As a car enthusiast, I understand your concern about the electric car charging time and the cost to charge an electric car. This is why I did a little bit of thorough research on this subject and today I am going to explain everything related to it such as how long does it take to charge an electric car and how much does it cost to charge an electric car at a charging station, and many other things.
Electric vehicles are already creating ripples in the market but they are yet to gain popularity. The major concerns how much and how long does it take to charge an electric car need to be taken care of. More advanced technologies are coming in the automobile industry that will soon result in enormous power and efficiency for electric vehicles (EVs). Factors like connector type, power rating, and vehicle specification are determinant in defining the speed of your EV.
In contrast to diesel and oil vehicles, charging an electric vehicle takes a lot of time. One of the significant worries of any EV proprietor is to what extent does it take to charge an electric vehicle by and large. The time taken to charge an electric car can take just 30 minutes or it can take over 12 hours. In any case, with advanced and quick evolving innovation, you don’t have to stress overtime later on.
What are the Different Types of Electric Car Charging Systems?
There are typically three types of electric car charging systems. The types of chargers represent the power outputs that determine the charging speeds and time required for charging an electric car. The types of electric car charging systems have been explained below:
Slow Charging (Home Charging):
The slow charging system can provide power up to 3 kW. The best way to charge your EV with a slow charger is to leave it overnight charging so that your car is ready in a very short time without worries of running out of charge anytime soon. The question is how long does it take to fully charge an electric car battery with slow electric car charging systems. With the slow charging units, the duration takes between 7 and 12 hours for a pure EV, while it takes between 2 and 4 hours for a PHEV.
The slow charging devices are connected with a cable to the vehicles through a Type 2 or 3-pin socket. Charging an electric car with the right information about charging systems is an imperative feature of electric vehicle ownership. It should be noted that there are two types of EV designs that include All-Electric Vehicles and (AEVs) and Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEVs).
Fast Charging (Home and Public Charging):
The fast electric vehicle charging systems are more powerful than any slow charging system. Compared to the slow chargers, the fast charging units can provide more power between 7kW and 22kW. The time required to charge an electric car fully with a fast charger is between 3 and 4 hours, which is quite a reasonable amount of time to leave your car for some handful of time so that you can again use your car as quickly as possible.
The fast devices use the common fast connectors that are available in tethered Type 1 or a Type 2 socket. A connector cable is also supplied with the vehicle. The fast electric vehicle charging systems are connected via a cable with the Type 1 or Type 2 socket. Therefore, the answer to the question of how long does it take to charge an electric car at a gas station is that the faster units are capable of enabling faster regeneration of an electric car system.
Rapid Charging (Public Charging):
As the name suggests, Rapid Chargers take a very short time to charge an electric car. In contrast to slow and fast charging units, the time required to charge an electric car with rapid chargers is around 30 to 60 minutes. It should be known that rapid chargers come in two varieties, AC (Alternating current) and DC (Direct current). While the Rapid AC units can provide up to 43 kW power, the Rapid DC chargers are rated at 50 kW.
Both the AC and DC Rapid electric car charging systems are capable of charging electric cars up to 80% in an hour to the maximum. Nonetheless, the whole charging procedure depends upon the capacity of the battery. Among the three different plug types used by the automakers, the one that deserves a special mention is the Tesla Superchargers. These are Rapid DC chargers that are regarded as one of the best electric vehicle charging systems providing the maximum power of 120 kW. Rapid DC chargers come equipped with Tesla Type 2, CHAdeMO and CCS, whereas, Rapid AC units are enabled with tethered Type 2 connector.
How to Calculate the Charging Time of an Electric Car Yourself?
How to estimate the total time to charge an electric car? It is a common question that crosses the mind when owning an EV. There are a few determining factors that can find out the total electric car charging time. The battery size, current charge level, and charging power are used by the EV charging time calculator to find out the charging time needed.
The total kilowatt of energy will determine how much power your EV holds and the speed of your vehicle. You can use the EV charging time calculator to fetch the total time your vehicle will take to get fully charged.
Find the electric vehicle charging time calculator online where you have to provide a few inputs, such as the Charging Power (kW), Battery Capacity (kWh), Current Charge Level (%) and Target Charge Level (%). Once you put in the inputs, press on the ‘Calculate’ button and you get how long does it take to charge an electric car.
