Tag: Level 3

How long does it take to charge an electric car?

EV logoHow long does it take to charge

Two weeks ago I changed my ride. And since I have been asked several times how long does it take to charge? Yes, its still an electric vehicle (EV) — I hope to never again put gasoline into a car!

Anyway, the question surprised me each time, as there is little difference one car to the next in the practical, every day sense. But it finally gelled in my mind as lack of information — still — in the general public. So, here’s an attempt to add to what, in truth, is a wealth of information on line.

The everyday

I’m going to divide this into two groups, and the first one is the day to day alluded to earlier. There are two key aspects to this part of the equation: 1) how far do you drive daily and 2) can you charge at home?

  • On an everyday basis, an EV can be charged with a standard wall plug, 110/120 volt. Here if you’re starting at fully discharged, it will take several days to fully charge (please stop short of 100% — see here for why).
  • A 220/240 volt plug can be used. In this case, from fully discharged (also, don’t do this!!) to 90% (for the life of the battery) will take about 8 hours. Overnight!

Home chargerHere’s where the distance driven every day is important, and in truth, few of us pay any attention to this. Most EVs today will go 250 miles, but you’ll want to save some on either end, so assume 220. If your commute is 30 miles round trip, you can go a week on a single charge and a 220/240 volt outlet or Level 2 home charger is ideal!

However, if you drive only 10 miles a day, shuttling kids to school, picking up groceries, etc., you can plug your car into a 110/120 volt outlet, which is Level 1 charging every night and never run out of “gas”!

This is the biggest deviation from driving a gas powered car — you can’t simply pull into a service station and fill up in a few minutes. But its truly not difficult to manage in the day-to-day.

Long distance driving

Here’s where the rubber meets the road. If you’re constantly behind the wheel, be it for business or pleasure, you need the Level 3 charging stations that, while still being built out, are actually easy to find. And, let’s face it, Tesla has the broadest network.

Level 3 stations pour power into an EV fast enough to get your tank 80% full in 20-30 minutes, depending on the vehicle. The charge rate drops off dramatically after 80%, so its more efficient time-wise to stop charging and get back on the road. Again, see more on that here.

What you need to know is the range of an EV you may wish to get into, and how fast it will accept a charge. The car is in control — a Chevy Bolt will not charge faster the the 50 kW it can accept, even at a 150 kW charger! But the vast majority of available EVs charge at up to 150 kW.

So that’s it for now, not that I’ve answered every possible question that can come up. Hopefully this has been helpful to you, even as I wrote as much to reconnect myself to the proper answer when I’m asked again, as I inevitably will be.

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Remember that only proper service and repair procedures will ensure the safe and reliable operation of your car. In addition, proper safety procedures and precautions, such as the use of safety goggles, the right tools and the equipment should be followed at all times to eliminate the possibility of personal injury or improper service which could damage the vehicle or compromise its safety.

These posts are for information sharing purposes only, and should not be used in lieu of an OEM service manual or factory authorized service procedure. We are not in the auto repair business nor do we publish automotive service manuals. Nothing we include on these pages and posts has been reviewed, approved or authorized by any vehicle manufacturer.

Technology is always changing and what is current and accurate today may be litera

Permanent link to this article: https://dashboardsymbols.com/2024/10/how-long-does-it-take-to-charge-an-electric-car/

EV Charging Etiquette

Charging EVs While Being Considerate

We’re not the only ones to speak on this, but we’ve seen too many electric vehicles (EVs) sitting at Level 3 fast charge stations either done charging and blocking a station or charging above 80%, meaning very, very slowly. So it we will add our voice to the chorus of EV charging etiquette posts, and we’ll take that last one first.

1) Stop charging at 80%

We’ve seen more confusion about this than anything else related to Level 3 charging, and it all comes down to charge curves. Regardless of how fast an EV charges, each and every one of them slows down dramatically at 80% charge (see the image below from P3). So whatever time it takes to get to 80%, it will take up to three times that time to get to 100%. This is the least efficient way to charge on long trips. You can get half way to the next charge station in the time wasted getting to 100%!

The result is a charger that is not available to another driver, a waste of your time, and its really hard on the battery. Meaning it will shorten its life!

We understand the desire to “fill the tank” angst associated with leaving a battery 20% empty. But trust us when we say that the angst will pass with time and you’ll get along just fine at 80% and less.

2) Use the proper plug

This is essentially for non-Tesla owners. Your car determines the rate at which electricity is transferred to the battery. So parking a Chevy Bolt, which charges at 50 kW, at 350 kW charger does a huge disservice to owners of vehicles that can make use of the faster charger. Your car will not charge any faster than its rated speed, regardless of what charger you’ve plugged into.

Please leave the faster chargers for vehicles that can use them.

3) Move your EV when its done charging, not when you’re done shopping!

This is a primarily time awareness issue, and of course moving your car is again about opening a charge spot for another driver. Most EV’s get to 80% charge in 20 to 30 minutes and your owner’s manual will give you a solid heads up. Also, your car’s app may be able to tell you when charging is finished or close to finished.

