How fast can my electric car charge?
The speed at which your car can charge depends on your vehicle and whether you are using a slow, fast, or rapid charger. The majority of cars will never hit the higher charge outputs on the Rapid charge points for the duration of the charge, as it can degrade the battery.
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Slow Chargers
- The most common slow chargers are rated at under 7 kW and are usually found in homes, although you may find them in workplaces and public sites.
- As an average, a slow charger would complete a full charge anywhere from 8 hours to 12 hours. They are often known as "trickle chargers". They are cheaper to install and will have a lower per kWh cost compared to quicker charger methods.
Fast Chargers
Fast Chargers:
- These chargers tend to be between 7kW to 22kW in power output and will normally be found in commercial premises or destination charge points.
- As an average, a fast charge would complete in around 2-4 hours depending on car battery.
Rapid Chargers
Rapid Chargers:
- These chargers tend to be "on-route" chargers that would be found at service stations on major road networks. They can be from 22+kW power outage, up to 100kW.
- Rapid chargers can complete a charge in under an hour, but shouldn't be used to consistently charge a car. It could lead to battery degradation in future, meaning a loss of overall range.
- These will always be DC chargers.
Ultra-Rapid Chargers
Ultra-Rapid Chargers:
- Recently Ultra Rapid Chargers have started to grow in prevalence. These can charge above 100kW per hour, and will be found in charging hubs on major road networks.
- A good example of an ultra-rapid charge network is Clenergy EV partner era-Supercharge, who are building an ultra-rapid charger network in Scotland.
Some vehicles are capable of charging at faster speeds than others. For more information, please visit EV Database: Quickest charging electric vehicles
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