How Long Does It Take to Charge an Electric Car?

If you’ve just bought an EV such as the Chevy Bolt in the Denham Springs area–or if you’re interested in bringing one home–you might be wondering about your charging options. EVs differ from traditional gas-powered cars in that they need to be plugged in frequently to recharge the battery, so they can keep running in top condition on the road. The good news is that there are plenty of charging options both at home and on the go, including charging your car using the very same three-pronged outlets you use for just about everything at home!

There are three main types of charging–Level 1, Level 2, and Level 3–and charging times vary depending on which type you choose. There are upsides and downsides to each form of charging, which the team at Ralph Sellers Chevrolet has laid out in the guide below.

Electric Car Charging Options

• Level 1 – Domestic Outlet Home Charging: Level 1 charging takes advantage of the same three-pronged outlets you use to power everything from your TV to your refrigerator. Most EVs come equipped with a Level 1 charger. While these are the most common types of outlets, they also offer the slowest charging time–it takes a lot longer to charge a car than it does a phone or laptop. Level 1 charging is usually good for emergencies or a small top-off of the battery.
• Level 2 – Installed Domestic Charging: Level 2 charging is the most commonly used by EV drivers at home. A Level 2 charger has to be professionally installed, and uses 240V of power compared to Level 1, which uses 120V. This extra boost of power means that Level 2 charging is much quicker than Level 1. It’s also possible to install a DC fast charger in your home, although it’s not as common.
• Level 3 – Public Fast Charging: If you need to recharge on the road, have no fear! DC Fast Chargers are becoming more and more common in Walker and beyond. Public charging stations can be found in parking garages, hotels, apartment buildings, and even big-box stores like Walmart and Kohls! There are even public chargers that take advantage of renewable energy sources like wind or solar power, leading to emission-free charging.

Electric Car Charging Time: At-Home Charging

As we discussed above, you can choose between Level 1 or Level 2 chargers when recharging your EV’s battery from home. The times vary significantly depending on which level you choose:

• Level 1 charging often takes at least 24 hours–and more commonly up to several days–to fully charge an EV.
• Level 2 charging often takes several hours to recharge an EV battery, meaning you can plug your car in before going to bed and have it ready to go for your commute the next morning. Level 2 DC charging is even faster, generating 60-200 miles of range in just 20-30 minutes.

If you drive a plug-in hybrid, which is a sort of middle ground between a traditional hybrid and a fully-electric vehicle, your charging time is usually around 1-4 hours. The battery in a PHEV is much smaller than a fully-electric battery, since hybrids also use an internal combustion engine.

Electric Car Charging Time: Public Fast Charging

Public charging offers much more power than home charging, generating at least 22 kW of power compared to the 3.7 or 7 kW generated by a home charger. That’s impressive enough, but public chargers can go all the way up to a staggering 150 kW of fast charging! This means that you can get a full charge in an hour or so, although times vary depending on the charging station.

Find Your Next EV at Ralph Sellers Chevrolet

If you have any questions about electric car charging times, or if you want to learn more about the benefits of driving an electric car, contact our office! You can also stop by our dealership to talk to a member of our team in person, or to take an available model out for a test drive around Gonzales. If you want to get a head start on the buying process, our finance center is a great resource!