Electric Vehicle Charging Speeds

Electric vehicles can be charged using three charging speeds.

Level ane

The slowest, Level 1 equipment, provides charging through a common residential 120-volt (120V) Air conditioning outlet. Level ane chargers can take 40-fifty hours to charge a battery electric vehicle (BEV) from empty and five-6 hours to charge a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) from empty.

Level 2

Level 2 equipment offers charging through 240V (in residential applications) or 208V (in commercial applications) electrical service, and is mutual for home, workplace, and public charging. Level two chargers can charge a BEV from empty in 4-10 hours and a PHEV from empty in 1-2 hours.

Straight Current Fast Charging (DCFC)

The fastest speed, straight electric current fast charging (DCFC) equipment, enables rapid charging along heavy-traffic corridors at installed stations. DCFC equipment tin can charge a BEV to fourscore percent in just 20 minutes to 1 hour. Most PHEVs currently on the marketplace practice not work with fast chargers.

Shown below are typical Level 2 and DCFC charging stations.

At left: An electric vehicle plugged into a Level 2 charger. At right: An electric vehicle plugged into a direct current fast charger in a mall parking lot.
Level two chargers (left) are common in home, workplace, and public settings and tin can charge a BEV from empty in iv-x hours. Direct current fast chargers (right) are common as public chargers and forth highway corridors and tin can charge a BEV to 80 percent in nether an hour. (123RF and Washington State Department of Transportation photos)

Overview of EV Chargers

The below tabular array summarizes the typical power output, charging time, and locations for PHEVs and BEVs for the different charger types. (Note: Considering the last 10 percent of charging an EV bombardment can take equally long as the beginning xc percent, for longer trips, it tin relieve fourth dimension to charge office-style [e.g., twenty to sixty percent] and bulldoze fewer miles between charges rather than recharge fully and drive more miles between charges.) For more information on the power requirements of different chargers, see the Utility Planning section of the toolkit.

Overview of EV chargers: power output, plug type, and charge time for light-duty vehicles. (Adapted from the Culling Fuels Data Centre)
Level 1 Level ii DC Fast Charging
Connector Type1

J1772 connector

An SAE J1772 plug, also known as a Type 1 plug or a J plug, has 5 pins.

J1772 connector

An SAE J1772 plug, also known as a Type 1 plug or a J plug, has 5 pins.

CCS connector

A Combined Charging System (CCS) connector uses the J1772 charging inlet, which has 5 pins, and combines it with 2 larger high-speed charging pins below it.

CHAdeMO connector

Schematic of a CHAdeMO connector plug.

Tesla connector

Schematic of a Tesla connector plug.

Typical Ability Output ane kW seven kW - nineteen kW fifty - 350 kW
Estimated PHEV Charge Fourth dimension from Empty2 five - vi hours 1 - 2 hours N/A
Estimated BEV Charge Time from Empty3 twoscore - 50 hours 4 - 10 hours 20 minutes - one hr4
Estimated Electric Range per Hour of Charging 2 - 5 miles 10 - xx miles 180 - 240 miles
Typical Locations Habitation Home, Workplace, and Public Public

1 Different vehicles take different charge ports. For DCFC, the Combined Charging System (CCS) connector is based on an open up international standard and is common on vehicles manufactured in North America and Europe; the Charge de Move (CHAdeMO) connector is about common for Japanese manufactured vehicles. Tesla vehicles accept a unique connector that works for all charging speeds, including at Tesla'southward "Supercharger" DCFC stations, while non-Tesla vehicles require adapters at these stations.

2 Assuming an 8-kWh battery; near plug-in hybrids do non work with fast chargers.

3 Assuming a 60-kWh battery.

4 To fourscore percent accuse. Charging speed slows as the battery gets closer to total to forestall damage to the battery. Therefore, it is more cost- and time-efficient for EV drivers to use direct current (DC) fast charging until the battery reaches 80 percent, and then continue on their trip. Information technology tin can have most as long to charge the terminal x per centum of an EV battery as the first 90 percent.

Also in This Section

Electric Vehicle Basics

Adjacent Section

Benefits and Challenges of Rural Vehicle Electrification

Last updated: Wednesday, February 2, 2022