Commonly referred to as a ‘granny cable’, a portable EV charger consists of a 13A plug, a control box containing the charger (known as EVSE) and a connector cable which connects to the EV. The connector will either be Type 1 or Type 2.
Portable chargers plug straight into a normal household socket and are handy in an emergency when you can’t find a working charging station, or for use when visiting relatives such as your granny, hence the nickname granny cable.
This type of charging is widely referred to as Level 2 (Mode 2) Charging in North America.
The downside is that because they plug into a regular household socket, they are limited to draw no more than 10A of current (equates to approx. 2.3kW of power supply) which translates to about 80 to 100 miles of range from an overnight/12 hour charge
Important note:
Portable chargers can overheat, and in some cases cause failure, when used for prolonged periods. 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 cables 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 a portable charger, it is about the same as 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. Avoid plugging 3-pin EV chargers into an extension lead.
