As technology and innovation are prominent today. One's imagination can quickly turn into a possibility. Things such as electric vehicles and charging stations are now within your reach.

An electric car has low running costs compared to fuel. It has fewer moving parts for maintenance and is also very environmentally friendly as it does not use fossil fuels. These electric vehicles (EVs) have an electric motor instead of an internal combustion engine.

The vehicle uses a battery pack to power the electric motor and then plugged into charging stations or EV charging points. These cars have designated charging points to recharge quickly whenever your battery is low.

This post will guide you about electric vehicle and EV charging, where to find them, and how many are available in the country.

Where to charge an electric car in Singapore?

When owning an electric vehicle, one should know about the EV charging stations in Singapore. There are a lot of car parks that offer electric vehicle charging, alongside the government's efforts to phase out the sale of the internal combustion engine (ICE).

A few locations where you can spot charging stations are Jurong West and Ang Mo Kio public car parks. The Jurong West is probably one of the best-charging stations because it offers free parking space and fast charging. The parking area is near industrial estates and central business district such as malls and restaurants. Aside from that, certain stations offer an affordable price per kilowatt-hour.

Shell group is private premises that provide charging stations at Shell recharge stations. AC and DC charging is also available starting at S$0.55/kWh, along with offers such as the use of a shell recharge card points that you can avail when recharging your electric vehicle at a Shell station. You do not need to worry and look further because you can charge your EV at shell recharge stations.

If you own a Tesla, your EV drivers must know a thing or two about the nearest EV charger in your area. Public car parks like Orchard Central, Millenia Walk, Katong V are just a few of the places you can go to in Singapore.

Aside from those mentioned above, the SP group offers sp utilities that benefit both humans and the environment to aim for more sustainable mobility. As of 2020, the sp group has installed more than 500 EV chargers for non-combustion engine ice vehicles.

The SP group also has an sp utilities app to learn and manage your utility consumption, measure your carbon emissions, and find their stations. The app is downloadable on their website.

Learn about tesla superchargers

How many charging points are there in Singapore?

Today, more than 1,800 charging stations island-wide are available for use, with many charging station companies already in business, ranging from EV car-sharing firm BlueSG, a subsidiary of French-based Bollore Group, Caltex, SP Group to Shell group.

Some of these charging stations offer free parking for EV charging.

Types of Charging Stations in Singapore

EV charging is the same as charging your phones, except that most EV comes with two charging ports compared to the one on your phone. Two of the most common charging connectors available in Singapore are the alternating current (AC) and the direct current (DC) units.

Charging stations can easily be found, and you can also differentiate the two standard connectors available for EV charging.

Alternating current (AC) charging

Alternating current, also known as AC charging, is used to charge EV at various speeds. This is one of the most common charging methods for EVs with a plug. When plugging an electric vehicle into an average charging point, the energy gets converted inside the car then moves into the battery.

The charging speed strongly depends on the charge point's output power and the convertor's capabilities to convert the energy to DC. AC chargers required power ranges between 16A (3.7 kWh) and 63A (43 kWh).

Moreover, this charging method is most suitable for parking spots where the car will stay parked for more than 20 minutes. Chargers are more frequently found in some areas because of their lower price in production, installation, and operation. So it is preferable to use AC chargers because it is cheaper than most, making them more popular for regular day-to-day charging.

Direct current (DC) charging

Fast chargers for EV make use of DC charging. The power or energy is already converted before it enters the vehicle. It goes directly into the car battery and bypasses the car's energy converter.

Installing DC charges requires a lot of power from the grid, usually about 125 A. And because of that, the price of production, installation, and operation is higher, resulting in higher charging costs.

However, one of its significant advantages is that it charges fast, which is convenient when you want to recharge during long-distance trips for your non-combustion engine ice vehicles that quickly support this type of setting. DC charger is mainly found along highway roads rather than at home or business establishments.

Cost of Charge

There are different price ranges for each charging point. The shell recharge station costs around S$0.55 per kWh, which is reasonable. The SP group is quite considerable because their prices are calculated by the kilowatt-hour (kWh) and are based on the current electricity cost of the area. Further details can be seen on the sp utilities app.

For BlueSG, the EV drivers need to apply for membership first to get discounts and other benefits. Their EV charging costs S$1 per hour for the first three hours and S$2 an hour after that. Greenlots offers S$1.50 an hour of charging per EV.

There are also public charging stations that offer free-of-charge EV charging, which is convenient for users. Furthermore, you can also purchase your charging station if you have ample space in your area with the right amount of resources.