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Refund Policy
This Refund Policy (“ Policy ”) applies to your purchase of products from us, Ultipower Flow Pty Ltd ABN 83 649 357 353.
(a) This Policy covers products that are faulty or incorrect at the time of delivery or you have changed your mind on receiving the product. If the product was working at the time of delivery and has subsequently become faulty, then our Warranty Policy applies.
(b) We may change this Policy from time to time by updating this page. You should check this page from time to time to ensure that you are happy with any changes.
(a) If you receive a faulty product, we will, at our discretion, either repair or replace the product.
(b) If the fault is minor and you would prefer to keep the product, we may offer you a partial refund of the purchase price as compensation.
(c) We will arrange and pay for any return freight if we require the faulty product returned, and for any delivery costs to get the repaired or replaced product back to you.
(d) When a faulty product is returned for replacement, that product must first be returned to us before a replacement product is sent out.
(e) If we cannot repair or replace your faulty product, we may offer you a similar alternative or a refund of your order.
(f) If the product was working on delivery and you are claiming warranty, our Warranty Policy applies. see our Warranty Policy.
(a) In the event you receive an incorrect product, you can return the product as long as it remains unused and unopened with the original packaging intact.
(b) If the product is incorrect due to an error by you, you will need to pay for all delivery costs. If the error is by us, we will pay for delivery costs.
(a) Generally, we do not provide a refund if you change your mind and no longer want the product you ordered or purchased from us.
(b) We may, at our discretion, offer you a refund or exchange for the product, provided that:
(i) you notify us of your request for refund or exchange within 14 calender days of the delivery; and
(ii) the product is returned to us in the condition in which that product was delivered to you with original packaging and in a re-saleable condition.
We do not offer a refund or exchange for the product which was customised for you or which we purchased from the supplier specifically for your order.
Any delivery costs relating to the return or exchange of the product must be paid by you.
Notwithstanding the other provisions of this Policy, we may refuse to provide a replacement or refund for the product purchased by you if:
(a) the fault of the product was caused or contributed to by you; or
(b) you knew or were made aware of the fault of the product when you purchased it.
(a) If you wish to enquire about any refund, repair or replacement, you can contact us via email at operation@ultipower.com.au or by calling at 1300 75 75 77.
(b) If you have contacted us and confirmed your return will be accepted, please send the product to the specified address.
(c) Please double confirm the return address before you book the freight. Please include a copy of your invoice/invoice number, and details on why you are returning the product to help with timely processing.
(d) Unless otherwise specifically provided in this Policy, we do not refund delivery costs, insurance charges or lost returned product.
Electric Vehicle Charging Station Types | AC, DC charging station
This page on Electric Vehicle Charging Station Types cover AC charging station and DC charging station used for electric vehicle. The feature wise difference between AC charging station and DC charging station is also described.
There are different types of EV chargers as follows.
AC charging Station
Image Courtesy:Littelfuse, Inc.
AC charging stations are categorized into following sub types. AC level 1 : It delivers AC power from the wall socket to vehicle’s on board charger. There are two modes viz. mode 1 and mode 2. Input is 120V AC, single phase in both the modes. In Mode 1, output is 250V AC single phase (16A max.) or 480V AC three phase (16A max.). In Mode 2, output is 250V AC single phase (32A max.) or 480V AC three phase (32A max.).
AC level 2 : It delivers AC power from electrical supply to vehicle’s on board charger. It is permanently connected to AC supply with control pilot and shock protection. Input is 208 to 240 V single phase AC. Mode 3 falls under this category with 250V AC single phase (32A) or 480V AC three phase (32A).
The figure-1 depicts AC charging station. It provides overload protection and ESD suppression. It takes AC input and delivers AC output. Wireless communication such as NFC is employed for providing user access through NFC cards. Modern electric vehicle charging stations communicate with network server via OCPP protocol.
DC charging Station
Image Courtesy:Littelfuse, Inc.
It delivers DC power bypassing the vehicle’s on board charger. Input: 380V-600V AC, three phase. Output: DC, Mode 4 falls under this type. Refer EV charging levels which mentions block diagrams of AC level-1, level-2, level-3 and DC type.
