The best wallbox for my electric car

The best wallbox for my electric car

You can also connect an electric car to a conventional Schuko socket in the garage, but this has two disadvantages: the power line gets very hot, which poses a risk of fire, and the charging process takes what feels like an eternity. When buying an electric car, we strongly recommend purchasing a wallbox. This special charger may only be connected to the home power network by an electrician and mounted on the wall of the garage or carport. More and more car dealerships that sell electric cars are offering the installation of the appropriate wallbox as an additional service.

The advantages of a wallbox

While the charging power via a normal household socket is only 2.3 kW, a wallbox delivers 11 kW, some models even 22 kW charging current, which drastically shortens the charging time. A wallbox with 11kW charging power charges a vehicle battery around five times faster than a household socket. However, the charging time also depends on other factors:

• Leistungsfähigkeit des im Fahrzeug eingebauten On-Board Chargers – je leistungsfähiger, umso schneller, aber auch umso teurer in der Anschaffung.
• Kapazität des Lithium-Ionen Akkus – je größer die Ladekapazität, umso länger dauert die Aufladung.
• Außentemperatur – je kälter, umso langsamer ist der Ladevorgang.
• Mehrfachbelegung – Ladesäulen mit mehreren Anschlüssen teilen die Ladeleistung auf alle angeschlossenen Fahrzeuge auf.

Direct current or alternating current

A wallbox in the garage of your own home or in the underground car park of a residential complex usually provides alternating current (AC). The electric car is connected with a charging cable with a standard Type 2 plug and the battery is gently charged over several hours. The charging process takes significantly less time at public fast charging stations where direct current (DC) is drawn. Theoretically, the output of these charging stations is 150 kW to 350 kW, but in practice most electric cars cannot absorb this amount of electricity. Nevertheless, electric cars equipped with appropriate on-board chargers and the right plugs, such as the Tesla 3 or BMW i3 models, can be charged to up to 80 percent battery capacity at DC charging stations in a record time of around 10 to 60 minutes. Either the CCS (Combined Charging System) or CHAdeMO (Charge de Move) plug type can be found at such charging stations. The CCS plug has the advantage over the Type 2 plug in that it can be used for both AC charging and DC charging. Like the CHAdeMO plug, it is usually not part of the standard equipment and must be purchased separately. Basically, fast charging with direct current is convenient, but it puts a strain on the battery and shortens its lifespan. The electric car should therefore be charged using the in-house wallbox as often as possible.

The choice of wallbox

In their wallbox test published in 2021, ADAC and ÖAMTC took a close look at six common products. Conclusion: Four received the rating “highly recommended”, one “recommended” and one “not recommended”. The results in detail:   

• Die beste Box im Test war die TX-1000, vertrieben von der österreichischen Firma Kostad. Mit rund 1.100 Euro ist das Modell zwar relativ kostspielig, allerdings erhält man dafür auch eine umfangreiche Ausstattung und eine App, die den Ladezustand anzeigt, und mit der sich der Ladestrom in Echtzeit einstellen lässt.
• Ebenfalls gute Ergebnisse gab es für die zwei günstigsten Testkandidaten: Vestel EVC04-AC11SW-T2P und der Volkswagen ID.Charger Connect kosten rund 800 bzw. 700 Euro und können in jeweils unterschiedlichen Kategorien überzeugen: Während die Box von Vestel über eine sehr gute App verfügt, die sogar zeitgesteuertes Laden ermöglicht, bietet der VW Charger eines der besten Gesamtpakete im Test. Beiden gemein ist das vorbildliche Kabelmanagement.
• Mit der Note „gut“ wurde außerdem die hestoc electrify eBox wr30 beurteilt, die ebenfalls über ausgewogene Grundeigenschaften verfügt.
• Weniger gut erging es im ÖAMTC-Test der Wallbox Pro Connect 11 kW von Stark-In-Strom.de. Bei einem Testszenario unterbrach die Box das Laden bei der Simulation des Defekts ‚gasende Batterie‘ nicht. In geschlossenen Räumen könnte das gefährlich werden.

A year earlier, the mobility club tested four wallboxes with load management that are suitable for connecting several electric cars at the same time. Three wallboxes from four different providers were selected.

• drei ABL Wallboxen eMH1 (11 kW) mit homeCLU (Steuereinheit)
• eine KEBA KeContact P30 x-series (Leader) und zwei KeContact P30 c-series (Follower) (je 22 kW)
• drei WEBASTO LIVE (je 22 kW)
• ein TMH ChargePilot mit drei unterschiedlichen OCPP-fähigen 22 kW Wallboxen

Conclusion: All four systems reliably divide the available power between several cars - or, if necessary, suspend the charging process until enough power is available again, thereby preventing the network from being overloaded. There is still room for improvement: the operation could be more intuitive. In addition, it is often hidden from users what exactly the system is currently doing and how it regulates the available charging power in the background. The test examined and assessed assembly, configuration and commissioning as well as static and dynamic operation in various load scenarios. The number of possible charging points ranges from six (ABL) to theoretically unlimited (TMH). The boxes from ABL, KEBA and Webasto only work with systems of the same type; at TMH, wall boxes from different manufacturers can be integrated into the load management system.

Funding for charging stations

In Austria, single or two-family houses currently receive 600 euros in funding per charging box. In apartment buildings there are subsidies of 900 euros for individual units and 1,800 euros for shared facilities. The funding is paid out by the Federal Ministry for Climate Protection, Environment, Energy, Mobility, Innovation and Technology. It should be noted that the installation of a wallbox may only be carried out by an electrician or a licensed electrical contractor. If the power is 3.6 kVA or higher, the network operator must also be informed. In addition to security considerations, this is also a prerequisite for receiving funding from the BMK.