EV chargers Ireland vehicles rely on energy to get from A to B, just like petrol or diesel cars do. But the battery needs to be charged all the time – and this requires access to a network of chargers. That’s why there is a need for EV owners to install a home charger or, alternatively, use the public chargers operated by ESB and other operators such as Circle K at their forecourts.
What is electric vehicle charger?
There are currently 1,350 public EV charging points around Ireland (see map below). The majority of these are 22kW alternating current (AC) chargers. AC chargers take energy from the national grid and transform it to the different voltage levels needed by electric car batteries – but they are significantly slower than rapid AC charging stations.
As a result, it can often take up to two hours for a vehicle to charge from a 22kW AC charger. This is because the onboard computer in an EV sets a maximum speed at which it can be charged to protect the battery.
A better solution would be to install a fast charger at home, as it can reduce the charging time to under an hour. This can be done using the EV home charger grant scheme which is administered by SEAI – the details are here.