Seems like it should be as simple as converting AC to DC., passing on all available voltage (up to a safe limit) to the car, and stopping it when the batteries are full.
Similar to what a wall brick does for your devices on a smaller scale, though the brains are in the device not the wall brick. Why isn’t that done with cars?
I see mention of ‘different technologies’, and ‘better chargers vs lesser chargers’, etc. and I feel like there must be more to it.
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It’s a question of where the AC is converted to DC. At home, this is done by tech inside the car, so you just need to give it AC from the wall. The final speed/efficiency will depend on how much voltage you can make available. A typical wall outlet will charge the car slowly. The type of outlet you use for an electric dryer or stove will charge about twice as fast. Both of these charging levels take hours to fill an EV because the voltage is capped at household levels and the onboard conversion hardware sacrifices efficiency for versatility/portability.
The gas station-style charging stations out in the world use “DC fast” charging. They have their own converters that accept much higher voltages and are generally more efficient. They then deliver DC directly to the car, bypassing the onboard convertor.
DC fast charging is, as its name implies, much faster and hence suitable for a “fill-up” on a long road trip or in exceptional circumstances. However, it would be overkill to install tech like that in homes. Normal overnight charging from a wall outlet is usually enough to fill up a car, or at least offset the day’s usage.
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