Fast Chargers Are Stupid Expensive. Here's Why.
Ever wonder why DC Fast Chargers are so expensive to build? A single 300-kilowatt Level 3 charger—that's just one stall at a public DC Fast Charger—can run north of $100,000. This cost is just one of the reasons the infrastructure has been slow to build out and has relied heavily on the government cheese, a la federal funding.
Let's talk about what's inside of that charger. Crack it open and you'll find about $90,000 worth of electronics that move electricity from the grid to your car's battery. Here's the kicker: an estimated 60% of that cost is for one safety circuit to make sure you don't accidentally turn into toast if something goes wrong. That means more than half the cost of an EV charger goes into keeping you alive.
Ever wonder why DC Fast Chargers are so expensive to build? A single 300-kilowatt Level 3 charger—that's just one stall at a public DC Fast Charger—can run north of $100,000. This cost is just one of the reasons the infrastructure has been slow to build out and has relied heavily on the government cheese, a la federal funding.
Let's talk about what's inside of that charger. Crack it open and you'll find about $90,000 worth of electronics that move electricity from the grid to your car's battery. Here's the kicker: an estimated 60% of that cost is for one safety circuit to make sure you don't accidentally turn into toast if something goes wrong. That means more than half the cost of an EV charger goes into keeping you alive.
