How Long Does It Take to Charge an Electric Vehicle?
Average electric car charging times vary based on which car you drive and which charging type you choose. Thus, to fully answer the question, “How long does it take to charge an electric car?” we’re going to have to provide some more context and detail. Ready to learn more? Randy Wise Automotive Team is here to help, so read on or contact us with questions!
What are My Electric Car Charging Options?
Whether or not you know it, electric car charging comes in several different types, or speeds. While Level 1 charging is the slowest, it’s also the cheapest. Level 3 charging, on the other hand, is the hardest to come by, yet it will also charge your vehicle most quickly:
- Domestic Outlet Home Charging (Regular Outlet): In the wide world of electric vehicles 110V/120V standard household grounded outlets (with three prongs) are commonly called “Level 1 Charging”. While Level 1 charging is fairly slow (it usually around 24 hours or more for a full charge), it’s also quite literally, a plug-and-play option free of installation charges or usage fees apart from the cost to pay for electricity used.
- Installed Brand-Approved Domestic Charging: Level 2 Charging is a professionally installed option. It offers 240V of power (or more), so it’s often made for your brand of car. It can also be found publicly. It will get you significantly faster charging rates than Level 1 charging speeds can offer. DC fast chargers (as opposed to AC ones) are also common. It’s not at all uncommon of to obtain an 80% charge in a half an hour or forty minutes with Level 2 charging.
- Public Charging: Take Fenton and Ortonville by storm and charge-on-the-go as you do! Public charging, which includes both Level 2 and Level 3 charging options, is available at parking garages, malls, hotels, and even apartment buildings with public charging. Some public EV charging stations even offer emissions-free renewable energy charging with solar panels or wind turbines!
Typical Domestic Charging Electric Car Charging Time
Domestic car charging times vary based on whether you choose Level 1 or Level 2 charging. Here’s what to know:
- Level 3 EV charging can fully recharge most EVs in an hour or less, or add significant range in just ten minutes.
- Level 2 EV charging takes hours to fully charge an electric car. Generally speaking, a single night of Level 2 charging is sufficient to fully recharge an EV.
- Level 1 EV charging often takes days to fully charge an electric car.
Note: If you drive a plug-in hybrid like the Jeep Wrangler 4xe, your charging times could be much lower. Your vehicle could for instance, only require between 1-4 hours to fully charge. That’s because PHEVs don’t use just electricity as an energy source! Often, they use electric range fully for a small amount of time or under certain speeds, then switch over to gasoline power.
Typical Public Charging Electric Car Charging Time
The overwhelming abundance of public EV charging stations provide between 3.7 kW to 7 kW charging. Public charging stations, conversely, provide 22 kW charging, 43-50 kW rapid charging, and 150 kW rapid charging. Consequently, you could potentially fully charge your vehicle in about an hour, give or take. In other cases it could take 4 hours, 6 hours, or 11 hours for a full charge.
Find Your Electric Vehicle or Plug-In Hybrid Near Flint
Want to step up to a new or used electric vehicle or plug-in hybrid to make all your Flint and adventures more efficient and cost-effective? Be sure to check out our new inventory to see what’s in-stock now, or utilize our vehicle finder service.