"How long does it take to charge then?"
Previously we had a look at how much it costs to charge an EV.
This time, let's do time.
We'll use our Nissan Leaf as an example: 59kWh battery, but let's do 0% battery to really get that range anxiety going 💀
| Charger speed | Time to 100% |
|---|---|
| 3 kWh (regular 3 pin plug) | 19 hours 36 minutes |
| 7 kWh | 8 hours 25 minutes |
| 22 kWh | 2 hours 40 minutes |
| 50 kWh | 1 hour 10 minutes |
| 100 kWh | 35 minutes |
The Nissan Leaf e+ doesn't allow rapid charging speeds higher than 100kWh, but a lot of newer cars can accept up to 350kWh, which would reduce these charging times significantly!
We usually charge overnight with our 7kWh charger, but we also don't ever really get to 0% battery. Usually we'll whack it on if it's lower than 30%.
Overall time is a bit more of a straight-forward answer, and far simpler math:
batterySize / chargerSpeed
Having said all of this, when rapid charging out on the road, it still depends on some factors:
- weather
- the charge point you are using
- are there other cars using a charger next to you (this could result in a lower charge speed for you)
- and probably other stuff which is equally as annoying
...oh and as the charge of the car increases, the speed at which it charges reduces, something something battery chemistry / overheating...?
The biggest problems we've faced when doing longer trips:
- not enough reliable chargers (some services on the motorway have like 2, and they're either in use or broken)
- people with ICE cars parking in charging bays (fucking annoying this one)
- other EV drivers leaving their cars at rapid chargers for longer than they should (80% is about right)
...but we think these things will improve as more people get used to EV driving.