How Long Does It Take to Charge an Electric Vehicle?

A popular question we get from Watkinsville customers is “how long does it take to charge an electric car?”. If you’re wondering the same thing, you’ve come to the right place! There are a variety of options to choose from when it comes to making sure your electric car is charged sufficiently. Because of this, electric car charging time will vary depending on charging type and vehicle make and model. Keep in mind that different electric vehicles also have different battery packs that require different charging times. That being said, there’s no one size fits all answer to determine how long to charge an electric car. However, we can give you a generalized idea about the most common types of charging and how they impact charging times. Read below for more information and check out our website!

Your Electric Car Charging Options

As mentioned before, there are different types of charging options available to you in Jefferson. Here are the three most common forms of charging:

1. Level 1 Charging: Level 1 charging is domestic outlet home charging that uses a regular, three-prong 110V/120V charging outlet. It doesn’t offer a fast charging speed but it’s a good option for topping off some of the charge you used commuting to work that day. It usually takes 24 hours or more for an EV to reach full charge using level 1 charging.
2. Level 2 Charging: Level 2 charging comes from an installed brand-approved domestic charger. For this reason, it’s usually installed by a professional. You can get rapid charge with Level 2 (usually 240V+) chargers as they are most often made for your brand of car. Charging with a Level 2 charger will typically only take a few hours to get your vehicle fully charged. On average, you can get up to 80% of charge in up to 45 minutes.
3. Level 3 Charging: Level 3 is public charging. You’ll find these chargers are local Greensboro grocery stores or malls. Some areas even have them at apartment complexes or parking garages. They offer a variety of charging speeds, but they usually provide rates comparable to that of Level 2.

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 a rule of thumb to help you remember the difference:

• Level 1 EV charging often takes days to fully charge an electric car.
• Level 2 EV charging often takes several hours to fully charge an electric car. You can often get between 60-200 miles of range in just 20-30 minutes with Level 2 DC charging, though. For this reason, most people intermix daytime “top-off” charging with overnight charging.

If you drive a plug-in hybrid, you probably have shorter charging times since they don’t fully rely on electricity to operate. In general, it only takes 1-4 hours to reach full charge.

Typical Public Charging Electric Car Charging Time

Most home chargers offer 3.7 kW or 7 kW charging, while public stations offer a wider variety of charging options: 22 kW charging, 43-50 kW rapid charging, and 150 kW rapid charging. As a result, for some applicable vehicles, you could possibly get a full charge (0-100%) in about an hour. In other cases it could take 4 hours, 6 hours, or 11 hours for a full charge.

Find Your Electric Vehicle at Athens BMW Today!

Visit Athens BMW to test drive an electric vehicle and get the full experience! Our finance department will help make the purchasing process as smooth as possible. Apply for financing online too. See you soon!