If a car has a 10.0-kW charger and a 100.0-kWh battery pack, it would, in theory, take 10 hours to charge a fully depleted battery. Onboard chargers trickle power into the battery pack safely and have their own power ratings, typically in kilowatts. There is a common misconception that the thing you plug into an electric car is the "charger." In fact, there's a battery charger in the car that converts the AC electricity from the wall into DC electricity to charge the battery. Charging at home overnight–sometimes called top-up charging–is a better solution for getting the juice you'll need for daily, local driving. The time-consuming affair of completely filling the battery via a DC charger makes these units best utilized on those days when you are traveling a long distance and need additional electricity to reach your destination. That last 20 percent of charge may double the time you're hooked up to the fast charger. So long as you utilize the in-car navigation system to get you there, that is. This is why, for example, manufacturers often claim that fast-charging will get your EV's battery to "80 percent charge in 30 minutes." Some vehicles have a battery preconditioning procedure that ensures the battery is at optimum temperature for rapid charging while en route to a DC fast charger. Generally speaking, when an EV battery's SoC is below 10 percent or above 80 percent, a DC fast charger's charging rate slows considerably this optimizes battery life and limits the risk of overcharging. The Porsche Taycan, for example, can charge at up to 270 kW, while a Chevy Bolt EV can manage only 50 kW.įord How Much Range Does a Fast-Charger Add in a Half-Hour? And vehicles' ability to accept DC charging varies widely. But like all charging, the flow is throttled back when the vehicle battery's state-of-charge (SoC) is nearing full. Tesla's V3 Superchargers pump out up to 250 kW and Electrify America's automotive defibrillators fire out up to 350 kW of heart-stopping power. A certifiably lethal current of DC power is pumped into the car's battery, and miles of range are added in short order. These are the EV equivalent of filling that barrel with a fire hose. Because, if you're not maximizing the effectiveness of the vehicle's onboard chargers, a lower-than-optimal power source is essentially a restrictor plate that lengthens the charge time.įor the absolute fastest charging possible, you'll want to plug into a Level 3 connection, colloquially known as a DC fast charger. While fewer amps is still considered Level 2, a 50-amp circuit will maximize most EV's onboard chargers (more on those in a minute). A typical Level 2 connection is 240 volts and 40 to 50 amps. If you own or plan to own an EV you'll be wise to consider having a 240-volt Level 2 charging solution installed in your home. Recharging an EV battery with a 120-volt source-these are categorized as Level 1 according to SAE J1772, a standard that engineers use to design EVs-is measured in days, not hours. All electric vehicles can, theoretically, charge their large batteries off the standard kitchen outlet, but imagine trying to fill a 55-gallon barrel with a squirt gun. The common 120-volt, 15-amp receptacle in a kitchen is to a 240-volt outlet that powers an electric dryer as a squirt gun is to a garden hose. Not all electrical outlets are created equal.
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