EV charging is one of the reasons you should get an electric car

Whether you’re in the market for your first EV or you're considering upgrading, it’s only logical that you’re comparing your options. One of the major differences between owning an EV and a traditional vehicle with an internal combustion engine (ICE) is how you fill your proverbial tank. Many find switching from putting gas in a tank to charging a battery with electricity the scariest transition; what if you run out in the middle of nowhere?

But in reality, EV range anxiety has as much to do with psychology as it does with the range of electric cars (or the availability of charging stations).

Did you know that around 4 out of 10 of current EV drivers don’t encounter any problems at all when it comes to charging their vehicle? In fact, being able to charge your battery is one of the best things about driving an electric car.

The biggest difference between driving petrol and electric is that when you’re driving electric, you can charge anywhere.

It may sound obvious, but with a petrol vehicle, you can pretty much only fill up your tank at a gas station. With an EV however, you can charge your vehicle pretty much everywhere: at home, at the office, at a restaurant, whilst doing your shopping, whilst parked on the street, or you can top-off your car’s battery at a (no-longer aptly named) petrol station.

So the decision of getting an EV and thinking about how to charge it go hand in hand. However, because it works a little differently than what we’re all familiar with, it can get quite confusing, especially because there are many new definitions you have to wrap your head around.

As a relatively young, scattered, and rapidly-growing industry, EV charging terminology is all over the place. There are different charging levels, cable modes, plug types (which differ depending on where you are), there are different flows of charge (AC or DC), a wide range of battery capacity possibilities, estimated actual range, distance to empty, power output of a charging station, different charging speeds and a bunch of terms that are similar. For example, how fast is fast charging really? And what is rapid or even ultra-fast charging?

If you’re thinking about buying (or have just bought) an EV, then it’s understandable that all this new information can feel a bit overwhelming.

Read on to learn everything you need to know about EV charging so that you can start your transition towards electric mobility well informed.

EV charging locations

Generally speaking, wherever you can park your car is a potential charging location. So, you can imagine the places you can charge your car are as diverse as today’s available electric car models.

As the world is shifting towards electric mobility, the need for a suitable charging infrastructure network has never been more prevalent. As such, governments and cities across the globe are creating legislation and incentifying the placement of charging stations, while more and more businesses are tapping into this new market.

The number of publicly available charging stations is steadily increasing and will continue to do so to keep pace with the rapidly growing adoption of electric vehicles across the world.

So in the future, as charging stations become more common fixtures on streets the world over, there will be charging stations everywhere, but what are the five most popular places to charge your car today?

According to our Mobility Monitor report, where they interviewed thousands of EV drivers (and potential EV drivers) across Europe, India these are the five most popular places to charge an electric car:

1. Electric car charging at home

With 64 percent, charging at home takes the crown of being the most popular compared to other charging locations. Not surprising, as charging at home conveniently enables electric car drivers to wake up to a fully charged vehicle every day, and ensures that they do not pay a cent more than the electricity they actually consume against the household’s electricity price.

2. Electric car charging at work

34 percent of the current EV drivers already regularly charge their car at the workplace and many more have stated that they would love to be able to do so, and who wouldn’t? I mean, driving to the office, focusing on your work during business hours, and driving home again after the day is done in a fully charged vehicle sounds super convenient. As a result, more and more workplaces are starting to install EV charging stations as part of a sustainability initiative, employee engagement strategies, and to satisfy their EV-driving visitors and partners.

3. Public charging stations

Each day, more public charging stations are popping up as cities and local governments are investing heavily in charging infrastructure. Today, 31 percent of EV drivers already gladly make use of them, and there is a ratio of 7.5 electric cars per public charging point, which is great. But, as the sales of EVs are rising, so will the number of available public charging stations in our cities.

4. EV charging at gas stations

Charging at home or at the office sounds nice, but what if you’re on the road and looking for a quick top-up? Many fuel retailers and service stations are starting to provide fast charging (also known as level 3 or DC charging) services. 29 percent of current EV drivers already charge their car there regularly. Plus, while charging at the office or at home is convenient while you do other things, it can take hours before the battery is recharged. However, with fast charging stations, you can charge your battery a lot quicker (think in minutes, not hours) and be back on the road in no time.

5. Retail locations with electric car chargers

26 percent of EV drivers charge their car at supermarkets, while 22 percent prefer shopping malls or departments stores—if the service is available to them. Think of the convenience: imagine watching a movie, having dinner, meeting a friend for a coffee, or even doing some grocery shopping and returning to a vehicle with more charge than you left it with. More and more retail locations are discovering the growing need for this service and are installing charging stations to meet the demand and acquire new customers.

Level 1 charger

Level 1 charging is when you plug your EV into the socket with a standard AC power plug. As a standard household outlet only delivers a maximum of 2.3 kW, charging via a Level 1 charger is the slowest way to charge an EV—giving only 6 to 8 kilometers of range per hour (4 to 5 miles). As there is no communication between the power outlet and the vehicle, this method is not only slow, but it can also be dangerous for your safety and your vehicle. As such, we don’t recommend relying on Level 1 charging to charge your vehicle except for in emergency circumstances.

