This is How Long EV Charging Really Takes
A detailed study by Energetics, involving 2.4 million charging sessions, has shed light on electric vehicle (EV) charging practices. The study found that the average time spent at a non-Tesla fast charger is approximately 42 minutes. This duration is shaped by a variety of factors including the growing preference for EVs with larger batteries, the efficacy of public DC fast chargers, and the overall understanding of EV drivers about effective charging methods.
Tesla's Approach to Charging Efficiency
In the realm of EV charging, Tesla has developed an advanced interface for its users, focusing on both charging and navigation. This system guides users to the most suitable charging stations and provides recommendations on the ideal amount of time to spend charging, to ensure a quicker journey overall. This has led to a trend among Tesla drivers of preferring shorter but more frequent charging stops. Including data from Tesla's charging sessions brings the average down to 31 minutes for all fast charging sessions.
Effective Charging Strategies
For EV owners, understanding the charging process is crucial. While fast charging stations are ideal for longer trips, regular charging is best done at home. The charging process is most efficient when the battery is neither too low nor too high (ideally between 20% and 80%). Charging the first and last 20% of the battery takes a disproportionately longer time. Managing these aspects of charging is essential, particularly as it's often unnecessary to charge the battery fully unless it's needed for a longer trip.
The Evolution of Charging Times
As EV technology evolves, with vehicles now capable of accepting faster charging and a growing network of high-speed chargers, there is an expectation for shorter charging times in the future. As EV users become more adept in their understanding and usage of their vehicles, including optimal charging techniques, a decrease in the average time spent charging is anticipated.
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This article was co-written using AI and was then heavily edited and optimized by our editorial team.
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Interesting that Tesla favors more stops and less time charging. I wonder if you can change their parameters if you'd rather have 1 long stop for a meal rather than 2 shorter stops on a trip.
A Fox news financial guy from Chicago drove to New York with a Tesla model X over Christmas. He got half the stated range each time he charged up. 100 miles instead of 200, 120 instead of 240, etc.
Another guy, this one from California recorded his Hummer EV costing him $102 US to charge up from 20% to 100%. And he sat at the charging station for an hour.
Dont forget about the fires, thermal runaway that results. A Jaguar I-Pace fire in California on Wednesday and an EV bus fire in Manchester England on Thursday.
The City of Duluth Minnesota suing and getting their money back from the Canadian EV company in Winnipeg and the city of Calgary not being able to use their BYD EV busses AND having to install diesel heating systems on them to heat the interiors during winters.
EVs are not ready for mainstream use. Not for many years to come.