of a shoebox or little more, in this case called Waybox, offered in two power versions: up to 7,4 kW single-phase (the one that can be connected directly to the domestic system) or the one up to 22 kW at 400 Volt three-phase, which however requires a its dedicated user base.
The Waybox is completely manageable by smartphones through an app. You can configure the equipment by setting the power supply and preferred access mode, schedule charging sessions to minimize costs if, for example, we have a multi-hourly tariff by starting and ending charging remotely.
Home charging times and costs
How long will our charging take? Three factors must be considered: the available power of the meter in kilowatts, the power in kilowatts with which it is recharged and the maximum accepted power of our vehicle's battery charger. The lowest of these three values will determine the charging speed, which will take a time equivalent to the amount of energy to be charged (in kilowatt hours) divided by the charging power (in kilowatts). In practice: assuming a vehicle with a 7,4 kW internal battery charger, a 40 kWh battery (a small-medium sized electric car) with a 3 kW domestic meter and corresponding power delivered by the wallbox of 7,4 kilowatts maximum the time Of full recharge it will be around 13 hours, which is halved with a meter capable of 6 or 7 kilowatts.
Costs? With the volatility of electricity rates it is difficult to make precise figures. Taking into account what we explained at the beginning of this tutorial we can still give some references, in any case convincing: for a home charge, taking as reference an energy cost of 0,3 euros per kilowatt hour, a "full tank" to our wallbox domestic will still cost us less than 15 euros. The same fill up at a public charging station, perhaps rapid or ultra-rapid, could cost us two or three times as much.
If we do the calculation on the electric km guaranteed by our car we could discover that all this convenience compared to the classic combustion engine is not there. For now, of course. Technology advances. The efficiency of electric vehicles is growing faster than traditional ones. The tariff formulas for charging stations evolve and adapt to the market. So be careful. Thinking about electric, especially if we think about the growing constraints on urban mobility, could be one convenient choice until now.
