EV & Hybrid Advice

Yes, you can charge an electric car at home using either a standard wall socket or a dedicated AC fast charger (often referred to generically as a ‘wallbox’ charger, although ‘Wallbox’ is an actual brand of charger). Petrol stations - those monuments to expensive fuel, overpriced junk food and restrooms that hygiene forgot - aren’t exactly at the top of anyone’s ‘must visit’ list when they leave the house (although they are handy for checking tyre pressures). Which is part of the appeal of electric vehicles (EVs): to get them all charged up and ready to silently roll, you don’t have to leave the house. Ever. Both EVs and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) need to be plugged in to an external power source to charge their onboard battery packs, and it’s as simple and straightforward as plugging in your mobile phone when it needs a charge. A cable, which is typically supplied when you buy an EV, but is also available from a number of specialist retailers, can be plugged in to a standard 240-volt, AC (alternating current) domestic wall socket, giving you the freedom to charge wherever you can find one (which is: almost everywhere). This is also known as Level 1 AC ‘trickle charging’, and what you’re getting power-wise is around 2.0kW of power through a normal 10-amp socket. It’s the slowest method of charging your EV, and it can take anywhere from four to 48 hours to fully charge a battery from empty, depending on how big your EV’s battery capacity is (as a rule of thumb, divide the kWh of your battery by two, and that should give you a decent indicator of many hours it’ll take to charge). The kW offered while charging is equivalent to the kilometres you’ll get from every 10 minutes of charging, so 2.0kW will give you around 2km of range for every 10 minutes you charge. Read more: Will electric cars ever be cheaper in Australia?Electricity retailers in Australia charge between 20 and 35 cents per kWh. The MG ZS EV, Australia’s cheapest electric vehicle at $44,990, plus on-road costs, has a 44.5kWh battery. If your electricity rate was 20 cents per kWh, that means it would cost a grand total of $8.90 to fully charge the battery - significantly less than the average cost of filling a tank with petrol. If your electricity at home is harnessed via renewable solar energy, congratulations: the cost to charge your EV is a delightful zero (as long as you charge it during the day, when it's sunny). Electric car charging at home in Australia can also be done via a dedicated fast charger. Often referred to as ‘Level 2 AC fast charging’, this is - you guessed it - a lot faster than AC trickle charging. AC fast chargers up the power output to 7.2kW for standard 240-volt single-phase wiring, and 22kW if you have 415-volt three-phase power at your disposal. A 7.2kW charger will give you 7.2km of range every 10 minutes, whereas the 22kW charger will give you 22km of range every 10 minutes. Again, the time it takes to charge your EV battery from empty to full entirely depends on the size of the car’s battery capacity (again, divide the battery capacity by the charging power to work it out). Before you decide which AC fast charger to get, be aware that some EVs - namely PHEVS - will only charge at a maximum rate of 3.6kW or 7.6kW, so getting a 22kW charger is a bit pointless if you own a car that can’t utilise that kind of power. Read more: Every electric car available in AustraliaA Level 2 7.2kW charger costs around $950 to $1500 plus installation, although many car companies include free installation when you purchase an EV. A Level 2 22kW charger is a little dearer, and costs around $1000 to $3000, plus installation.EVSECost: From $950Touting themselves as ‘Australia’s #1 supplier and installer of universal electric vehicle chargers’, EVSE sells a range of cables and chargers so you can take some EV power direct to your home. Its Ocular home universal charging station starts at $950 for a 7kW model, and $1150 for a 22kW model.https://evse.com.au Jet ChargeCost: From $950Jet Charge claims to be Australia's leading hardware supplier and installer of EV charging infrastructure, and it's been installing charging stations in homes since the Tesla Model S launched in Australia in 2014. Its chargers range from the 7.2kW QUBEV universal electric vehicle charger for $950, all the way up to the Wallbox Commander 2 for $2490.https://jetcharge.com.au/EV PowerhouseCost: From $899Lo and behold, another charging station company that claims to be ‘Australia's #1 EV Charging Station Distributor’. EV Powerhouse offer 7, 11 and 22kW chargers, with prices starting at $899 for the Teison Design 360 7KW Charging Station, to $2,250 for the Teison EV Wallbox PRO-22KW Smart OCPP.https://evpowerhouse.com.au/Read more: Everything you need to know about charging electric cars

Although electric vehicles (EVs) may seem a little intimidating to the uninitiated, in very basic terms they are exactly like your mobile phone, only much heavier and with more speakers. Both have rechargeable lithium-ion batteries and if you want them to work, they need to be plugged into an external source for recharging. 

Even by Elon Musk’s standards the unveiling of the Tesla Cybertruck was shocking.

The definition of a hybrid car is easier to explain than the inner workings of one. In this guide we’ll try and answer all the important questions so that you can tell your series hybrid from a plug-in hybrid.

Why are electric vehicles so expensive?

What does MHEV stand for?

With most major manufacturers pledging to phase out or significantly reduce the production of internal-combustion-engine (ICE) vehicles in the coming years in favour of electric ones, it seems like EVs are the car of the future - although it’s not the first time all-electric cars have been touted as such.

