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Charging an electric vehicle

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If you hear “AC” and “DC” spoken about in the context of electric cars, it’s more likely they’re referring to alternative and direct currents than the hard rock group (although you never know.) In any case, here we’re definitely talking about electric current and the relevant modes and charging times depending on the type of current.

The different charging options and their cost

The options and charging points for electric vehicles are multiplying, all at very competitive prices — very practical! It starts at home where, for less than 4 euro, you can charge 100 kilometers of range with a reinforced plug socket or a Wallbox. In town, you can find AC terminals of 7, 11 or 22 kW installed at certain malls, parking lots or simply on the street, where 100 kilometers will cost you around 5 euro. Scaling up, the rapid charging stations found on highways deliver a direct current (DC) of up to 50 kW in record time: the 100 kilometers come in at just over 10 euro. The icing on the cake: certain municipal parking lots, malls and businesses even offer charging for free!

Charging time and chargers

Charging times depend on the size of the battery and the power of the terminals and chargers. The bigger the battery, the longer the charge, and the more powerful the charger, the quicker it takes! For example, it takes half an hour on the highway for a ZOE equipped with a 52 kW battery to recover 150 kilometers of range (DC), compared to 9 hours at home for 200 km on an AC terminal. Zoe’s Caméléon charger adapts to all AC configurations, allowing the driver to make the most of the capacity of each type of terminal. And, to make things even easier, for all Renault vehicles the MY Renault application allows users to monitor the battery charge level, locate the nearest charging stations and plan a route accordingly.