Everything You Need to Know About EV Charging
We dive into the three levels of EV charging, and which one is the best option for you.
Everything You Need to Know
If you are planning to buy an electric vehicle, you will soon be part of the booming world of EV charging systems. While some areas, such as San Francisco, California, or Seattle, Washington, have plenty of public charging stations to allow for easy access when you are out and about, many areas around the United States have no charge public charging architecture. In those cases, making sure that you can charge your EV becomes a major concern, so it is good to know about all of the options in the world of charging stations.
How EV Charging Works
Electricity from the local power grid is alternating current (AC) while the battery system in your electric vehicle operates on a direct current (DC) system. This means that when your EV is charging, the AC electricity coming from the grid has to be converted before being stored in the DC system. Every new EV has an on-board system that converts the AC electricity to DC electricity in those charging systems that sent AC electricity into the vehicle.
There are currently three levels of electric vehicle charging – Level 1, Level 2, and Level 3. Levels 1 and 2 provide AC electricity to the vehicle where it is converted to DC internally, while the Level 3 charging stations convert AC to DC, leading to substantially quicker charging.
There are many variables as to how quickly a charging system can replenish an EV battery, including the strength of the lower power grid, local power demand, and environmental conditions, but there are some general ranges for the rate of charging for each type of charging station.
Level 1 EV Home Charging Units
Every electric vehicle sold in the United States comes with a Level 1, 120-volt charging unit. These handheld chargers plug into the average grounded wall socket and are designed to easily stow in the vehicle. You can use these to charge your EV anywhere you can find an accessible electric socket, making them the most convenient option, but they have one major downside – they are slow.
On average, a Level 1 charging unit, your electric vehicle battery system will gain between 3 and 5 miles of driving range. If your vehicle has a 100-mile range and the battery is nearly empty when you begin charging, it will likely take upwards of 20 hours to fully charge the vehicle.
In short, Level 1 is the slowest, but it is the least expensive – with the unit being included with the vehicle and working without any need for electrical upgrades to your home.
Level 2 EV Charging Stations
If you want to be able to charge your EV more quickly at home, a Level 2, 240-volt charging station is the answer. Most automakers that offer EVs have some sort of Level 2 option that can be purchased at the point of sale, or through the dealership parts department. These charging stations are larger and, in most cases, are designed to be mounted permanently on a wall or post. Of course, the Level 2 chargers also require access to a 240-volt outlet, leading to another reason why these units aren't designed to travel with you.
The upside to the Level 2 charging stations is that they are significantly faster than Level 1. While there are several variables, Level 2 chargers can deliver electricity at a rate 15 times more quickly than Level 1, leading to gains of up to 80 miles of driving range per hour. Even on the slower end, a Level 2 charger delivers around 12 miles of range per hour, so recharging a vehicle with a 100-mile range will generally take less than 10 hours. In the best-case scenario, a Level 2 charger will completely replenish that small EV battery in a couple of hours.
For anyone looking to use an electric vehicle as a daily driver without any concern of relying on local charging infrastructure, a Level 2 charging station at home is a must-have item. The charger obviously costs more than the free unit that comes with your vehicle, and you may have to pay an electrician to install a 240-volt outlet in your garage, but the quicker charger is necessary to make use of a daily driven EV. However, they still send AC electricity to the vehicle, requiring on-board conversion and causing slower charging times.
Level 3 Commercial EV Charging
Finally, Level 3 charging stations are the quickest and most efficient option available, but they have a few downsides. First and foremost, these are high voltage systems that include integrated AC-to-DC converters, so the electrical system in a residential home will not support a Level 3 system. In fact, the electrical system of many small businesses will not handle the draw of a Level 3 EV charging station, which is why they are most often located around office buildings, malls, and other properties with high voltage electrical systems.
Since the Level 3 charging station converts the AC power from the grid to DC prior to sending it to the vehicle, the constraints of the onboard charging station are eliminated for the most part. As a result, a Level 3 station can charge an electric vehicle at the rate of up to 20 miles per minute. Take note that for Level 1 and 2, we were talking about charging rate in miles per hour, but for Level 3, it charges at the rate of miles per minute. Thanks to that quick rate, a Level 3 system will charge just about any modern EV in an hour or so.
Level 3 charging stations are great, but they are rare in many areas. If you live in an area with plenty of Level 3 chargers, perhaps your place of work has them available, it will make life a whole lot easier. Your EV will always be fully charged when you leave work, even on a short day, but this is not an option for many American drivers.
Which EV Charger is Right for You?
If you are going to buy an electric vehicle with the plans of daily driving, you need to decide whether you can realistically get by with the Level 1 charger that comes with the vehicle, or if you need to spend the money to buy and install a Level 2 charger at your home.
This decision comes down to a few key variables.
First, how many miles do you really drive each day? If your daily commute is 50 miles, if you are home and plugged in by 7 pm, the car will be fully charged by the time you are ready to leave for the next morning’s rush hour. However, if your commute is longer, or if you run lots of errands after work that leads to closer to a hundred miles of usage, you are going to have forced downtime while charging with the Level 1 unit.
In short, if you have a longer daily commute and you do not charge at work, you will want to invest in a Level 2 charging station for your home. On the other hand, those EV drivers who have a charging system at work – particularly a Level 2 or Level 3 system – can do most of their charging at work, making the Level 1 unit sufficient for supplemental charging overnight.