The EV charging stations offer efficiency, safety and reliability to the users. EV charging station manufacturers are ABB, Ample, Blink, BP, ChargePoint, Daimler Mercedes Benz, Eaton, Efacec, EVgo, EVBox, G2Mobility, Hyundai, Pacific Gas and Electric, Phihong, Renault, RWE, Schneider Electric, Shell, Siemens, Webasto etc.
Understanding AC Charging Is Critical to Understanding EVs
A vehicle’s AC charging abilities are arguably just as important as its DC fast charging equipment.
Understanding the intricacies of electricity and how it works in relation to electric vehicles (EVs) can be confusing. Before I bought a Mitsubishi i-MiEV and before I started heavily reporting on EVs, I didn’t know much about currents, amps, or watts, beyond wiring a D battery to a lightbulb back in the fourth grade. Through my journey as an owner and by testing a Tesla Model 3, a Ford Mustang Mach-E, a Volkswagen ID.4, and several other all-new battery-powered vehicles, I’ve learned which metrics are important, which numbers are misleading, and which are simply for marketing. One of the key aspects of EV charging that’s often overlooked is basic alternating current (AC) charging.
I’ve realized that manufacturers often list big charging time promises without explaining exactly how they came up with those numbers. It’s not as simple as universally plugging it in for one amount of time. Even when there are additional details, automakers tend to FOCUS on direct current (DC) fast charging times, but DC fast charging can be expensive, temperamental, inconsistent, restrictive to certain cars, and could have a negative long-term impact on the environment and the economy. AC charging specifications are too often left by the wayside, and that shouldn’t be the case. Heck, I’d say the speed at which a vehicle can AC charge is more important than its DC fast charging abilities.
This cutaway lets you see generally how the Porsche Taycan’s plug wiring leads toward the batteries. Porsche
Charging Time Requires Detailed Context
In nearly every bit of marketing information for an electric car, there will be some sort of statement that will quantify that the vehicle can charge a certain amount (or fully charge) within a certain time period. On its face, It seems like that statement is a helpful, accurate piece of information that tells potential buyers and journalists alike about the speed at which vehicles can charge. Hogwash.
Barring any weird charging behaviors, such as the Ford Mustang Mach-E’s slowed charging for the last 20 percent of the battery capacity or the i-MiEV’s penchant for stalling while charging, recharging time is a simple math problem. However fast the vehicle can accept charge and however fast the cord can dispense power should determine charging time. No more, no less.
Why Does That Matter?
In addition to the cost and limited availability of DC fast charging, stations that provide the service are also much more expensive to build. They require three-phase power, which is typically only found in high-traffic commercially zoned spaces. By comparison, 240-volt AC chargers can be easily integrated into most residential or business areas without too much effort. That means it’ll be much easier to find a Level 2 charger than it is to find a DC fast charger.
In the past, I was skeptical of Level 2 charging and I initially thought that an EV is useless without DC fast charging. In certain situations, that might have some truth, as my i-MiEV is inarguably a less useful car without the CHAdeMO DC fast charging found on the topmost SE Premium trim. However, after more time with the car, I realized the i-MiEV isn’t really limited by its lack of DC fast charging, it’s more limited by its very slow onboard AC charging. I’ll explain.
When it was new, the i-MiEV came with a 16-kWh battery. Mitsubishi claimed an approximately six-hour recharge time from flat to full on a 240-volt power source. By comparison, a brand-new Mach-E with an 88-kWh battery takes about 8.5 hours to recharge from flat to full on a 240-volt outlet. Where did these numbers come from? Why does the i-MiEV fully charge only slightly faster despite its much smaller battery?
It’s because the i-MiEV’s onboard charger is tiny. The i-MiEV’s onboard AC charger was only rated for 3.3 kW when new. Add in charging losses and the i-MiEV’s weird battery smoothing, you’ll get Mitsubishi’s six-hour number. Comparatively, the Mach-E in 88-kWh battery trim uses an 11.5-kW charger. Including charging losses, the Mach-E should charge from flat to full in Ford’s claimed 8.5 hours. When you consider how chargers work, things get trickier.
