How Long Does It Take to Charge an Electric Car?
If you’re thinking of switching from a gas-only vehicle to an electric one, charging should be at the top of your list of considerations. One of the most important things to know is how long it will take to charge, and the shortest answer is: It depends. Charging an EV could take anywhere from 20 minutes to 40 hours — or more. So many variables affect charging (including the EV’s charging capabilities, battery capacity, charging equipment capabilities, ambient temperature and more) that you may have noticed every manufacturer’s estimate for their all-electrics includes some sort of hedging language like “as little as.” But we’re going to give you a better idea of just how long it takes to charge an electric car.
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While manufacturer charging time estimates are a decent benchmark, recognize before you purchase an EV that those estimates are for the best-case scenario. Here are some rough estimates for the three charging levels of Level 1, Level 2 and public DC fast charging.
Level 1: Typically 40-Plus Hours
Your standard 120-volt household outlet is not feasible for regularly charging an EV because most can deliver a maximum of 5 miles of range per hour of charging. EVs these days usually have at least 200 miles of total range, so a theoretical charging session would take a minimum of 40 hours to go from 0% to a full charge. That’s why we recommend EV buyers install Level 2 home charging equipment, which is often referred to as the “charger” but is technically the “electric vehicle supply equipment” — the device that hangs on the wall. Consider Level 1 charging the method of last resort.
Level 2: 4-15 Hours
Level 2 charging is necessary for a truly effective home charging setup; unfortunately, it doesn’t make it any easier to give shoppers a single answer for how long it takes to charge an EV. While the rough estimate can be as little as four hours or as much as 15, we recognize there is a significant difference between those times. That’s why Level 2 charging works best at the owner’s home: In an ideal scenario, an owner drives their EV for a day or multiple days, then plugs the car in when it’s time to charge and lets it charge to the desired level overnight. In our own home charging tests, our Tesla Model Y added approximately 46 miles of range in one hour of home charging, while the 2022 Hyundai Ioniq 5 added 38 miles and the 2022 Kia EV6 added 33. The EPA provides helpful “time to charge” measurements for Level 2 charging on its vehicle spec pages; the 2023 Model Y, for example, is estimated to take 9 hours, 24 minutes. We’ve laid out how you can calculate your ideal Level 2 charging setup; we’ll touch on why this estimate is so variable below.
DC Fast Charging: 20 Minutes-1 Hour
There are a number of reasons why you won’t have access to a home DC fast charger (cost, necessary equipment, infrastructure) and will have to rely on publicly available ones. EV manufacturers typically tout DC fast charging as adding “X miles in as little as X minutes” or the minimum time it takes to go from 10% charge to 80%. Why not 100%? DC fast charging slows considerably once the EV’s battery reaches 80%, and constantly charging to 100% can actually be bad for the battery’s health. DC fast chargers can vary considerably in maximum power delivery, from 50 kilowatts to 350 kW in ideal conditions. We’ve charged a 2022 Hyundai Ioniq 5 from 18% to 80% in as little as 18 minutes on a 350-kW DC fast charger, but ambient and battery temperatures can affect charge rates, and we’ve spent more time adding similar energy when the temperatures dropped.
This sort of charging is best used on longer road trips. Ideally, your EV will have some sort of route-planning feature (built-in navigation, part of a smartphone app, etc.) that will calculate driving distance, state of charge and additional factors, then plot a route that will include any necessary charging stops.
Why Do These Numbers Vary?
A number of variables affect how quickly you can charge an EV. The most important factor will be the vehicle’s maximum charging rate — not the charging equipment’s power delivery. The vehicle’s maximum charging rate dictates how much power the vehicle can receive; an EV could have a maximum charging rate of 240 kW, for example, and not be able to accept the 350 kW the charging station delivers.
Additional factors include battery capacity (measured in kilowatt-hours), how efficient the EV is, charging hardware, temperature, battery health and more. We’ve broken charging details down in a number places: our EV buying guide; our home charging explainer; and our EV charging primer. We also have an entire EV glossary to help get you up to speed.
More From Cars.com:
- How Much Does It Cost to Charge an Electric Car?
- What It Cost to Outfit 6 Homes With EV Chargers
- Electric Vehicles: Understanding the Terminology
- EV Owners Frustrated by Public Charging, Says J.D. Power Study
- How to Find EV Charging Stations
- Which New Electric Vehicles Come With Free Charging?
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