An Analysis of the Characteristics of AC EV Charging Piles
By Editorial Team | January 19, 2025
Abstract: AC EV charging piles, commonly known as "slow chargers", are fixedly installed outside electric vehicles and connected to the AC power grid. They are power supply devices that provide AC power for the on-board charger (i.e., the charger fixedly installed on the electric vehicle). AC charging piles only provide power output and do not have charging functions; they need to be connected to the on-board charger to charge the electric vehicle, which is equivalent to only playing the role of a controlled power supply. What is the principle of AC charging piles? What is the structure of AC charging piles? Let’s take a look with Yunniao below!
Principle of AC EV Charging Piles
Essentially, an AC charging pile is a socket with control functions, outputting AC power. It requires the on-board charger to perform voltage transformation and rectification by itself. Limited by the power of the on-board charger, its power is generally small, mostly 3.3kW and 7kW.
Functional Characteristics of AC EV Charging Piles
• The human-computer interaction interface adopts a large-screen LCD color touch screen, and there are 4 charging modes available: fixed power, fixed time, fixed amount, and automatic (until fully charged); it displays the current charging mode, time (charged time, remaining charging time), power (charged power, to-be-charged power) and current billing information.
• Supports multiple payment methods such as card swiping and QR code scanning.
• Complies with the latest national standards such as GB/T 20234.1-2015, GB/T 20234.2-2015, and GB/T 18487.1-2015.
• Touch color screen display, with a friendly human-computer interface, easy to operate and maintain.
• Rich communication interfaces, compatible with all vehicle BMS protocols and charging background protocols.
• Comprehensive protection functions: over-voltage protection, under-voltage protection, overload protection, short-circuit protection, leakage protection, etc.
Differences Between DC and AC EV Charging Piles
DC Charging Piles: Commonly known as "fast chargers", they are fixedly installed outside electric vehicles and connected to the AC power grid, capable of providing DC power for off-board electric vehicle power batteries. The input voltage of DC charging piles adopts three-phase four-wire AC380V±15% with a frequency of 50Hz, and the output is adjustable DC power, which directly charges the power battery of the electric vehicle. Since DC charging piles adopt three-phase four-wire power supply, they can provide sufficient power, and the output voltage and current have a wide adjustment range, which can meet the requirements of fast charging.
AC Charging Piles: Commonly known as "slow chargers", they are fixedly installed outside electric vehicles and connected to the AC power grid, providing AC power for the on-board charger of the electric vehicle (i.e., the charger fixedly installed on the electric vehicle). AC charging piles only provide power output and do not have charging functions; they need to be connected to the on-board charger to charge the electric vehicle, which is equivalent to only playing the role of a controlled power supply.
Differences Between the Two: Simply put, AC charging piles need to rely on the on-board charger for charging, while DC fast charging piles do not require this device. There is a significant difference in charging speed between the two. A pure electric vehicle (with ordinary battery capacity) can be fully charged in 8 hours through an AC charging pile after being completely discharged, while it only takes 2 to 3 hours through a DC fast charging pile. AC charging piles provide power input for the electric vehicle’s charger; due to the limited power of the on-board charger, fast charging cannot be achieved.
About the Author: The editorial team consists of industry experts with years of experience in the new energy and EV charging sectors, dedicated to providing timely and accurate industry updates and insights for global readers.
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