EV drivers know Level 2 chargers charge a car faster than Level 1, but not all know it’s not quite that simple. There are many different kinds of Level Two chargers, and each one is different. Their charging speeds can vary from around 12 to 65 miles of charge per hour.
Everything, from the EV’s onboard charging capabilities to the amount of power the charger can provide, all affect the speed at which your car charges and whether your car is truly getting all the power it’s capable of using.
Determining Your Charging Time
How does it all work? According to Greentransportation.com, “The actual determiner of range gained is the kilowatts delivered to the car. The typical equipment is set up to deliver at most 30 amps to the car with the typical onboard charger in affordable electric cars supporting up to 6.6 kilowatts.”
Curious about your estimated charging time? Find it by taking the battery capacity and dividing it by the onboard charger power rating. The average EV has a battery capacity of around 36 kWH, and average onboard power rating of 6.6kW, taking around 5.5 hours to charge the EV from empty to full, with the average Level Two charger.
However, vehicles are becoming more sophisticated with higher battery capacity every day. It’s been a long time since EV range was around 50 miles! Now range is over 250 miles in many EVs, and the Tesla Model X boasts a range of well over 300 miles.
High Capacity Batteries and the Future of EVs
The Model X has a usable battery capacity of 100 kWh, while the Tesla Cybertruck TriMotor has a battery capacity of over 200 kWh. With a 7.2 kW charger and a 100 kWh battery capacity, the vehicle takes nearly 14 hours to charge completely, while the Tesla Cybertruck TriMotor would take a whopping 28 hours! True, DC Superchargers exist, but they are rare, over $100,000 to install, cost the consumer more to use, and prematurely drain battery life. It can feel like consumers are being punished for purchasing the most powerful, up to date EVs available.
Cars with higher battery capacity are also not getting the power they could be. The average charger offers 7.2 kW power. Some models of the Tesla X can take in up to 19.2 kW, and the rest of the Tesla and luxury EV market are aiming to receive a minium of 11.5 kW with their onboard chargers. Let’s say you buy an EV with an onboard charger power rating of 8.2 kW, if you plug into a charger that offers only 7.2 kW, then that is all you’re going to get. Why buy a car that can handle more power if there isn’t a charger that can provide it? What if there were?
The Blink IQ 200 Just Changed the Rules
The IQ 200 can provide up to 19.2 kW of power. The Tesla X and many other high battery capacity cars can be charged to their highest potential with an IQ 200, charging the Tesla X fully in about 5 hours and 12 minutes. As EVs continue to improve their onboard charger power ratings, the IQ 200 is ready for them.
What does the type of charger you use have to do your EV’s charging time? A lot.
The IQ 200 is ready for EV capacity that does not yet exist in most EVs. If your business is future-minded, embracing this innovation now can keep you ahead of the game. Even businesses that don’t currently have the IQ 200 units set up with the full 19.2 kW of power can easily upgrade their electricity without buying new equipment. A host installs one charger today and is ready for future charging needs.
Blink is an innovator. Together with the most cutting-edge EV manufacturers, we look forward to charging into the future with more power, more range, faster than ever before.
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