So if you’ve wandered off to lunch or shopping, for the sake of everyone else, please come back to your car on time to open a slot for someone else.

4) Know your vehicle’s charge port location

Nearly all gasoline fill locations on on one side or the other in the rear of the vehicle. EVs can charge from similar locations but some are in the front! In any case, knowing which par of the car that needs to be closest to the charge cable will save some embarrassment.

Of course, all Tesla models charge from the left rear.

5) Don’t leave trash behind

One would think all EV drivers are environmentally conscious, but this turns out not to be the case. And unfortunately, charge stations don’t have trash receptacles around, since no attendant is needed! So, if you generate some trash, please be prepared to take it away with you.

6) Never unplug someone else’s vehicle

Unless its an absolute emergency, never, ever touch another driver’s car. You wouldn’t want someone to do that to you (unless you left a note allowing it!) so don’t ever do it to someone else.

7) Level 2 charger time limits

Finally, if you happen upon a slower Level 2 public charger, be aware of any posted time limits. You won’t get as much charge, but others may want a little boost too. Leave when its your time to leave.

In all cases, be considerate of other EV drivers!

P3-Charging_Index

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Remember that only proper service and repair procedures will ensure the safe and reliable operation of your car. In addition, proper safety procedures and precautions, such as the  use of safety goggles, the right tools and the equipment should be followed at all times to eliminate the possibility of personal injury or improper service which could damage the vehicle or compromise its safety.

These posts are for information sharing purposes only, and should not be used in lieu of an OEM service manual or factory authorized service procedure. We are not in the auto repair business nor do we publish automotive service manuals. Nothing we include on these pages and posts has been reviewed, approved or authorized by any vehicle manufacturer.

Technology is always changing and what is current and accurate today may be literally out-of-date and inaccurate tomorrow. And when it comes to the current state of flux in the auto industry, nothing is more true.

Permanent link to this article: https://dashboardsymbols.com/2024/04/ev-charging-etiquette/

EV Charging: Whose Electric Vehicles Have the Fastest Charging Speed?

Speed Kills? Not Here!

Back in July, we posted on the efficiency of electric vehicles, or EVs, using miles per kilowatt as the metric. You can see that post here.

But whose electric vehicles have the fastest charging speed?

We promised to then post on charging efficiency or charging speed when DC, or Level 3, charging. This proved to be a really difficult nut to crack as manufacturers throw numbers around that are near meaningless and mostly self serving. Whatever number makes their car or cars look good, they will use. There is no standard metric. Or at least there wasn’t until now.

The Real Pros

Enter Edmunds.com. Working with P3, they have the resources and the access to do this properly and have researched the topic which has culminated in their article, Which EVs Charge the Fastest? The link will take you there.

So we will defer to them on the topic — they will do it best, and have already done it. By all means when doing research on your next or first EV, check out their work.

They tested charge rates when batteries are at 10% charge and charged only to 80%, which is exactly how you should charge your car at a DC or Level 3 charge station. By stopping at 80% charge, you spare a battery’s overall lifespan and better maintain its long-term performance. Charging power for most, if not all, vehicles also significantly slows beyond 80% (see the charge curve and discussion below), so it’s generally best to unplug at that point. Its the best use of your time as well as the car’s battery and frees up the charging station.

We’ll make one notable observation. In our efficiency research, Hyundai’s fleet was second only to Lucid and tied with Tesla. You can see it in our previous post. Edmunds testing places two Hyundai models and one Kia — same manufacturer — at the very top of charging speed! So, not only does Hyundai come in with the best range but many of their models charge the fastest as well!

Edmund’s leaderboard is here. They use an interesting metric of miles added per hour while DC charging, leading to numbers that do not reflect range! The Ioniq 6 adds range (charges) at 868 miles per hour! This does not mean that the car will go 868 miles when done charging. It means it will hit its roughly 300 mile range and be done charging well before the rest of the field!

The next fastest charging model that is not a Hyundai or Kia is the Porsche Taycan at 690 miles per hour, a full 20% less. The first Tesla is the Model 3 at 569 mi/hr, 35% slower than the Ioniq 6.

A final note here. All EVs feature a charge curve, like the one shown below from P3. It’s a little difficult to read, but reading it is not the point (you can read it here). All of vehicles shown behave in a very similar fashion, and yours will too. They start fast and finish slow. It is the nature of today’s battery technology and stopping at 80% is best for you, the battery and the charging public. Adding another 10% could take as long as the first 70!

Fastest charging speeds

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Remember that only proper service and repair procedures will ensure the safe and reliable operation of your car. In addition, proper safety procedures and precautions, such as the use of safety goggles, the right tools and the equipment should be followed at all times to eliminate the possibility of personal injury or improper service which could damage the vehicle or compromise its safety.

These posts are for information sharing purposes only, and should not be used in lieu of an OEM service manual or factory authorized service procedure. We are not in the auto repair business nor do we publish automotive service manuals. Nothing we include on these pages and posts has been reviewed, approved or authorized by any vehicle manufacturer.

Permanent link to this article: https://dashboardsymbols.com/2023/11/ev-charging-whose-electric-vehicles-have-the-fastest-charging-speeds/