What are hydrogen cars? How do they work? And, how do they compare to battery electric vehicles.

Electric cars have had a slow start in Australia, mainly because the odds are stacked against them when it comes to the great distances between our population centres.

Hybrid cars may sound like some impossibly complicated technology - as if internal-combustion engines weren’t tricky enough - but the exact opposite is true. What they are, and what they do, is as simple as making a cup of tea. Hybrids are just cars with both a petrol or diesel-powered combustion engine, and an electric motor powered by a battery - it’s as simple as that. A hybrid is a combination of two things - like a tea bag and hot water - in this case an engine, powered by fuel, and a motor, powered by electricity (from a battery, which you must keep charged up, just like your phone).There are, however, a few different types of hybrids that you should become acquainted with, so if you’re wondering ‘Are hybrid cars good?’, there’s no short, simple answer, since there are advantages and disadvantages of hybrid cars that vary between each type. The short answer, of course, would be yes, they are good… for reducing your fuel use and your emissions.Hybrid cars are gaining in popularity - over 17 million hybrid vehicles have been sold globally since their emergence on the market in 1997 - and are usually seen as a half-way point between ICE vehicles and Electric Vehicles (EVs) for those not ready to go fully electric yet. Below you’ll find some facts regarding both the disadvantages and benefits of hybrid cars should you be considering the hybrid route in the near future. Hybrid Electric Vehicle (HEV)When people talk about a ‘hybrid’, this is what they usually mean: a vehicle that features a fuel-consuming ICE, as well as a battery-powered electric motor. In a standard hybrid, the ICE is the main source of power, with the electric motor chiefly used as a way to add power during instances like acceleration, or starting the car up quickly after it has been idling at traffic lights.A hybrid’s battery is self-charging, which happens thanks to a process called ‘regenerative braking’, where kinetic energy captured when the vehicle slows down or comes to a stop is either transferred to the battery for storage or transferred directly to the motor for immediate use. There’s also what’s called a Mild Hybrid Electric Vehicle (MHEV), where the electric motor battery is much smaller than a standard hybrid, and therefore it only assists in a very - as you’d guess from the name - mild capacity. The starter motor in mild hybrids also functions as an electricity generator, sending energy back to the battery after ignition. You may also hear about range-extender hybrids (REx) - this is when an ICE is used only to create energy for the battery, with an electric motor always powering the vehicle’s wheels. Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle (PHEV)PHEVs have been less common in Australia, but that’s changing thanks to an increase in models from a large swathe of car manufacturers, most notably Mitsubishi.The first major difference between a PHEV and a standard hybrid is that PHEVs use the battery-powered electric motor as the chief source of power, with the ICE really only there to act as an emergency back-up should you run into problems and find yourself out of charge.This means the battery packs in PHEVs are bigger, resulting in a larger all-electric driving range. The second major difference is that the battery in a PHEV needs to be plugged in (hence the Plug-in part of the title) to an external power source to be charged, like a home socket, wallbox charger or a public charging station. ProsBetter for the environment. While hybrids aren’t zero-emission, like EVs, they do cut down on harmful greenhouse gas emissions from the tailpipe, meaning your hybrid is being a little kinder to the planet (the difference a mild hybrid makes is negligible).Better fuel consumption. The bonus of having a battery-pack means you’re relying on your gas-guzzling ICE a whole lot less, reducing your fuel intake and saving yourself money in the process. A lot of hybrids will also let you drive in ‘all-electric’ mode, at least some of the time, meaning you theoretically could go without paying another cent for fuel altogether. PHEVs mostly rely on electricity rather than petrol, with the former being considerably cheaper than the latter. Better performance. The combination of an ICE and an electric motor adds extra power and enhanced performance to a hybrid, since electric motors require zero revs to achieve maximum torque. And, in ideal conditions, you’re getting power from both sources at once.No range anxiety. There needn’t be a fear of your battery running out of charge and finding yourself becoming stranded, since the ICE is always there to provide support and back-up when needed. In regards to HEVs, there’s also no need to every worry about charging, either, since the car recharges the battery itself. ConsCost. While prices have slowly been coming down as popularity increases, hybrids are still more expensive than ICE vehicles, which can be a deterrent to some. It can be argued this cost is made up for by savings in fuel, but that doesn’t take away the fact that up-front costs are still more expensive. More expensive to maintain. The combo of an ICE and a battery pack/electric motor means there’s potentially more that can go wrong with the vehicle, making it more expensive to repair. Degradation of the battery over time is also something to be aware of, although this usually happens over a period of years (typically batteries are guaranteed for eight years). Charging infrastructure. PHEVs of course require charging, which is easy enough to do at home, but if you’re out and about looking for a public charger, you may notice that Australia’s charging infrastructure isn’t quite where it should be (although public chargers are increasing in number around the country, which is promising). Luggage space. The inclusion of large battery packs in hybrids, particularly PHEVs, can sometimes result in less luggage space within the vehicle.