How Long Does It Take To Charge An Electric Car? Answered

Charging should be at the top of your list of factors to consider if you’re considering moving from a gas-only vehicle to an electric one. But do you know How Long Does It Take To Charge An Electric Car?

This is one of the most crucial things to know. An EV may require anywhere from 20 minutes to 40 hours or more to fully charge. You may have noticed that every manufacturer’s estimate for their all-electric vehicles contains some hedging language like “as little as”.

This is because so many factors can affect charging, including the EV’s charging capabilities, battery capacity, charging equipment capabilities, ambient temperature, and more.

However, we’ll better explain how long it takes to charge an electric vehicle.

How Long Does It Take To Charge An Electric Car?

Most electric vehicles can be fully charged at fast charging stations in 4-6 hours, from empty to 100%. Large batteries up to 75 kWh often charge fully for 5 to 10 hours. Fast chargers are widely utilized for home charging and are quite popular in public parking lots.

Factors That Affect Charging Time

Charger Level

Begin with the power supply. Electrical outlets are not all made equal. A squirt gun is to a garden hose what a standard 120-volt, 15-amp kitchen outlet is to a 240-volt outlet that powers an electric dryer.

Theoretically, the enormous batteries in all-electric cars can be charged using a regular kitchen outlet, but try filling a 55-gallon barrel with a squirt gun.

According to SAE J1772, standard engineers use to design EVs, recharging an EV battery with a 120-volt source—classified as Level 1—takes days rather than hours.

Consider installing a 240-volt Level 2 charging system in your home if you currently own or intend to purchase an electric vehicle.

Two hundred forty volts and 40 to 50 amps are normal for a Level 2 connection.

A 50-amp circuit would maximize most of the electric vehicle onboard chargers (more on those in a moment).

However, fewer amps are still considered Level 2) because a less-than-ideal power source is effectively a restrictor plate that increases the charge time if you aren’t maximizing the efficiency of the vehicle’s onboard chargers.

It would help if you plugged into a Level 3 connection, a DC fast charger, for the fastest charging possible. These are the electric vehicle equivalent of putting a fire hose into that barrel.

The car’s battery receives a DC power injection that is positively deadly, quickly extending the vehicle’s range by several miles.

Tesla’s V3 Superchargers can provide up to 250 kW, and the vehicle defibrillators made by Electrify America can produce up to 350 kW of life-saving electricity.

But when the state-of-charge (SoC) of the car battery is almost full, the flow is reduced, as it is with all charging.

And different automobiles have different capacities for DC charging. For instance, a Chevy Bolt EV can barely manage 50 kW, while the Porsche Taycan can charge up to 270 kW.

How Much Range Does A Fast-Charger Add In A Half-Hour?

A DC fast charger’s charging rate typically decreases noticeably when an EV battery’s SoC is below 10% or above 80%; this maximizes battery life and reduces the possibility of overcharging.

Due to this, manufacturers frequently state, for instance, that rapid charging will enable an EV’s battery to reach an “80 percent charge in 30 minutes.”

While traveling to a DC fast charger, certain vehicles feature a battery preconditioning process that ensures the battery is at the right temperature for quick charging.

As long as you use the GPS in your car to get there, that is.

Maximum Range For Charging And Driving

You might spend twice as long connected to the fast charger during the final 20 percent of your charge.

These devices work best when traveling a long distance and require additional electricity to reach your destination because it takes time to charge the battery using a DC charger fully.

The best way to get the juice you’ll need for daily, local driving is to charge at home overnight, a process frequently referred to as top-up charging.

Size Of Battery

Some EVs’ batteries have grown to ludicrous sizes as the race for maximum range continues. Others aim for greater effectiveness. This has a significant impact on how time is charged. Make our barrel 85 gallons in size.

It will still take longer to fill than the smaller 55-gallon barrel, even with a fire hose.

