Electric Vehicle Charging Speeds
Electric vehicles can be charged using three charging speeds.
Level 1
The slowest, Level 1 equipment, provides charging through a common residential 120-volt (120V) AC outlet. Level 1 chargers can take 40-50 hours to charge a battery electric vehicle (BEV) from empty and 5-6 hours to charge a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) from empty.
Level 2
Level 2 equipment offers charging through 240V (in residential applications) or 208V (in commercial applications) electrical service, and is common for home, workplace, and public charging. Level 2 chargers can charge a BEV from empty in 4-10 hours and a PHEV from empty in 1-2 hours.
Direct Current Fast Charging (DCFC)
The fastest speed, direct current fast charging (DCFC) equipment, enables rapid charging along heavy-traffic corridors at installed stations. DCFC equipment can charge a BEV to 80 percent in just 20 minutes to 1 hour. Most PHEVs currently on the market do not work with fast chargers.
Shown below are typical Level 2 and DCFC charging stations.

Overview of EV Chargers
The below table summarizes the typical power output, charging time, and locations for PHEVs and BEVs for the different charger types. (Note: Because the last 10 percent of charging an EV battery can take as long as the first 90 percent, for longer trips, it can save time to charge part-way [e.g., 20 to 60 percent] and drive fewer miles between charges rather than recharge fully and drive more miles between charges.) For more information on the power requirements of different chargers, see the Utility Planning section of the toolkit.
Level 1 | Level 2 | DC Fast Charging | |
---|---|---|---|
Connector Type1 |
J1772 connector |
J1772 connector |
CCS connector CHAdeMO connector Tesla connector |
Typical Power Output | 1 kW | 7 kW - 19 kW | 50 - 350 kW |
Estimated PHEV Charge Time from Empty2 | 5 - 6 hours | 1 - 2 hours | N/A |
Estimated BEV Charge Time from Empty3 | 40 - 50 hours | 4 - 10 hours | 20 minutes - 1 hour4 |
Estimated Electric Range per Hour of Charging | 2 - 5 miles | 10 - 20 miles | 180 - 240 miles |
Typical Locations | Home | Home, Workplace, and Public | Public |
1 Different vehicles have different charge ports. For DCFC, the Combined Charging System (CCS) connector is based on an open international standard and is common on vehicles manufactured in North America and Europe; the CHArge de Move (CHAdeMO) connector is most common for Japanese manufactured vehicles. Tesla vehicles have a unique connector that works for all charging speeds, including at Tesla’s “Supercharger” DCFC stations, while non-Tesla vehicles require adapters at these stations.
2Assuming an 8-kWh battery; most plug-in hybrids do not work with fast chargers.
3Assuming a 60-kWh battery.
4 To 80 percent charge. Charging speed slows as the battery gets closer to full to prevent damage to the battery. Therefore, it is more cost- and time-efficient for EV drivers to use direct current (DC) fast charging until the battery reaches 80 percent, and then continue on their trip. It can take about as long to charge the last 10 percent of an EV battery as the first 90 percent.
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Electric Vehicle Basics
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