Different Types of EV chargers to Suit Different Types of Electric Cars Sockets .

Different Types of EV chargers to Suit Different Types of Electric Cars Sockets .

Plug Types
AC Charging
These chargers are slower to charge and are often Level 2, which means as a charger, you could do it at home.

Type 1 Plug

Alternative names: J1772, SAE J1772
Looks like: The Type 1 is a round connector with 5 prongs.
Suits vehicles: BMW, Nissan, Porsche, Mercedes, Volvo and Mitsubishi.
About: Type 1 is considered the standard plug for Japanese and North American cars.

Type 2 Plug

Alternative names: IEC 62196, Mennekes
Looks like: The Type 2 is a round connector with 7 prongs.
Suits vehicles: Tesla and Renault electric vehicles. Tesla vehicles can plug into any Type 2 charging point unless it states “Tesla Only”.
About: The Type 2 is the plug standard for Europe. It is a single and 3-phase connector, capable of 3-phase charging if available. In Australia, it can present as just a socket on the wall where you have to bring your own cable.

Tesla charger

Looks like: The Tesla charger is a plug with five prongs. It uses the Type 2 connector.
Suits vehicles: The Destination Chargers were designed for exclusive use with Tesla vehicles.
About: The Tesla charger use two of the pins on the standard Type 2 plug for DC current. The Supercharger gives a faster charge-up than the Destination charger.
 
Rapid DC Charging
Rapid chargers are, as the name suggests, faster. They are Level 3, which means they are industrial strength and can’t be used at home.

CHAdeMO EV charger plug    
CHAdeMO
Looks like: The CHAdeMO is a round plug with two prongs.
Suits vehicles: Mitsubishi I-Miev, Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV, and Nissan Leaf.
About: The CHAdeMO, an abbreviation for “CHArge de Move”, uses a lot of power, giving the ‘fast charge’. Not found in homes.
Charge rate: Fast (up to 62.5kW of power)

CCS Combo

Looks like: A plug with two connectors. It has Type 1 or Type 2 male/female prongs at the top and two male/female prongs at the bottom. 

Suits vehicles: CCS Type 1 for Japanese and North American vehicles and CCS Type 2 for European vehicles.

About: The CCS plug is a combination socket and comes in Type 1 and Type 2. In Australia there is both single and three phase power, which is supported by the Type 2 plug. The DC connector in the plug allows for fast charging while the AC connector is used for conventional at-home charging.

Charge rate: Fast