How long does it take to charge an electric car?

Electric car charging times can vary, taking anywhere from 30 minutes to 12 hours. Plus, you’ll see different results depending on the size of your battery and the charge point output. While slower, charging overnight at home can reduce electricity costs—especially if your energy provider offers off-peak tariffs.

• Large car batteries and low-power charge points are two of the biggest contributors to slower charge times.
• Charging from mains power may take longer than any other charge point, as its power output is usually only 3.7kW. This could take a 60 kWh battery almost 16 hours to charge.
• Using a 7kW home charger could charge the same vehicle in as little as eight hours from empty, and most homes can easily support this.
• Depending on your driving habits, you may not be charging from empty every day.
• High-powered electric charging points are publicly available to you. These can range from 50kW, all the way to 100+ kW, and can charge your vehicle in around 30 minutes.

Many factors can affect EV charging times. While some make sense, others might catch you by surprise. Knowing what these are can help you optimise your car’s charging routine and avoid unnecessary energy use.

Battery size

The battery size is one of the most important measures of your EV’s charging time. The larger it is, the longer it will take to charge.

Battery charge

Charging the battery from empty takes longer than recharging it from partially full.

Capped charging rate of the vehicle

Most manufacturers limit your electric car’s charging speed. So, regardless of what charger you use, you won’t be able to exceed this value.

Capped charging rate of the charge point

Charge points may have charging rate caps. So again, regardless of what charger you use, you won’t be able to exceed that value.

Temperature

The charging time and capacity of your electric car’s battery might be slower during colder weather, as well as during extremely hot spells.

While most manufacturers will probably have manuals and webpages to confirm the time to charge, it’s possible to figure out an estimate yourself by doing this:

• Get your battery size
• Divide it by the charging speed
• The result is your time to charge

While there are a lot of numbers, it shows that, in general, charge times can take anywhere from 30 minutes to 28 hours, depending on the chargers you use. The lower the charging power, the longer it takes to fully charge, with the difference in charge times increasing significantly as power levels decrease.

One of the most convenient ways to charge your vehicle is to do so while parked. That may be overnight, at work, or while at the gym or shopping for groceries. Many car parks offer charge points. The benefits of this include:

• You never have to worry about running empty, making it incredibly convenient.
• If the charge point is free to use, you could reduce your electricity costs compared to charging at home.
• Many public charge points in parking locations are lower powered, making them ideal for prolonged charging.

The amount of range you get per hour of charging will depend on the specific vehicle. With a rapid charger of 50kW or more, you can usually add up to 100 miles of range with a charge of around 35 to 45 minutes. As an example, the Honda e:Ny1 has a maximum charging speed of 78kW and can be charged from 10% to 80% in 45 minutes, giving you almost 200 miles of range.