The battery of an electric vehicle can be charged through two ways, these includes AC (Alternating Current) charging and DC (Direct Current) charging. The power that is present at the home grid is AC power, but an EV can fuel only through a DC power. This indicates that although we plug in to an AC charger, the power gets converted to DC.
AC vs. DC charging:
AC charging is when the alternating current (AC) power from the electrical grid is converted into direct current (DC) power by a converter in the car. Whereas, DC charging is when the DC power from the charger is directly fed into the car’s battery.
AC electricity is the type of electricity that is used in most homes and businesses. It is a sine wave that changes direction 60 times per second. DC electricity is a steady stream of electrons that flows in one direction.
Power from the grid is always AC, this requires a convertor in every vehicle to convert it into DC. Therefore, DC chargers are considered suitable for charging an EV, as it has inbuilt converters and can feed power directly to the vehicles.
How a DC charging station works?
A DC charging station works by converting AC power from the grid to DC power inside the charging station. This DC power is then delivered directly to the battery of the electric vehicle (EV). This is because the charging station has more space than the EV to accommodate more powerful converters, which can convert AC power from the grid more quickly.
The amount of power that a DC charging station can provide depends on the size of the converter. Larger converters can provide more power, which means that the EV can be charged faster. The maximum power that a DC charging station can provide is typically between 50 kW and 400 kW. And this is why DC charging stations are typically used for fast charging of EVs.