Despite having an architecture that can handle 350 kW of input, a GMC Hummer EV’s 212.7 kWh battery pack requires significantly more time than a Lucid Air Grand Touring’s 112.0 kWh pack, even though the charging rates are comparable.

Although it has 100 kWh fewer in its battery pack than the Hummer, the Lucid can drive more than 40% further on a single charge—efficiency, for sure.

Manufacturers will undoubtedly decide on a single metric for representing charge times at some point.

But for now, be aware that no matter how or where you do it, charging an electric vehicle’s battery still takes a lot longer than filling up a gasoline-powered vehicle.

Charger Capacity

A typical misunderstanding is that the device you connect to an electric vehicle is the “charger.” The car has a battery charger that transforms AC power from the outlet into DC power to charge the battery.

Onboard chargers have power ratings, commonly measured in kilowatts, and safely trickle electricity into the battery pack. In principle, it would take 10 hours to fully charge a battery in a car with a 10.0-kW charger and a 100.0-kWh battery pack.

To get the ideal charge time for a particular EV, divide the battery capacity’s kWh figure by the onboard charger’s power rating, then add 10% to account for charging losses.

This is possible if the power supply can maximize the vehicle’s charger.

Onboard chargers typically have a power output of at least 6.0 kilowatts, but some manufacturers give nearly twice that, and the best have more than treble that.

In contrast to the rear-wheel-drive Model 3, which has a 7.6-kW charger, the current Tesla Model 3 Performance has an 11.5-kW charger that can fully utilize a 240-volt, 60-amp circuit to recharge its 80.8-kWh battery.

Even though the Performance model’s battery is about 30% larger, calculating the recharge time shows it will take almost the same amount of time to replenish the two cars’ batteries.

Charging Levels

The charging source, also known as the charging level or charging speed, may have the biggest impact on how long an EV takes to charge.

According to SAE International, EVs now have three charging levels: Level 2, Level 1, and DC Fast Charging, frequently referred to as Level 3 charging, even though it isn’t a recognized level of charging. DC rapid charging is all that Tesla Supercharging is.

Level 1 (AC)

A typical 120-volt (15-amp) household outlet is the most widely accessible way to charge practically anything in North America, including an electric vehicle. When it comes to EVs, this is known as Level 1 charging.

The time needed to fully charge a long-range electric vehicle (EV) using a standard household outlet should be expressed in less than hours rather than days.

Although Level 1 charging is technically conceivable, it is rarely practical, especially if it aims to charge the EV’s battery fully.

You can anticipate adding three to six miles of range per hour while using Level 1 charging. Level 1 charging can be sufficient if you only go 30 to 40 miles daily or need to “top up” your battery.

Since plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV) only have a small electric-only driving range, it is also a practical solution for them.

Although the Tesla Model Y Long Range has an EPA-estimated range of 330 miles, charging it from empty to full might take up to four days.

Even so, it’s preferable to plug an electric vehicle into a power source than to leave it unplugged.

Level 2 (AC)

The great majority of EV owners use level 2 charging at home. You’ll need a 240-volt outlet installed in your house to use this.

To allow safe charging at a maximum of 40 amps and ensure that the car charges as soon as possible, level 2 outlets for residential EV charging are often on a 50 amp circuit.

The fact remains that they can range from 12 amps to 80 amps.

Additionally, you’ll require a Level 2 charging connection or a home Level 2 charging station. A portable Level 2 charging adaptor can be included with a new EV if you purchase one.

However, any circuit over 40 amps necessitates a hardwired charging station and will accelerate EV charging.

At this point, it’s important to note that although people frequently refer to this equipment as a “charger,” that is inaccurate.

The charger for a car is part of the vehicle itself (more on onboard chargers later). Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment (EVSE) is the official name for the machinery that charges EVs.

But now that it’s become customary to refer to an EVSE as a charger, we’re doing the same.

Although there are many factors, level 2, charging adds around 20 to 30 miles or more of driving range every hour.

