Posted on 05/23/2021 7:10:50 AM PDT by DoodleBob
So you’re thinking about trading in your gas-guzzling SUV for a futuristic, energy-efficient, quiet-as-a-nun-walking-through-the-Vatican fully electric vehicle? Mazel Tov! But you’re wondering how long it takes to charge an EV? Well, fine sir or madam, you’ve come to the right place.
The electron pit-stop offers different charge rates based on capability, type of charger, weather, temperature, how many cars are connected to the station, time of day, and your car’s battery capacity. As such, EV chargers often require a quick tutorial by the manufacturer or dealer. But just like pumping gas, after a few fill-ups it becomes second nature.
To make understanding EV jargon easier, The Drive’s crack How-To department is here to answer just how long it takes to charge an electric vehicle, along with a handful of other frequently asked questions about EVs.
Game?
Nearly every electric vehicle comes with a factory-provided charger, but manufacturers and third-party businesses offer faster, more efficient chargers, too. These can be installed by an electrician or be gas station-like chargers installed throughout the country.
Here’s a quick rundown of the type of chargers available:
Now that you have an idea of the types of chargers available, here are The Drive’s estimates of how long it will take your electric car to charge, variables notwithstanding.
While conventional gasoline pumps have a predetermined flow rate, which can be somewhat affected by the number of cars fueling up, a charger’s is subject to a great many more variables that affect how quickly its EV juice is dispensed.
Here are some variables that affect an electric car’s charge speed:
In the U.S., the national average cost per kWh is around $0.13 but can reach $0.32 per hour in Hawaii—aloha. On average, however, you’ll spend less charging your EV than you would fueling a gasoline-powered vehicle.
There are also costs associated with your selected charger. Standard Level 1 chargers are normally included in the price of a vehicle, but if you want a faster Level 2 charger, that’ll require more investment as they’re more than just a plug-and-play setup.
Tesla offers its Gen 3 wall charger for $500, and third-party chargers can range from $400 to $900, plus $1,500 to $2,000 for installation.
How far you can travel in an electric vehicle has become a sticking point, with many potential buyers citing “range anxiety” as the biggest hurdle to adoption.
Just like a gasoline-powered car, the estimated electric range varies from car to car. Consumers can get anywhere from 84 miles in a Fiat 500e to well into the 300-mile range in an EV like a Tesla Model 3 Long Range or Porsche Taycan.
Considering the average American’s commute is 16 miles, any of the current EVs offer more than enough range. Charging stations are also becoming more common along highways making long-distance road trips achievable.
Electric vehicles are still in their infancy and as such can still suffer from build quality issues that commonly affect the first-generation system. That will change.
As subsequent evolutions of the electric vehicle roll off the assembly line, EVs have the real potential to be more reliable than any gasoline-powered car. An electric car requires only a few moving parts, as well as few parts that require fluids that could be corrupted by the elements, fuel, particulates, or grease. Thus, electric cars won’t need as much maintenance and could triple a car’s longevity.
You've got questions, The Drive has answers!
A. As shown about, they'll supply about 30 miles of range in one hour. Though, at-home chargers are getting faster as the tech proliferates.
A. That would be either the Porsche Taycan or Audi E-tron GT, both of which ride on the same electrical architecture and can make use of the 800v ultra-fast charging.
A. You can and can't. Most manufacturers have built-in safe guards so that you don't overcharge your vehicle. Tesla actually released a patch that modifies its car's thermal loads and charge capabilities after a handful of cars spontaneously combusted.
A. According to GMC, it'll take about 10 minutes to restore 100 miles of range when the truck goes on sale in 2022.
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Yay you.
The water is heated by magic pixies then.
“ Yes, that capability will probably eventually get here, but it is very long term.”
Why do you believe that?
How many of the blue state imports would "arc out" after being exposed to Texas history?
This is a GOOD thing.
I agree.