Apart from using the EV charging time calculator, you may also use a formula to calculate the time.
Charging time= battery capacity/charge power x .9
For example, if you want to know how long does it take to charge a Tesla car that has 3.7 kW home charger and 50 kWh battery capacity, the answer is driven by this formula:
Charging time= battery capacity/charge power x .9
Charging time= 50 kWh/3.7 kW x .9 = 15.015 hours
The answer to the question of how long does it take to fully charge a Tesla car is 15 hours with a charger of 3.7 kW charger. Thus, using the EV charging time calculator you can know in an instant how long does it take to charge a Tesla or any other EV model.
How Many Miles of Range You Can Get in One Hour of Charging?
As has been already discussed, the aggregate electric car charging time depends upon several factors. The type of charging system is a significant factor to know the time required to charge an electric car. It will enable an EV owner to comprehend the miles of range per hour of charging.
Here are some instances of how many miles you can get for per hour electric car charging time:
You will get up to 15 miles per hour with a 3.7 kW slow charging system.
By using a 7 kW fast charger, get up to 30 miles per hour.
A 22 kW fast charger can provide up to 90 miles per hour.
With a 150 kW rapid charger, you get up to 200 miles in only 30 minutes.
A full battery-electric car weighs much heavier than any small battery EV. There are two important questions you would want to know.
How long does it take to charge an electric car fully like the Audi e-Tron Quattro? Since it is a heavy battery-driven car it can fetch up to 20 miles range with a 7 kW unit.
How long does it take to charge an electric car fully like the Renault Zoe? Since it comes equipped with small full batteries, it is capable of achieving 30 miles per hour with 7 kW power.
How long does it take to fully charge an electric car battery? The answer depends upon five key points that include the size of the battery, environmental factors, state of the battery (full or empty), the maximum charging rate of the charge point and maximum charging rate of the vehicle.
How Long Does It Take to Charge an Electric Car Fully?
Unlike diesel and petrol cars, charging an electric car takes a considerable amount of time. One of the major concerns of any EV owner is how long does it take to charge an electric car on average. The time taken to charge an EV can take only 30 minutes or it can take more than 12 hours. However, with rapid and fast-changing technology, you do not need to worry about time in the future.
To know how long does it take to charge an electric car on average, you should focus on these two factors:
- Speed of charging point
- Battery size
When the size of a battery is big but the charging point is slow then the question is how long does it take to fully charge an electric car battery. It takes maximum time. Any typical EV with a 60 kWh battery and 7kW charging point will take a maximum of 8 hours to charge from empty to full. All EV owners should be aware of the question of how long does it take to charge an electric car from empty. Since it takes prolonged hours, you should try to charge your EV when the battery is 50%.
In case, you are a first-time EV user and want to know how long does it take to charge an electric car, use the electric vehicle charging time calculator. By using a simple formula, the electric vehicle charging time calculator will help you derive the estimated time for charging.
Now, let’s look at the other influencing factors that let you know how long does it take to charge an electric car:
- Vehicle
- State of battery
For example, if you want to know how long does it take to charge a Tesla Model S, it ranges from a 2 hour to a maximum of 22 hours depending upon slow or fast or rapid charging systems. Do you want to know how long does it take to fully charge a Tesla Model S with a 150 kW rapid charger? It takes 1 hour to gain 300 miles of range. If you now question how long does it take to charge a Nissan Leaf. The number of hours taken ranges from 1 hour to 11 hours, depending upon the type of charger.
Another interesting question readers would want to know is how long does it take to charge an electric car at the charging station. If it is a very powerful terminal it can recharge an EV up to 80% in 30 minutes. EV owners, however, are more interested in knowing how long does it take to charge an electric car at home. The time ranges between 30 minutes and 12 hours.
The next question is One may raise concern as to how long does it take to charge an electric car at charging station in the future with the advent of technology. The good news is Tesla is currently developing an enormous electrical terminal that can charge batteries in a few minutes.
How Much Does It Cost to Charge an Electric Car?
As an EV owner, the most coveted question is how much does it cost to charge an electric car. Two crucial factors determine the total electric car charging cost that includes charging feasibility at home and the local utility. It is suggested to switch from gasoline to electricity since electric car charging cost is substantially cheaper when compared to the costs of refueling a gasoline car.