Oh God, Math
Charging speed is a simple equation: amps (how much volume of electricity) times volts (the speed at which the electricity can flow) equals wattage (amp x volt = watts). Electricity flows in a sine wave. So, 110 volts is basically half of that sine wave. The full sine wave is 240 volts, and three-phase electricity is two additional sine waves that flow in opposite directions of the first sine wave.
That sounds more complicated than it really is, but I’ll illustrate it with Ford’s own charging station. The Ford home charging station, when installed by an electrician, is 48 amps, multiplied by 240 volts equals 11,520 watts, or about 11.5 kilowatts. This is the max speed at which the Mach-E can charge on AC power, meaning it should easily be able to deliver the Mach-E’s 8.5-hour promised time.
However, Ford’s charging station won’t charge my i-MiEV any faster. My i-MiEV only has a 3.3-kilowatt charger, meaning that unless I swap the I-MiEV’s onboard charger for a better one, there’s no way to make the i-MiEV charge faster than six hours.
This 110V outlet is rated for 16 amps, the max my cheap level 1 and 2 home charger is rated for. Here, the car can only charge at a max speed of 1.7KW. Even if I were to plug into 240V power, the cord can only handle 16 amps, meaning the max this cord can handle is 3.8 KW. Kevin Williams
The same is true in reverse. I recently bought an Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment (EVSE) cord that doesn’t require any sort of electrician to install, just simple access to a 110-volt or 240-volt cord. This cord is limited to 16 amps; multiplied by the 240 volts expelled from the cord, which means my EVSE can only output 3,840 watts, or about 3.8 kilowatts, per hour. Not much, but perfectly fine for my i-MiEV that can only take 3.3 kilowatts per hour anyway. Unfortunately, the same cord would be woefully small for the Mustang Mach-E. Including charging losses, an 88-kWh battery in a Mach-E premium would take more than 25 hours to replenish from flat to full.
Don’t Underestimate the Importance of AC Charging
There are a couple of reasons why we should talk about AC charging. It’s common for EV owners to warm or cool their vehicles when they’re charging. Because the i-MiEV’s onboard charger is so small, it can’t do that. It can only draw 3.3 kilowatts at a time. Its onboard heating uses 5.5 kilowatts just to start, then settles down to 3 kilowatts when warm. The i-MiEV can’t draw enough power to both charge and heat its cabin. Mitsubishi did include a special remote to allow the car to enter a low-power heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) mode while charging, but it will still significantly affect charging speed. Also, mine is missing.
Adding to its importance, AC charging will likely always be far more ubiquitous than DC fast charging. Understanding your vehicle’s AC onboard charging limits will help paint a more realistic picture of how fast an EV will actually charge. There’s no point in spending cash on a home charger that your new EV can’t even utilize entirely. For example, systems like Ford’s 48-amp home chargers or Tesla’s near 100-amp destination charger service is a lot of power. A lot of older homes in the USA are only rated for 100-amp service, but establishing 48- or even 60-amp service per charger or 100-amp service at a business is a lot easier for a lone electrician to do, compared to ripping up the ground for three-phase DC fast charging service.
You won’t be confused about electric vehicle charging after reading this
A significant factor that scares people away from electric vehicles is confusion around charging. Every gas station in the land is fitted with nozzles that will fill any gasoline-powered car’s fuel tank. But not all EVs use the same plug, and then there’s the matter of alternating current (AC) versus direct current (DC) systems. And what do the different levels of charging mean?
The good news is that it’s not that complicated, and we’re here to explain everything you need to know.
EVs require electricity to charge, as the E in EV suggests. But that electricity can be AC, like the appliances in your home, or DC, like a USB device, only many times more powerful.
