EVSE or the Grid Charger
Charging Station at every Ford Dealership. What about you?
Do you want to be understood or do you want to be right? The correct term for level I or level II chargers for EVs is “Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment” or EVSE. But we will call it a charger as this is the most common term. Level III (when it is adopted) will really be a charger. Let me explain. When an EV is plugged into the grid (AC outlet) at level I and II, the grid is supplying AC current to charge a DC battery. Well, that cannot be done without changing it from AC to DC (see how our company got its name). So the charger is a part of the EV and the charger is really a power supply. Also, consider the fact that the HV battery is the most expensive part of the car so the OEM wants to control how it is managed. The HV battery has a very long warranty. When it comes to the level III chargers, now we have a charger. It supplies DC that can go directly to the DC battery. J1772 is a SAE (Society of Automotive Engineers) standard that OEMs have adopted so that all EVs (starting in M/Y 2011) use the same EVSE. Tesla has their own system and uses an adapter for J1772 EVSEs. It applies only to level I and II systems for now.
Level I is 120 volts and Level II is 240 volts in North America. A Level I or II is really an expensive extension cord. Now you know.
