Best DC Charging Station In Australia

Superscript

When it comes to electric mobility, you may already be aware of some of the differences between AC and DC charging. But when you’re thinking about investing in high-power DC charging stations, there’s much more to consider.

DC charging is often the best option for businesses looking to provide electric vehicle (EV) charging as a service or help electrify their own vehicle fleet. However, like almost every other hardware product that’s ever existed, DC charging stations come in different shapes and sizes.

Let's start with the bigger picture

When it comes to DC charging stations, you’ll want to know exactly how big or small your shiny new station’s footprint is. In reality, it may actually have two feet.

Broadly speaking, there are two types of DC charging station architecture: standalone and split. 

Standalone charging stations are comprised of a single unit and can usually deliver between 50kW and roughly 250kW of power. Because of this, standalone charging stations can help businesses efficiently utilize the space at their location. Charging stations with split architecture, as you can imagine, often come with two main components: a user unit and a power unit.

The user unit is essentially the customer-facing part of the charging station. Here, drivers plug in their EVs and initiate a charging session via a type of user interface such as a digital display that also allows charge cards, tokens, key fobs, and credit cards to be swiped.

The power unit contains power converters (converting AC grid power to DC) that deliver DC power to the user unit. These units are often located behind the scenes and out of a driver’s line of sight.

Charging stations with split architecture offer a slightly higher power output than standalone stations: usually between 175kW and 350kW. This is due to having an entire unit dedicated to receiving, converting, and delivering power. Yes, the overall footprint is larger with two separate units, but the driver often only sees and interacts with the sleeker, more aesthetically pleasing user unit.

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Untangling charging cables (and charging times)

DC charging stations come with fixed cables that are attached to the station itself. AC charging can often be facilitated with loose cables usually kept in the trunk of an EV—but that’s not what we’re talking about now.

Despite being attached to the charging station, fixed DC charging cables often have power outputs that aren’t always equipped to deliver the maximum power from a DC charging station to an EV. Yes, you read that correctly. 

However, it’s not just cables and charging stations that determine the power that eventually flows to an EV and dictates the time it takes a battery to fill up. EVs are also limited in the amount of power that they can receive, something that is often overlooked by drivers. hi