Factors affecting the time to charge

The time it takes to charge your electric car will depend on many different factors, such as battery size, vehicle charging capacity, type of charging station, state of charge, and even weather conditions. Below, we cover each of these factors in a little more detail. 

Battery size: just like the size of a fuel tank, the size of an electric car's battery determines how much energy a vehicle can hold. Measured in kilowatt hours (kWh)—the electric equivalent of litres of fuel—the bigger the battery, the longer it will take to charge. 

Charging capacity of the vehicle: some vehicles can receive a higher input of power than others. Those electric cars that support higher inputs of power, coupled with a compatible charging station, will be able to charge faster.

Charging capacity of the charging station: similarly to the charging capacity of the vehicle, different types of charging stations can output higher amounts of power than others. There are different levels of charging, and generally speaking, the higher the level, the higher the power, and therefore the faster it can charge your vehicle. If you would like to find out more about the different charging levels then head on over to our blog article here.

State of charge (SoC): similar to the fuel gauge in a petrol or diesel vehicle, the state of charge refers to how much energy your electric car currently holds. And like smartphones and laptops, EVs use lithium-ion batteries which degrade faster when drained to zero then fully charged. To counter this, manufacturers put systems in place to limit charging and prevent batteries degrading—typically above 80 percent and below 20 percent. This means charging between these SoC could take longer.

Weather conditions: environmental conditions also play a role in how fast you can charge your electric car. Batteries operate most efficiently when temperatures are between 20°C and 25°C. If the temperature gets too low or too high, the vehicle’s battery management system (BMS) reduces power to protect the battery, and therefore it can take slightly longer to charge.

Approximate time to charge

We have made the following table to give you an approximate idea of how long it takes to charge an electric car from 20 percent to 80 percent SoC, depending on the battery size of an electric car and the power output of a charging station.

For illustrative purposes only: does not reflect exact charging times, some vehicles will not be able to handle certain power inputs and/or do not support fast charging.

If you would like to read more about how long it takes to charge your electric car, then head on over to our blog that covers the subject in more detail here.