How long will it take to charge my EV cars battery?
- 2 min reading time
EV's have different specifications and there are several factors that dictate how long it will take to charge your car battery using an EV charger. This article aims to take you through the most significant factors when using an AC EV charger.
Pro Tip
1. Check your cars manufacturer information / specifications. Manufactures will tell you the battery size/capacity along with estimates of charging times for using AC and DC chargers. This information can usually be found in the car’s handbook, user manual or on the manufactures website.
2. EV's will tell you in real-time how long it will take to charge your cars battery but only when you start charging. This information is accessible via the information screen/control panel in the car.
EV Battery Charging time considerations
Battery Capacity Kilowatt-hour (kWh) rating of your battery
Simply put, how big is your cars battery. In theory and with all things equal a 60kWh battery will take twice as long to charge than a 30kWh battery.
Battery Age and Condition
As a battery gets older with age its ability to hold charge and charge at optimum rates like new decreases.
Maximum charge rates your EV can handle
Your cars built-in onboard charger (OBC) dictates how much power it can manage when its connected to an AC charger. Many cars are capped at around 7.4kw for AC charging so connecting to a higher rated AC charger does not mean your cars battery will charger any faster - the charging limit is dictated by the OBC.
Rating in Kilowatts (KW) of the EV charger you are using
The output power of the charger being used plays a key role in charging times and the maximum output power of the charger is dictated by the input power you get from the circuit you are connecting to.
Input Power coming from your Circuit
The quality of the electricity (from your electricity provider) coming into the circuit you are connecting the charger to dictates the maximum power that the charger can provide.
Initial State of Charge (SoC)
Put simply how much charge is left in your battery before you start charging. A nearly empty battery takes longer than a partially charged one.
Calculating Battery Recharge Time (using kW hour)
For the purpose of keeping things simple, you can get estimate of charging time of a fully depleted using basic maths. Simply divide the battery rating in kWh by the kW output power of the charger.
A 3.68kW (Level 1) 'plug in the wall socket' type charger connected to a 16 Amp/240 Volt circuit, the approximate time to charge a fully depleted battery is:
- 20kWh battery / 3.68kW = 5.4 hours
- 60kWh battery / 3.68kW = 16.3 hours
A 7.4kW (Level 2) charger connected to a 32 Amp/240 Volt circuit, the approximate time to charge a fully depleted battery is:
- 20kWh battery / 7.4kW = 2.7 hours
- 60kWh battery / 7.4kW = 8.1 hours
The above are estimates only, in an ideal scenario without taking into consideration the points above. We suggest you check your cars manufacturer information / specifications for more accurate estimates.