Level 2 charger

A Level 2 charger is any standard AC charging station that you may find mounted to a wall, on a pole, or standing in the ground. Level 2 charging stations commonly deliver anywhere between 3.4 kW - 22 kW and are commonly found at residential, public parking, businesses, and commercial locations. At the maximum output of 22 kW, an hour’s charging will provide roughly 120km (75 miles) to your battery’s range. This is a lot faster than Level 1 charging. Because of this reason, combined with a range of intelligent functionalities, smart connectivity options, and a range of safety features that Level 2 chargers have to offer, many EV drivers invest in an AC charging station for home.

Level 3 charging station (DC fast charger)

Also known as DC or fast charging, Level 3 charging uses direct current (DC) to charge a vehicle’s battery directly, bypassing the AC/DC onboard converter. This allows Level 3 chargers to deliver DC power directly to the battery. As a result, Level 3 charging stations can deliver more power, faster, making them ideal for short-stop locations like gas stations and fleet depots. Charging times vary between different vehicles and power outputs, however, generally speaking, Level 3 chargers can charge a vehicle in minutes versus hours for Level 2 or days for Level 1 charging stations.

So, the higher the level, the higher the speed. All clear so far, right? But, when is something AC and when DC, and why is DC so much faster?

AC vs DC current

AC stands for “Alternating Current” and it, well, alternates as it changes direction periodically, DC stands for “Direct Current” and flows in a straight line. Without getting too technical, AC can be transported over long distances more efficiently, so this is why it flows out of your socket at your home and office. However, batteries in general are only able to store DC power.

You may have never realized it, but every time you charge your phone (or any other electrical device for that matter), the charger converts the AC power it receives from the grid into DC power to charge the battery in your device.

The same principle goes for electric cars. The difference between AC and DC charging all depends on whether there is a conversion process or not. No matter how you charge it though, at the end of the day, the battery in the car is always charged with DC.

With a DC charger, the direct current can flow into the battery directly, while with an AC charger, the electricity has to be converted to DC first. This process will always take more time as the onboard charger can only take so much electricity at a time.

What is the average time to charge an electric car and what affects charging speed? Once you’ve got your head around where to charge, what the different levels of charging are, and have a basic understanding of the difference between AC and DC, you can now better understand the answer to the number one question: “Okay, so how long will it take to charge my new EV?”.

Level 1 (AC) 10h-40h

Level 2 (AC) 1h-20h

Level 3 (DC) 7min-2 h

Next to the power output of the charging station, how long it will take precisely will depend on your vehicle’s battery size, charging capacity, as well as a number of other situational factors.

Electric car battery

The bigger the battery, the longer it will take to charge. Simple, right? The state of charge of an EV's battery is measured in kilowatt-hours (kWh), which is similar to a liter or a gallon but for electricity, and each kWh equals the amount of energy you would use to run a 1,000-watt appliance for an hour. The vast majority of electric passenger vehicle batteries today can hold somewhere between 25 and 100 kWh when fully charged.

Charging capacity of the vehicle

The power output which a vehicle accepts differs from vehicle to vehicle and can even vary depending on the model of the car. Measured in kW, the charging capacity is shown for both AC charging and DC charging and each plays a large factor in how long it takes to charge. For instance, if two vehicles with similar size batteries are charging side by side at a high-power DC charging station, but one can only accept 50 kW of DC power and the other 250 kW, then the latter will charge much faster than the former.

Charging output of the charging station

The different output of the charging station plays a large factor in how long it takes to charge an EV. The higher the kW output on a charging station, the faster it will charge (presuming that your new vehicle accepts the higher power output).

State of charge

It might sound obvious, but, how much charge you have in your vehicle when you begin your charging session also plays a part in how long it takes to charge. The same as when you’re putting gas in a traditional vehicle, depending on whether you have half a tank or are almost empty, how long it takes to charge will differ.

The DC charging curve

With AC charging, the power flow to an EV is flat (meaning that it will charge at the same speed from 0-100 percent full), whereas with DC charging, the EV’s battery initially accepts a quicker flow of power, and then slowly starts to ask for less power as it begins to fill up. The reason for this is simple: the EV doesn’t want to damage the battery with a surge of power. As a result, with a DC or Level 3 charger, the initial phase of charging (to 80 percent full) goes quicker than the last 20 percent (which may take roughly the same amount of time as the first 80 percent).

Two graphs showing the different charging curves of AC and DC. The first graph represents the curve of an AC charging station, It goes up rapidly, levels out quickly, and moves in a straight line before starting to decline near the end. The second graph represents the DC charging curve, showing a higher peak at the start of the charge, declining gradually on its way to roughly 80 percent where it starts to decline more rapidly.