突然间，我对电动汽车产生了兴趣

我所住的共管公寓大楼的房东董事会决定在大楼停车场安装2级电动汽车充电站。如果房东们今后需要更多这样的充电站，董事会将增加充电站。

The Board of Directors at my Condominium building decided to install a Level 2 electrical vehicle charger station into the garage in a public parking spot. It has a long term goal to put more of them into owner parking spots later upon demand.

电动汽车（EV）和电力-燃油混合动力汽车变得越来越流行，因为许多车主都被其“绿色”环保标签所吸引。尽管已证明它们比同类柴油车辆有更多的排碳足迹（前提是发电厂用的化石燃料的比例），但许多人仍未意识到个事实。我在以前的一篇文章中讨论了这个问题。想要阅读这篇文章，请点击 http://chinesenewsgroup.com/news/666626。

Electric cars (EV's) and plug-in hybrid vehicles are becoming popular as many drivers are attracted by their “green” labels. Even though they are proven to be carrying a larger carbon footprint than diesel vehicles of the same class (subject to the level of fossil fuel generated electricity they use), many are not aware of this study. This topic was discussed under one of my earlier articles : http://chinesenewsgroup.com/news/666626.



 
如果发电使用的燃料使用了60％以上的碳燃料，电动汽车的碳足迹就会高过燃油汽车。在安大略省，目前只有不到10％的电力生产使用碳燃料（天然气）。因此可以肯定地说，在安大略省使用电动汽车确实有助于减少碳排放。

The validity for the statement above is determined by the power generating stations using 60% or more of carbon fuels. In Ontario, less than 10% of electric power generation currently involved the use of carbon fuels (natural gas). It is therefore safe to say that the use of electric vehicles in Ontario does help to reduce the emission of carbon gases.

我的公寓大楼在安装电动汽车充电站（EV充电器）时遇到了困难。许多较老的建筑物不具备满足这些设备额外用电需求，变压器容量不够。如何改造会涉及花钱很多的电器设备的采购，而且，市场上有些这些电气设备可能不适合公寓大楼。市场上只有数量有限的设备适合公寓大楼，供应商采取先到先得的方式卖给买家。

Condominiums are facing difficulties when it comes to the installation of Electric Vehicle Chargers (EV Chargers). Many older buildings do not have the electrical transformer capacities to accommodate the extra electrical demands from these devices. Corrections to these deficiencies can involve large sums in procuring electrical equipment and facilities for their placements that may not be available to the Condominium corporations. In the end, only a limited number of devices can be made available to owners on a first come, first serve basis.

作为公寓管理委员会的董事，我参与了大楼的第一批EV充电站的研究和采购。在此过程中，我对电动汽车充电站有了更多的了解，包括各种类型的EV充电器及其功能：

As a director serving on the Condominium Board, I was involved in the research and procurement of our first EV Chargers. My knowledge base increased now to include the various types of EV Chargers and their functions:



1级（L1）充电站：使用的充电器是你在购买电动汽车所附带的充电器。这些充电器的一端可以插入电力120伏的标准插座，另一端直接插入汽车。它可以在20小时内充电200公里（124英里）。

Level 1 (L1) Charging Stations - The charger is included with the car at the time of purchase. These chargers can be plugged with one end into any standard 120V outlet, with the other end being plugged directly into the car. It can charge 200 kilometres (124 miles) in 20 hours.

2级（L2）充电站：使用的充电器在买车时就要购买，但与汽车分开出售。它们需要稍微复杂一些的设置，因为它们需要240伏的插座。根据电动汽车和充电器的不同，充电速度可提高3至7倍。所有这些充电器都有一个SAE J1772连接器，通常必须由电工安装。将30千瓦时的电动汽车（电动汽车的标准电池）充满电大约需要四个小时，这使您可以充分利用电动汽车的动力，尤其是在充电时间有限的情况下。

Level 2 (L2) Charging Stations - These chargers are sold separately from the car, although they’re often purchased at the same time. They require a slightly more complicated setup, as they are plugged into a 240V outlet which allows charging 3 to 7 times faster depending on the electric car and the charger. All of these chargers have an SAE J1772 connector and usually have to be installed by an electrician. It takes around four hours to fully charge a 30-kWh battery car (standard battery for an electric car), which allows you to make the most out of driving your EV, especially when you have a limited time to charge.