Hope your scenario includes a back up car for vacations, or doing something other than commuting to work. I generally cover 400-600 miles a day on vacation. I don’t take MANY vacations, but I’d sure be pissed if I could only do a few hundred miles a day going on one.
Around here this year, the impact fee for installation as about 2K for 200 amp, 6K for 400 amp, and 30K for 3 phase.
Few tidbits -
1) Pouring gas in the car is equivalent about 4MW energy transfer. Small power plant! Hard to match with electricity!
2) The maximum miles driven for the charge is calculated very optimistic. People tried to do some real life driving and they could go a lot less distance. Especially if they needed to heat the car, and run other conveniences.
3) The MPGe tries to match gas to electricity! It is again calculated such that the Ge is a lot more than G! Intentionally, to make EC a look better.
E.g. Ge costs somewhere from $5 to $9, so if you calculate costs from the Ge, you are very mistaken!
“There is not enough electrical power in the United States to power the cars if everyone converts to EVs.”
https://www.eia.gov/electricity/gridmonitor/dashboard/electric_overview/US48/US48
Look at the graph U.S. electricity generation by energy source. Anything within the sinusoid curve for natural gas is potentially available for car recharging.
Let’s us underestimate at say 50,000 megawatts for eight hours, or 50,000,000khw for eight hours.
That’s somewhere around ~4kwh (~16 miles per day) for about 100 million cars.
It comes fairly close. It’s going to be decades to replace the gasoline car fleet. There’s time to build more natural gas power plants.
At that point, I turn off and get a steak and some beers and spend the night in a motel. Usually around Winchester, VA the first day and Savannah, GA the next day.
“Hope your scenario includes a back up car for vacations, or doing something other than commuting to work. I generally cover 400-600 miles a day on vacation. I don’t take MANY vacations, but I’d sure be pissed if I could only do a few hundred miles a day going on one.”
Gasoline and gasoline-powered cars are not going to disappear for reasons you already know, most especially so in the American West. Gasoline will commonly be available even in 2060 and taxed at about $10/gallon.
You know your needs and you know your wants - better than me and better than John Kerry. Hopefully, what you know pays enough to feed the gas pump electronic payment card reader.
Taxed at $10/gallon? Only in AOC’s wet dreams.
I saw what you did there.
Should be:
Anything within [and above] the sinusoid curve for natural gas is potentially available for car recharging.
As the Reader's Digest used to say...WORD POWER!
I was not advocating a return to that style of living. I was making an observation that most EV’s are primarily suited to in-town driving as opposed to long distances.
Nothing smells like Castrol R bean oil. We used it in the 70’s in our motocross bike. It did produce a lot of carbon on the rings. Golden Spectro and Maxima 927 made it obsolete. Sure did smell good.
I can’t think of a EV that will do 500 miles on a single charge. I think the Tesla Long Range model is only rated at 350+/- and that’s the published range which is not the norm.
Which vehicle are you thinking has a 500 mile range?
If people want to go Tesla that's fine...I'm a live and let live kinda guy. If consumer preference - not govt interference- leads to more EVs then so be it. I'm still peeved that reel-to-reel and cassettes are dead and happy about the return of vinyl but loathe streaming...but I will live.
BUT...one cultural/familial/human problem I foresee is
"honey, did you plug-in the car? I have a meeting in Utica tomorrow."
"No, but little D'Artagnan said he plugged it in. You should be fine..."
"WTF? honey D'Artagnan did NOT plug in the car! I can't get to Utica on a half charge!"
"Call an Uber.
"That'll cost $376 with the new EV surcharge!"
"Well you should have check for yourself and not relied on our son."
"But I asked YOU, not D'Artagnan."
"Stop whining...I called for an Uber on your iPhone. It should be here in 45 mins. By the way, your phone only has 17% of a charge."
If someone runs out of gas while travelling it would be very inconvenient, yet easily correctable by obtaining a gas can and putting some gas into the tank. Start it up and go on. What happens if you run out of charge? Would every single one of those cars have to towed?
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