Electric Car Charging Stations - List of Locations and How to Charge

Electric vehicle charging stations are places to recharge electric vehicle batteries that are usually found in public or private locations. Electric vehicle charging stations are sometimes referred to as Public Electric Charging Stations (SPLU) or Public Electric Vehicle Charging Stations (SPKLU). In English, these electric vehicle charging stations are known as Electric Vehicle Charging Stations (EVCS).

In the future, electric vehicles will be as common as gasoline-powered cars today. Perhaps in 10 years, you will see many electric vehicles on the roads. You will also see many SPKLU just like gas stations today.

Well, before we welcome that future, there are many things we need to know about electric vehicles and their battery charging.

How to Charge Electric Vehicle Batteries

Actually, charging electric vehicle batteries is quite similar to charging regular batteries. There is a power source, an adapter, and a connector that connects to the battery. There are two types of electric vehicle battery charging: on-board charger and off-board charger.

1. On-board Charger

An on-board charger is a type of charger that is already installed in the electric vehicle. The electricity that enters uses alternating current (AC). This on-board charger functions as an adapter that converts the alternating current (AC) from outside into direct current (DC) and then the power is fed into the battery.

2. Off-board Charger

An off-board charger is a type of charger that is separate from the battery charging system in the vehicle. The incoming electricity is direct current (DC) and is directly fed into the battery.

Most electric vehicles use the on-board charger power system. Off-board chargers are rarely found, but some electric vehicles support off-board charging.

When viewed from the type of electricity during charging, it is divided into two types, namely:

Alternating Current (AC). AC current is further divided into 3 types: slow AC charging, fast AC charging, and induction AC charging.
Direct Current (DC). Usually found in off-board charging cases.

Although there are two types of current during charging, the battery still stores DC current.

How to Charge Electric Vehicles in Indonesia Currently

Electric vehicles can be charged at home or at SPKLU. However, charging an electric vehicle at home takes at least 17 hours from 0% to 100%. Meanwhile, at SPKLU, you can charge in about 3 hours using a regular charger, or 1 hour if using a fast charger.

So how do you charge an electric vehicle at SPKLU in Indonesia, especially the SPKLU provided by PLN? Here’s how.

Install the Charge.IN app
Find the nearest available SPKLU through the Charge.IN app
You already have a LinkAja account and have topped up your balance
Go to the SPKLU
Plug in the Gun that matches your electric vehicle type
Tap the NFC card of the electric vehicle on the charging station for authentication
Scan the QR Code available at the SPKLU, then enter how many kWh you want to charge into the electric vehicle and you will see how much you need to pay
Pay with LinkAja
Wait for the charging process to finish

Easy, right? The procedures for other SPKLU are also quite similar.

Duration of Electric Vehicle Battery Charging

You must be curious, how long does it take to charge an electric vehicle battery and what are the costs?

The duration of electric vehicle battery charging greatly depends on the capacity of the electric vehicle battery. Let’s say an electric vehicle has a battery capacity of 75 kWh. The capacity of a charging station is 22 kW. How long will it take to fully charge that vehicle's battery?

Formula:

Charging time = Battery capacity / Charger capacity

Answer:

Charging time = 75 kWh / 22 kW = 3.409 h

If converted to time, it’s about 3 hours and 25 minutes.

In addition to public charging stations, there are also charging units that can be installed at home. The charging capacity of the home charger is 11.5 kW. How long would it take if using a home-installed charger?

Charging time = 75 kWh / 11.5 kW = 6.521 h. Or if converted to time, it’s about 6 hours and 32 minutes. Quite fast, right? You can leave it and go to sleep. In contrast, public charging is relatively faster. Therefore, to avoid boredom, electric vehicle charging stations are usually located near malls or cafes.

Calculating Electric Vehicle Charging Costs

Electric vehicles are often referred to as economical cars. Economical in what way?

Some SPKLU offer free electric vehicle battery charging. This certainly makes it super economical. However, since the end of 2020, free charging stations have become rare. Charging has started to incur costs, but it remains affordable.

According to the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM), the cost of charging electric vehicles is around Rp 1,650 per kWh to Rp 2,466.7 per kWh. Let’s take the cheapest rate, which is Rp 1,650 per kWh. Therefore, to charge an electric vehicle with a battery capacity of 75 kWh would cost Rp 1,650 x 75 = Rp 123,750.

For every 1 kWh consumed, it can cover a distance of 5.1 km. This means that in one full charge, it can cover 112.5 km. A distance of 112.5 km is like the distance from Jakarta to Bogor one way (not round trip).

From the calculations above, you must understand where the savings lie, right? If using gasoline or diesel, the cost would certainly be higher for such a distance.

List of Electric Vehicle Charging Locations

Are you getting more interested in electric vehicles? You should be, right?

For those of you who are still hesitant because there aren’t many electric vehicle charging stations, you don’t need to worry. Each year, more electric vehicle charging stations will be built. Currently, there are already thousands of electric vehicle charging stations spread across Indonesia. In Jakarta alone, there are about 1,900 SPLU.

Here are some of the electric vehicle charging locations that already exist.