First, a quick note on charging times. Many factors can affect how long charging takes, including the capacity of the battery, its state of charge at the start of the session, the battery’s temperature at the start of the session, the actual cell chemistry, and, of course, how much power can be drawn by the EV’s battery. Charges can range from a few miles of range added every hour, if you’re relying on a household 120 V socket, to as much as 100 miles of range in 10 minutes if you’re charging from a powerful DC charger.
It’s also worth noting that an EV’s battery has a gross capacity that is larger than the useable capacity. Automakers build some overhead into the pack that never gets fully depleted, and we have seen some car companies increase the net capacity with software updates as they become more comfortable with monitoring battery life.
On that topic, remember that any EV sold in the US must have an eight-year/100,000-mile battery warranty. And despite any scary stories you may have heard, there is no reason to think an EV’s battery will have to be replaced any sooner than a gasoline-powered car needs a new engine. Finally, since Ars is a US-based site for a primarily US-based audience, this article is focused on US EVs and chargers.
Level 1
Let’s start with AC charging, the least-powerful option that takes the longest time to recharge a battery. Most EV owners can charge at home, and at-home charging means using AC. AC charging is also more kind to a lithium-ion EV battery than fast charging, although, again, the myth of deteriorating EV batteries is a misconception; your battery should last the lifetime of the car, just as an engine or fuel tank does.
The cheapest way to do AC charging, and the slowest, is to use a normal 120 V outlet. That’s unlikely to supply the car’s battery with much more than 1.5 kW, and since EV batteries are mostly in the range of 60–120 kWh, you can see you’ll be in for an impractically long wait if you want to take a battery from a low state of charge back to 100 percent. In fact, many OEMs have stopped listing level 1 charge times in their press kits.
But AC charging will add between two to four miles of range each hour, and plenty of EV owners do use level 1 charging, particularly on older EVs with smaller batteries, like the Chevrolet Bolt or Nissan Leaf. And while a full charge might take several days to charge starting from empty if it has a big battery (like a Hummer EV), an EV primarily used for short trips is much easier to keep topped off so that each morning starts with a full battery.
Level 2
The next option still uses AC electricity but at a higher voltage and amperage—240 V and as much as 80 A, although more likely somewhere closer to half of that. How much power an EV can draw from a level 2 supply depends on that car’s onboard charger and the amperage of the outlet that the EV supply equipment (EVSE) is connected to. Some might be as low as 3.3 kW in the case of a plug-in hybrid EV, but 7.7 kW or 9.6 kW are common for battery EVs, with a handful able to charge at 19.2 kW.
An EV usually comes from the manufacturer with a portable EVSE, most often rated at 32 A. For level 2 charging at home at higher rates of power, an EV owner will need to install a hardwired EVSE, either from the OEM or a third party like Juicebox. Also, the free chargers you might find at a shopping mall or parking garage will almost certainly be level 2 chargers.
Again, it’s impossible to give exact charging times to 100 percent without knowing the make and model of the EV and the EVSE’s power, but a level 2 charger will typically be sufficient to recharge a battery EV overnight. You can expect a level 2 charger to add between 10 to 20 miles of range each hour, depending on the specifics of that EV.
Level 3
Using DC to recharge an EV is where things get much quicker—and more expensive. Between permits and upgraded electrical infrastructure and the actual cost of the DC charger, plus any battery storage, a DC fast charger can cost anywhere from 150,000 to 200,000, making them impractical for home use. But they’re useful if you need to drive farther than your battery’s range or if you don’t have the ability to charge at home, as a level 3 charge—more commonly called a DC fast charge—will rarely take even an hour.
Unlike with AC charging, DC charge times are invariably only quoted to 80 percent. The line that describes a battery charging over time is not linear; it’s S-shaped. That means the first few kWh are charged much more quickly than the last few, and it can take as long to fast-charge a battery from 80 to 100 percent as it can from 10 to 80 percent.
As ever, actual charging times will depend on a multitude of factors. Between 30 to 40 minutes to 80 percent is quite common for new EVs, particularly if they’re limited to lower power or have battery capacities on the large side. Most EV batteries operate at 400 V, but some use 800 V or even 920 V, and these EVs can charge much more rapidly if they’re plugged into a 350 kW level 3 machine. This is how a Porsche Taycan can charge to 80 percent in 22.5 minutes or a Kia EV6 or Hyundai Ioniq 5 can charge to 80 percent in 18 minutes.
