Charge Points Installed by ESB E-Cars

Country / jurisdiction: Ireland · Year: 2016 · Status: In force · Level: National · Type: Voluntary

There are 3 types of charge points being installed by ESB ecars nationwide: home charge points, public charge points and fast charge points.

Home charge points

A home charge point is usually installed on an external wall of the house and electric car charging is facilitated through domestic electricity supply. An electric car will draw single phase 16A (3.6kW) when connected to the home charge point. A full charge from 0% will take between 6 and 8 hours. If the car is plugged in overnight it will be fully charged by the next morning. Some electricity suppliers offer discounted electricity tariffs for night time usage of electricity so electric car charging is most efficient at this time. ESB ecars is installing home charge points free of charge for the first 2,000 electric car owners. For more information follow the steps to buying an electric car and register for a free home charge point.

Public charge points

Public charge points are being installed on-street and in locations such as shopping centres and car parks. They are connected to a local 3-phase electricity supply and depending on the car type and battery size, charging takes between 1 and 6 hours. Public charge points are accessed in a secure manner using a special RFID charge point card which is obtained when registering for electric car charging. To see the public charge point installations see our charge point map.

Charge Point Standards

Ireland has decided to standardise home and public charge points with Mode 3 charging using an IEC Type 2 socket, (commonly referred to as a ‘Mennekes socket’) which is a 7 pin socket. This was as a result of extensive consultation and research with input from car manufacturers about the next generation of electric cars. This Mode 3 charging has additional safety features and communication aspects and will eventually be deployed in all European countries. It is accepted internationally as the safest method of charging. The ‘Mennekes socket’ charge point is compatible with Nissan, Renault, Peugeot, and Mitsubishi electric cars and the next generation of electric cars. This electric car charge point infrastructure is now being rolled out across Ireland.

Fast charge points

Fast charge points can deliver higher power to electric cars resulting in a much shorter charging time than domestic charging. Fast charge points are installed mainly along inter-urban routes to facilitate nationwide electric car travel. Fast charging can be done using 3-phase, 63A AC (44kW) or 120A, 400V DC (50kW). A 50kW DC fast charge point can charge a suitable electric car up to 80% in 20-30 minutes. The Nissan Leaf, Mitsubishi iMiEV, Peugeot iOn and Citroen C-ZERO support DC fast charging. Fast charge points are designed to “power up” electric cars at a faster rate. They deliver up to 50 kW of direct current via a special connector developed by the CHAdeMO Association.

Official source: https://www.irishevowners.ie/charge-points