The most viable way to keep the cost to charge an electric car within your limits is to follow the time-to-use (TOU) plan. According to the TOU plan, you can manage cost to charge electric cars by following the cheaper electric rates especially during nights when cars are parked at home.
How much does it cost to charge an electric car in bigger cities? For example in Oakland in CA, the electric car charging cost is $1.03 per gallon, while it is $3.34 for buying gasoline per gallon. On the contrary, do you know how much and how long does it take to charge an electric car at a service station? In this case, the cost to charge an electric car is $2.64, provided the four-wheeler has a depleted 24 kWh battery. How much does it cost to charge an electric car at a charging station? It costs $2.64 to charge an EV with a depleted 24 kWh battery.
Let us see how much does it cost to charge a Tesla and how long does it take to charge a Tesla car. The Tesla S with 100 kWh will cost you $15.29 for getting it fully charged. Now, you will want to know how much does it cost to fully charge a Tesla. If it is an 85 kWh model S then the cost to charge electric cars takes 75 minutes for a full charge.
6 Most Important Factors That Affect the Charging Speed of an Electric Car
So far, the discussion went around how long does it take to charge an electric car and how much does it cost. While the answers to questions like how long does it take to charge a Tesla car, how long does it take to charge a Nissan leaf, how much does it cost to charge a Tesla car and how much and how long does it take to charge an electric car are vital to your knowledge about EVs. When you take your car to a charging terminal you will obviously want to know how long does it take to charge an electric car from empty. The charging speed, indeed, depends upon 6 most important factors:
Vehicle charging rate
When you ask how long does it take to charge an electric car battery, it depends upon the vehicle’s charging rate. You should note that you cannot charge a car faster by connecting a 22 kW charge point if the EV’s maximum charge rate is only 7 kW.
Empty or full battery
The state of your vehicle’s battery (empty or full) determines the charging speed. The obvious answer to how long does it take to charge an electric car depends upon whether you are charging from an empty or partial battery charge. It takes longer to charge from an empty battery, whereas, a much shorter time when charging a partial battery to its full charge.
Charging rate of the vehicle’s charge point
First, you need to check the charging power of the charge point. One of the concerns is how long does it take to charge an electric car at home. If the charge point is, your vehicle’s battery speed will increase. However, if the charge point is 11 kW, your EV will charge at a maximum of 7 kW connected to a 7 kW charge point.
Battery size
The heavier is the battery (measured in kWh), the longer it takes to charge.
Type of charging station
Big names like Tesla, IONITY and Electrify America are rolling out powerful DC charging stations. So, with powerful capacity of up to 200 miles of range how long does it take to charge an electric car at a service station? It takes between 15 and 20 minutes.
Environmental Factors
Colder temperatures make it a little harder to charge an EV. It takes longer to charge an EV during the winter season than what it takes during the summer times. During colder times, the vehicles prove to be less efficient. Hence, the question is how long does it take to charge an electric car on average in colder ambient temperature? It is sad to know that the miles added are less per charging hour when compared to its efficiency in the warmer season. Therefore, in cold weather, it is advised to top up charges regularly.
Top up charging is easy and accessible. Want to know how long does it take to charge an electric car and how much does it cost with top-up charging facility. You can charge your car quickly at your workplace, home or at any charging station anytime you want. Keep the battery topped up instead of letting it run out. Any workplace or public terminal has a good charging efficiency ranging from 7 kW to 22 kW, thus proving it ideal for top-up charging.
Final Words on How Long Does It Take to Charge an Electric Car and How Much Does It Cost?
To draw a conclusion to the most priced question how long does it take to charge an electric car and what is the cost, it can be easily encapsulated that an EV is growing in popularity and will soon become a major talk of the town.
Although, the charging time is still high that ranges from 30 minutes to 12 hours but soon an EV can be charged in just a matter of minutes with the development of new technologies. Taking into consideration that the electricity cost is $0.11 kWh, the cost per mile is $0.04 for charging an EV.
In the future, with big banners like Tesla and other names coming to play, there will be a number of charging stations thus reducing the charging cost. As of now, gasoline prices are fluctuating thus proving to be more costly, while electricity prices are comparatively more stable.
Therefore, it goes without saying that EVs will prove more efficient in the future and will be a major breakthrough in the world of technology on the barometer of popularity and efficiency.
