What is an AC EV Charger? A Complete Guide

Electric vehicles (EVs) are becoming increasingly popular, offering an eco-friendly alternative to gas-powered cars. As more drivers make the switch, EV charging infrastructure is expanding across the country. But if you’re new to EVs, you may find all the terminology around charging confusing. What exactly is an AC EV charger? And how is it different from other charger types?

In this complete guide, we’ll cover everything you need to know about AC EV chargers:

• What an AC EV charger is
• How AC EV chargers work
• The pros and cons of AC charging
• How fast AC charging is
• Where you can find public AC chargers
• AC charging cables and connectors
• How AC charging compares to DC fast charging

After reading, you’ll understand the key facts about AC EV charging and how to utilize AC chargers to power up your electric vehicle. Time to plug in and charge up on knowledge!

What Is An AC EV Charger?

An AC EV charger is a charging station that supplies alternating current (AC) electricity to an electric vehicle. It charges the EV battery by converting the AC power to direct current (DC) using an onboard charger built into the vehicle.

AC chargers are commonly found in homes, workplaces, and public parking locations. They typically charge at a standard rate that will fully recharge an EV battery overnight or after it's parked for several hours.

The key thing that distinguishes AC EV chargers is that they supply AC electricity from the power grid and require conversion to DC before the battery can use it.

How Do AC EV Chargers Work?

Wondering about the actual charging process with an AC station? Here’s a quick breakdown:

1. The AC EV charger connects to a standard AC power source like a wall outlet.
2. When you plug in your vehicle, the onboard charger converts the AC electricity to usable DC power.
3. The vehicle's battery management system monitors and controls the battery, gradually filling it up with the DC electricity.
4. After a few hours of charging, the battery reaches full capacity, giving you a full charge!

The conversion from AC to DC happens inside your EV, allowing AC stations to utilize available power sources. But it comes at the cost of slower standard charging speeds.

Pros and Cons of AC Charging

Benefits

• Widely Available: AC chargers are commonly found in homes and public parking locations, offering convenient charging access.
• Low Cost: AC charging equipment and installation pricing is affordable, and the electricity rates per charging session are cheap compared to fast charging.
• Gentle On Battery: Slow AC charging reduces battery heat and degradation compared to fast DC charging. This helps extend your EV battery lifespan.

Drawbacks

• Slow Charging: Fully charging an EV battery with an AC charger can take anywhere from 4 to 12+ hours depending on the vehicle and charging level. This makes AC impractical for quick top-ups.
• Limited Charging Capacity: Most AC chargers max out at 11-22kW rates due to reliance on a vehicle’s onboard charger conversion abilities. This limits how quickly they can charge an EV battery.
• Not Ideal for Road Trips: The extended charging durations make routing long distance trips around AC chargers difficult compared to fast DC chargers along highways.

As you can see, AC EV charging trades speed for affordability and availability. It's great as a daily home charging solution but suboptimal when you need to minimize charging times.

How Fast Is AC Charging?

Public and residential AC EV chargers typically deliver charging power between 2.4kW to 22kW. The charging speed depends on both the onboard charger in your EV and the output rate of the charging station itself.

Most affordable Level 2 home AC chargers operate at 6-7kW rates. These can fully recharge an EV with a 50kWh battery pack in about 8 hours. Higher-powered 19kW public stations can top up a compatible EV in as little as 2.5 hours.

So while AC charging pales in comparison to ultra-fast 100+kW DC charging, Level 2 stations can still add roughly 20-30 miles of range per hour of charging. Making them convenient for overnight home charging or topping up at work and running errands.

Where Can You Find AC Charging Stations?

AC charging stations capable of powering up electric vehicles are in ample supply across the country. Most public networks offer an online map to locate nearby AC charging connectors.

Here are some of the places you’re likely to encounter AC EV chargers:

• Homes & Businesses: Residential garages and office parking lots often have AC outlets available for employees to charge vehicles.
• Apartments & Condos: Designated tenant parking spots are increasingly getting outfitted with AC charging stations at multi-dwelling properties.
• Curbside: On-street curbside chargers are showing up in cities across America through public-private partnerships.
• Parking Garages: Urban commercial parking garages provide chargers for visitors to top up their EVs.
• Shopping Centers: Malls and retail complexes are installing AC charging infrastructure to accommodate eco-friendly shoppers.
• Hotels: Overnight lodging locations provide external AC charging outlets or in-room indoor plugs for traveling EV drivers.

Apps like PlugShare offer dynamic maps of public AC charging connector locations around you.

AC Charging Cables and Connectors

AC EV chargers utilize standardized charging cables and connectors to transfer energy to your electric vehicle. Most public AC charging stations in the United States follow the SAE J1772 protocol.

These systems use a J1772 charging plug that connects to an inlet on your EV. Behind the plug is a boxy connector shape that locks the cable securely in place while charging.

J1772 Charging Cable

The plug connects to your EV inlet, while the lock box securing mechanism prevents accidental unplugging. J1772 cables also contain changing circuitry and chips that communicate essential data with your vehicle.

SAE J1772 is the undisputed standard for AC charging in America and works universally across EVs. Just note that Tesla vehicles require an adapter to use the connector style.

How Does AC Charging Compare to DC Fast Charging?

In contrast to AC charging, DC fast charging uses direct current power to rapidly charge an EV’s battery without needing onboard conversion. High-powered DC fast chargers achieve much faster charging speeds by directly supplying DC energy.

But this comes at the cost of substantially higher equipment prices and reliance on special EV inlets to handle the power. Generally, DC fast charging is sparingly deployed at specific high-traffic corridors and routes.

As you can see, AC and DC charging are better suited for different applications. AC charging shines as an affordable and widely available charging option for your daily commutes. While DC fast charging offers speed for pressing long-distance trips.

Key Takeaways on AC EV Charging

• AC EV chargers supply alternating current power from the electric grid to charge electric vehicles. This power gets converted to DC by onboard chargers.
• They charge slower than DC fast charging, with full charges taking 4-12 hours. But offer affordable and accessible charging for daily commutes.
• You can find public AC charging stations at most shops, hotels, garages, curbsides, and businesses with EV charging programs.
• J1772 connectors and cables are the universal standard for AC charging in the United States.
• AC charging excels for home and workplace charging applications, while DC fast charging is better for urgent charging needs on highways.

I hope this guide gave you a helpful electric vehicle charging 101 on AC EV chargers and clarified exactly what they are all about. Let me know in the comments if you have any other questions!