How Long Does It Take To Charge An Electric Vehicle?

Putting a definite number to the time it takes to charge an electric car is much like determining how long it takes to commute from Brisbane to Sydney – there are many factors that need to be taken into account.  

When taking the leap to transition from an internal combustion engine (ICE) car to an electric vehicle (EV), a slight behavioural shift is required. Instead of the ‘reactive’ approach, where we only look for a petrol station when the fuel light switches on, EV management is a more proactive and planned approach that involves topping up the battery charge when the vehicle is parked. 

This poses just one of the many questions that an EV-transitioner would be asking when considering their first EV purchase, so we’ve put together a handy guide to assist with the calculation process.  

What kind of electric vehicle charger are you using? 

Arguably the largest contributors to charging speed are the charging station’s power output and charger’s electrical current. The higher the output power, the faster the state of charge. 

For example, a 7kW Level 2 AC charger can add around 40km of range per hour, and 22kW AC chargers can add approximately 130km. Level 3 charging, or DC fast charging, has an output from 50kW to 350kW, which adds a range of 150-300km/hour. 

How does the car’s battery impact the EV charge speed? 

The size of an EV’s battery is a critical factor in determining charging times, and this varies significantly between car models. For example, the Fiat 500e is only 21.3kWh, but a car like the Lucid Air has a battery size of 118kWh.  

Thankfully, there’s a shortcut to calculating the charging rate for your own EV. Divide the usable battery capacity (kWh) / size of the battery by the charging speed of your EV charger to get an estimate that will assist with planning.  

Let’s imagine that we’re planning to charge both batteries to 80% with EVOS Energy’s 7.4kW SB7 home charger. The Fiat 500e would reach this percentage in under 2 hours, whereas the Lucid Air would take ten and half hours. 

When an EV’s battery reaches 80%, the rate will then slow down. If you’ve been in the EV industry for a while, you may have heard the term ‘battery state of charge’ (SoC). This means that the amount left to charge your EV also has an impact on the charging time. Battery management systems adapt the rate to prevent overheating, which conserves the battery’s performance by guarding against degradation. 

We also believe that it’s important to note weather conditions can play a part – albeit small – role in EV charging time. Both cold and hot weather can increase the time it takes to fill up the car. 

If you have any questions about EV charging times, reach out to our friendly sales team at sayhi@evos.com.au