One thing worth bearing in mind is that many charging networks currently appear more focused on deploying new chargers than maintaining existing ones. Although many public level 3 chargers have credit card readers, they’re often inoperable, and you may need to download the charging network’s app (such as Electrify America, EVGo, ChargePoint, and so on) and create an account to use a charger with the least amount of hassle.
Plugs
Then there’s the plug business. While it’s true that not all EVs use the same plugs, the reality in 2022 is that there is, in fact, a de facto standard across the US that every new EV sold today uses, with one large and one small exception. This means that it doesn’t matter if you drive a Volkswagen ID.4, a Mercedes-Benz EQS, a Nissan Ariya, or a Kia EV6 (to name but four)—all of them use the same plugs and can charge at the same chargers.
Level 1 and level 2 chargers both use the same plug, the SAE J1772. It’s a relatively bulky thing with five pins and is rated for everything from 1.4 kW to 19.2 kW.
The de facto standard level 3 plug is the Combined Charging System (CCS) Type 1. It’s a much bulkier plug since it combines the already big J1772 plug with two large DC pins below, all attached to a thick and heavy cable. If you buy a new EV today from almost any car maker, it will use CCS Type 1 to fast-charge.
The big exception is Tesla. The company deployed the first of its Superchargers—its brand name for level 3 chargers—in September 2012, while the rest of the auto industry was still getting its act together. So it went with a proprietary plug of its own, a much more elegant and much lighter design. However, even this may change.
The European Union isn’t crazy about companies locking customers into proprietary plugs, and European Teslas actually use the European version of CCS, Type 2. Here in the US, federal funding for charging networks requires that the chargers adhere to industry standards, which has led Tesla to explore the idea of adding CCS Type 1 plugs to Superchargers at some point in the future.
The small exception is the Nissan Leaf, which used a rival Japanese charging standard called CHAdeMO. This offered an even bigger, even more cumbersome connector. What’s more, it required an EV to have two separate sockets, one CHAdeMO and a second J1772, unlike CCS, which includes the J1772 port. CHAdeMO remains a thing in Japan, but the only EV on sale in the US that still uses CHAdeMO is the Nissan Leaf, and that model is reportedly not long for this world. Consequently, CHAdeMO chargers may be harder to find, but every Electrify America location should include at least one CHAdeMO plug.
Route planning
Of course, in order to charge an EV on the road, you have to be able to find a public charger. And unlike gas stations, charging stations don’t often advertise themselves with large illuminated signs that are visible from miles away. That means a road trip requires an extra planning step. But don’t worry—it’s not nearly as difficult as having to print out MapQuest directions like we used to do, never mind the olden days of road atlases.
Odds are good that the EV you’re driving will know where all the chargers are and will be happy to navigate you to them via its onboard navigation system. Depending on the car, it might even know the status of the actual chargers there and may even begin heating your battery to ensure the quickest fast charge once you plug in.
But, many EV drivers rely on third-party smartphone apps, including PlugShare and A Better Route Planner (although this one requires a subscription). Usually, these apps let you plan routes, taking into account the battery capacity and efficiency of the EV you’re driving, its starting state of charge, and how much charge you want remaining when you arrive at your destination.
It’s also useful to download the apps for charging networks, as those apps will provide the real-time status of chargers—whether they’re functional, in use, or broken. If you’re in a pinch, especially if you’re driving in rural areas, some dealerships will let you use their level 2 chargers. An app like PlugShare will list those, along with check-ins from users that have successfully charged there.
You can even use the US Department of Energy’s database of EV charging stations website (or its smartphone apps), which as of press time contains 49,430 level 2 and 3 locations in total, of which 6,415 are level 3 fast chargers.
Expect those numbers to grow significantly in the next few years as the federal government spends 5 billion on fast chargers located roughly every 50 miles across the Interstate Highway System.
