How to charge your electric car at home: All questions answered

Electric cars are undoubtedly an answer to a number of mobility and fuel related challenges that the world faces today. While the international markets have already progressed and accepted mass market EVs like Nissan Leaf and Toyota Prius, India, on the other hand, is just about pulling up socks to join the EV race.

Only in the last few months, India witnessed three major EV launches, the Hyundai Kona EV, MG ZS EV and the Tata nexon EV. None of these are priced anywhere in the range of being called mass market or affordable products, but this is the start of a new era which will change the way we look at mobility today.

While EVs may not be 'very affordable' in the country right now, but two-three years down the line, the battery production will ramp up and technology will be cheaper. And to add to that, Mahindra has now already announced that it is planning to launch its eKUV100 EV under the ₹10 lakh price bracket. This surely is a bold claim seeing that rest of the current EV cars cost in the range of ₹15 lakh- ₹25 lakh today.

So in case you are planning an electric car or two-wheeler in the future and have concerns about its charging. Here is everything you need to know about this hugely debated topic:

Electric cars need charge which is stored in the batteries, which at the other end powers the motor acting as an engine/powertrain for these vehicles. EVs are just like smartphone devices or laptops, they can be charged at home or on the move. The first and foremost requirement of an EV is that you should have a dedicated parking space for your vehicle. Rest, arrangements related to electricity, sockets and electrical connections can be installed in the later stage.

An electric car or bike can be easily plugged into your home and charged with the use of an EV charger. It is found that over 80% of the electric car users charge their EVs overnight at home or at work. These can also be charged on the move provided that you live in a city which has proper EV charging infrastructure.

For example, let us consider the Tata Nexon EV:

The company installs the charging set-up for the user at home and this service is completely free. Once the setup is done, all you need to do is plug it in and wait for a couple of hours till the battery is juiced-up.

How long does it take to charge and how long will it last?

The Nexon EV features an IP 67 rated 30.2 kWh High energy density Lithium ion battery pack. This takes about 60 minutes to be charged up to 80% using fast charging, on the other hand, estimated regular charging time from a 15 A plug point to attain 90% charging from a dry state is close to 8.5 hours. The vehicle is rated to deliver a maximum full charge range of 312 kms which is good enough to last over one to two weeks for a regular office goer, depending up on the usage.

What if you need to charge it outside home?

In case the vehicle is running on low charge and you are already out for a drive, you need not to turn back to the home. The company has installed a number of charging stations throughout the major cities in India.

For the National Capital Region, Tata Motors has already covered locations such as Noida Sector 5, Pari Chowk in Greater Noida, Dwarka, Dilshad Garden in Delhi, Gurugram and more. Similarly details of all the charging locations can be found online or at the company's dedicated application for Nexon EV users which also allows various other updates about the vehicles such as range, security, battery charge and more.

Hyundai and MG also provide similar services for their vehicles, and have also actively installed various charging points across major Indian cities. The charging time, full range, and performance, of course, varies from vehicle to vehicle depending on the battery pack size and the technology used.

Moreover, companies also offer emergency service in case you completely run out of charge and there is no charging station available anywhere nearby. In such case, mobile charging services are deployed to help users on the go.