However, you should be able to finish charging your EV overnight using a Level 2 system. Tesla claims that by utilizing Level 2 charging, the Model Y Long Range can be fully charged in as little as eight hours.

Numerous public charging outlets are on Level 2 as well. Using a Level 2 public charger at or close to your place of employment makes sense when staying the night at a hotel or while enjoying a meal at a full-service restaurant.

Dc Fast Charging/Tesla Supercharging

The two methods that some people mistakenly refer to as Level 3 charging—DC Fast Charging and Tesla Superchargers—are the fastest ways to charge an electric vehicle (EV). “Level 3” charging uses direct current (DC), as opposed to Level 1 and Level 2, which use alternating current (AC).

Level 2 public charging is a nice alternative when you have time, but it is not feasible for rapid “fill-ups” on road trips.

Although DC rapid charging isn’t quite as quick as gas pumping, it’s still quick enough to get you back on the road as you stretch, go to the toilet, and grab a bite to eat.

Although each EV’s unique charging curve and charging stations vary in pace, you may anticipate it will take 20 to 40 minutes to charge your battery to 80% of its capacity.

Use the built-in navigation system in your EV to assist you in locating fast-charging stations that are thoughtfully placed along your route if you’re organizing a road trip.

Many apps can similarly assist you if your automobile does not have this capability.

Remember that charging between 10% and 80% at each stop makes the most sense as you plan your itinerary.

You don’t need to be perfect with these percentages, but charging from almost “empty” to less than “full” should get you back on the road as soon as possible.

Since most electric vehicle (EV) owners only drive their vehicles once the battery is completely depleted, charging to 100% will significantly lengthen your charging session.

To take advantage of the fastest part of your car’s charging curve, charging just enough to get you home, to your destination, or to the next charging station is preferable.

EV Onboard Chargers

The onboard chargers (OBC) in electric vehicles change the AC power supplied by the power source into DC matched to the voltage of the battery pack. Which EV you own will determine how powerful the onboard charger is.

The amperage of an onboard charger determines its capacity, and the charging rate is expressed in kW.

Early electric vehicles only feature 3.3 kW onboard chargers, notably the Nissan Leaf from the first generation.

Currently, most EVs have onboard chargers at least 7 kW capacity. However, many have more powerful chargers.

For instance, the Volkswagen ID.4 has a charging rate of 11 kW, whereas the new Ford Mustang Mach-E has a rate of 10.5 kW. Both the Rivian R1T and the Porsche Taycan have 19.2 kW onboard chargers.

No matter how powerful your EV’s onboard charger is, if you’re utilizing a Level 1 plug, it won’t matter because the onboard charger can’t compensate for the low-level power supply. No matter what, Level 1 will only provide a 1 kW to 2 kW charging rate.

One kilowatt-hour (kWh) of electricity will be sent to your electric vehicle (EV) if you charge 1 kW for an hour. Therefore, a minimum of 60 hours will be required to fully charge an electric vehicle (EV) with a 60 kWh battery pack.

An EV’s ability to charge quickly with a Level 2 connector depends on the station’s power delivery capacity and the vehicle’s onboard charger rate. Typically, Level 2 systems produce between 3 kW and 19 kW.

Some customers have spent a lot of money on the best-hardwired Level 2 charging systems available for their homes, only to discover that their EVs still need to charge faster.

This is due to the onboard charger of the car placing a cap on the charging pace.

Because the fast charger does the AC to DC conversion before delivering power, DC Fast Charging avoids the necessity of an automobile’s onboard charger.

At the same time, it might seem that all new EVs come equipped with DC fast charging, but not all used EVs have. Ensure the EV you purchase has fast charging capabilities, or extended road trips will be impossible.

Conclusion

While there is no easy way to determine How Long Does It Take To Charge An Electric Car? By considering the various factors, including the vehicle, the battery, the charging station, and the weather, this review will help you.