Electric vehicles (EVs) require the use of a charger. You’ll have to charge an EV’s battery to keep on the road. Whether you’re planning to charge it at your home or a commercial charging station, you’ll need to use the right type of charger. In the United States, most EV chargers use a specific type of connector known as an SAE J1772 connector.
SAE J1772 Charger Connectors Explained
SAE J1772 is a standard for EV charger connectors. It was developed by the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) around the turn of the 21st century. Since then, it has become the most popular type of connector for EV chargers in the United States. With the exception of Tesla, most EVs support SAE J1772 charger connectors.
Some of the first EVs to support SAE J1772 charger connectors were the Chevrolet Volt and the Nissan Leaf. Commercial charging stations soon began to adopt the SAE J1772 standard by using it for their chargers. In the years to follow, SAE J1772 became recognized as the universal charger connector for North American EVs.
Average Lifespan
One of the reasons why SAE J1772 charger connectors have become so popular is because they are designed to last a long time. They are rated for 10,000 mating cycles. In other words, you can plug and unplug an SAE J1772 charger connector up to 10,000 times.
Safety Features
In addition to lasting a long time, SAE J1772 charger connectors offer many built-in safety features. They can operate in wet conditions, for instance. If you own an EV, you may not always have the luxury of charging it on clear and sunny days; you may have to charge it when it’s raining outside. SAE J1772 charger connectors, though, are designed to withstand water.
SAE J1772 charger connector have pins — just like most other charger connectors. But the pins will only be energized when the SAE J1772 charger connector is plugged into an EV. After unplugging the SAE J1772 charger connector, power will stop flowing to the pins.
4 Levels of Charging
The SAE J1772 standard has four levels of charging. It includes two alternating current (AC) levels of charging along with another two direct current (DC) levels of charging.
There’s AC Level 1, AC Level 2, DC Level 1 and DC Level 2. AC Level 1 uses 120 volts. AC Level 2 uses 280 or 240 volts. DC Level 1 and DC Level 2 both use 50 to 1,000 volts