3级（L3）充电站：也称为直流快速充电站（DCFC）。使用的充电器比1级和2级充电器的功能强大，这意味着您可以使用它们更快地为EV充电。话虽如此，有些车辆无法使用3级充电器。因此，购买这种充电器之前要好好了解一下这类充电器。 3级充电器非常昂贵（最高可达50,000元），但充电速度也非常快。它可以在大约一小时内充满电池的80%，可以行驶400公里。

Level 3 (L3) Charging Stations - also called Direct Current Fast Chargers (DCFC) are much more powerful than level 1 and 2 stations, meaning you can charge an EV much faster with them. that being said, some vehicles cannot charge at level 3 chargers. It is necessary to do your homework on the model you want to purchase. The Level 3 Charger is very expensive (can be up to $50,000) but also very fast. It can charge up to 80% of a 400 Kilometre range battery in about one hour.



购买什么样的电动汽车需要做功课，并考虑所要使用的充电器，还要考虑行车的路途中可否充电。电动汽车附带的连线将是首要考虑因素。如果你有充电器却因无法连线，那是非常懊恼的事！加拿大和美国的所有电动汽车都可以使用SAE J1772 EV插头充电，但特斯拉电动汽车除外。特斯拉拥有自己的连接器，但你可以用适配器。 J1772连接器仅可用于1级和2级充电。

Buying the proper Electric Vehicle involves doing your homework and planning which charger(s) you will be using and available to you on your regularly travelled routes. The connector coming with your Electric Vehicle will be a top consideration, it will be very frustrating if you pull up to a charger and cannot use it! All electric cars in Canada and in the US can charge using the SAE J1772 EV plug and Tesla cars come with such an adapter in addition to its own connector. The J1772 connector is only available for level 1 and 2 charging.

对于3级充电器快速充电，“ CHArge de MOve”（CHAdeMO）和SAE Combo（也称CCS）是电动汽车制造商最常用的连接器。这两个连接器不可互换，这意味着具有CHAdeMO端口的汽车无法使用SAE Combo插头充电，反之亦然。这有点像汽油车无法用柴油泵加油。

For fast charging with Level 3 Chargers, the “CHArge de MOve” (CHAdeMO) and SAE Combo (also called CCS for “Combo Charging System”) are the most used connectors by electric cars manufacturers. These two connectors are not interchangeable, meaning a car with a CHAdeMO port cannot charge using an SAE Combo plug and vice versa. It’s kind of like a gas vehicle that can’t fill up at a diesel pump.



特斯拉电动汽车充电自搞了一套东西。它的连接器用于特斯拉2级和3级增压器充电站，并且仅与特斯拉汽车兼容。但是，特斯拉附带了用于J1772连接和CHAdeMO连接的适配器。

Tesla vehicles are in a category of its own. Their connector is used on level 2 and level 3 Supercharger Tesla charging stations and are only compatible with Tesla cars. However, Tesla's come with adapters for both the J1772 connections and CHAdeMO connections.

选择电动汽车是一件非常复杂的事情。更好的“绿色”选择可能是“插电式混合动力车”，即使用汽油但也可以在充电站进行充电使之成为“绿色能源”车辆。这些车在电用完了后不会让你在路上抛锚。一旦电没了，这类车将转用汽油燃料。这类车将是我下一篇文章的主题，因为我目前正在市场中寻找我下一辆“绿色”汽车。

Choosing an electric vehicle is a very complicated matter. A better “green” choice may be the “plug-in hybrids” - vehicles that use gasoline yet allowing for electrical charging at Charging Stations to optimize the use of “Green energies”. These vehicles will not leave you stranded while looking for a charging station. They will cut over to gasoline fuel once the electrical charge is exhausted. They will be the subject of my next article as I am currently exploring the market to find my next “green” vehicle.