Plug or wallbox?
- Knowledge, Private, Charging, Technical

More safety thanks to RCD and larger cable cross-section
During a charging session with a standard plug, an electric car uses almost as much electricity as an oven - and it does so for many hours. Standard cable cross-sections and sockets are not designed for this, which is why the cooker and oven at home are always connected using larger cables. To illustrate this more clearly: If an electric car is charged at home using the so-called emergency power cable, it is like forcing the entire power consumption of a household through a single cable and plug - because the annual consumption of an average electric car with average mileage is roughly equivalent to the average household consumption. This is why overheating and, in the worst case, a cable fire can quickly occur. The professional installation of a wallbox by a specialist electrical installer, if not already in place, is always accompanied by the laying of a sufficiently dimensioned cable, checking the need for a residual current circuit breaker and the selection of the correct line circuit breaker. All these measures ensure safe charging.
More safety and comfort thanks to the wallbox
Another advantage of a wallbox is its integrated residual current monitoring. It prevents the lights from going out in the house if problems should arise during the charging process. Apart from that, the wallbox automatically resumes charging after unexpected faults (such as overvoltage or undervoltage in the supply network or even a total power failure). This means that you are not surprised by a low battery level when you start your next journey. An intelligent wallbox (such as our KeContact P30 x-series) even adjusts the charging power to the domestic electrical installation and throttles the charging currents if necessary. All KEBA wallboxes also directly measure the socket temperature and also reduce the current flow in the event of dirty or damaged charging contacts, for example.
All KEBA wallboxes also measure their own operating temperature and regulate the power depending on this. In addition, they interrupt the current flow in the event of dirty or damaged charging contacts and an error message is shown on the LED display.
Faster charging thanks to the wallbox
Another important aspect is the charging speed. The charging power of the Type F cable is limited to 2.3 kW. This means that an electric car with an average battery capacity of 55 kWh has to be connected to the power supply for almost 24 hours to be charged from minimum to maximum level. A vehicle with a larger battery will need correspondingly longer. For most EV models, a wallbox allows charging at 11 kW, which reduces the charging time of the example vehicle to just 5 hours. It is even faster if the network operator, the house installation and the electric vehicle itself permit 22 kW charging power. In this case, the wallbox can recharge up to 150 km per hour, depending on the vehicle's consumption.
So there are more than just a few good reasons to charge at home with a wallbox and to really only consider the emergency charging cable included as standard for what it is: an emergency solution.
Related articles

Charging at home – What’s important
Those who want to charge their cars not only at work or at public charging stations, but also at home, have to consider a number of aspects. Here are compact answers to the six most important questions, from the approval and installation of a wallbox to charging speed and electricity costs.
New test center for wall boxes at KEBA in Linz
Yesterday KEBA opened a new test center for large installations of wall boxes in the garage of the company’s headquarters in Linz (Austria). With the ever increasing spread of load management and the loading of electric vehicles in a master-slave-network (e.g. as a fleet solution in car parks or residential buildings), it is essential for KEBA to test features, simulate the behavior of its wall boxes in controlled charging processes and thus to permanently ensure product quality.
In the new test center, KEBA’s quality assurance team can thoroughly test up to 15 electric vehicles, replicate errors from field installations and gain valuable insights for ongoing and further developments. The lively exchange and close networking with the in-house service, product management and development department ensures the high quality of the wall boxes.

This is how well KEBA wallboxes did in tests
Independent tests by external experts, reviews, and user testimonials provide information about the strengths and weaknesses of a given product. They help consumers make informed decisions – and manufacturers become better. Here are the most recent test results about KEBA wallboxes.