NEW DELHI: EV charging company BOLT has announced the launch of its universal EV charging socket BOLT LITE. This Made in India socket is compatible with all portable chargers that come with any EV and works with the existing AC power supply at home and is available at an introductory price of Rs 2599.
According to the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, India has more than 1.3 million EVs on the road as of August 2022. The sale of EVs this year has gone up over three times as compared to the sales in FY 2020-21. The government is planning to achieve EV sales penetration of 30% for private cars, 70% for commercial vehicles and 80% for two and three-wheelers by 2030. To achieve this, India needs safe, smart and affordable EV charging solutions for home. The presence of safe EV chargers at home not only provides users with the convenience of charging their EVs but also boosts confidence among people who are considering purchasing it.
According to reports, more than 80% of EV owners charge their vehicles at home due to the convenience and low cost of residential charging. Most EVs come with an on-board charger which allows users to directly plug their vehicles into a standard 15A charging socket. However, apart from being slow and least energy efficient, these sockets do not offer any direct safety or monitoring features and are not recommended for long term EV charging. Unsafe charging at home using a standard 15A socket can result in sudden power surges which can damage the EV battery. News reports of EV batteries bursting into flames in India have been mostly due to the owner not knowing how to charge a battery safely. Additionally, EV users also face challenges with power theft, access control and unidentified energy consumption in shared parking spaces.
BOLT LITE has been designed to address all the issues arising from ineffective home charging and provides EV consumers with a safe and affordable solution to charge their EVs. It is compatible with two, three and four wheel EVs and requires no additional infrastructure and can be installed in under 30 minutes with little to no maintenance. It offers dual-layer of protection with an in-built MCB that automatically switches off electrical circuits during any abnormal condition in the electrical network such as overload and short circuit conditions.
The smart energy meter provides bifurcation for energy consumed by the BOLT LITE charging socket vs the power supply of the home via the BOLT app. BOLT LITE is IP65 certified and therefore provides complete protection from dust, oil, water and other non-corrosive material and can endure all weather conditions. It gives an efficient power transfer and users get faster charging to help ensure their EV is fully charged overnight.
BOLT LITE is IoT-enabled and helps connect EV users across the country. It comes with an energy calculator to monitor the power consumption and gives the user access to a lifetime of passive income. Owners can choose to switch the device status between public and private, where public charging sockets are open to everyone and are available for booking on the BOLT app. The charging sockets marked as private are exclusively for the use of device owners. Furthermore, BOLT LITE can be operated with or without the BOLT app and supports both Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) and WiFi communication. When set to private mode, BOLT LITE does not require the internet or the BOLT app to be operated.
The company has partnered with more than 25 OEMs globally, including 7 out of the top 10 OEMs in India to build a safe, smart and connected ecosystem for electric vehicles. In a statement, Mohit Yadav, Cofounder, BOLT said, “As of today, the number of EVs sold in India has already surpassed the number of EVs overall sold in 2021. A robust and pervasive charging infrastructure, both at home and in public spaces is key for rapid adoption of EVs in India. At BOLT, we first solved the issue of public charging of EVs by installing 15,000 BOLT charging points in 300 cities. The current usage of a standard 15A socket to charge EVs at home can damage the vehicle, battery and the charger due to uncontrolled charging, exposure to extreme temperatures or unexpected power surges. Now with BOLT LITE, we are addressing the various challenges faced by a user while charging EV at home and have designed an affordable solution which enables safe and smart charging at home. We envisage BOLT LITE charging sockets in the home of every EV user across India and are committed to making EVs smart, safe, connected and ready for the future.”
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