Electric vehicle charging rates are often referred to by the simple classifications Level 1 (120V), Level 2 (240V) and Level 3 (400V or more DC), but within those categories there may be other levels of charging rates. together. For example, Level 2 can range from a 6.0 kW ChargePoint connection you might encounter in a garage to a maximum of 19.2 kW. If you own an EV, you want to charge at home as much as possible; That way it’s much more convenient and cheaper. And we think the catch is the ability to recharge your vehicle’s battery almost overnight: call it up in 10 to 12 hours or so.
For many EVs with mid-sized battery packs, this is possible with popular home charging options, such as the people featured in this roundup. But for vehicles with larger packages, such as 131.0-kWh Ford F-150 Lightning128.9-kWh Rivian R1S or R1Tor 112.0-kWh clean Air, you’ll need significantly more water for anything close to the overnight charge. For example, charging time for Lightning using a 6.0 kW outlet is approximately 24 hours and Hummer . tram with its massive 212.7 kWh pack that would take almost 40 hours.
How to charge and when to charge
A quick reminder: Speed is simply output power or voltage multiplied by current, e.g. 240 volts and 40 amps equals 9600 watts or 9.6 kilowatts of output. And a circuit can run continuously at 80 percent of its rated capacity, so a 50-amp, 240-volt circuit is needed to be able to charge at 40 amps or 9.6 kW. To estimate the charging time of an EV, take battery capacityadd 10 percent to the losses and divide by the fee rate.
Long charge times with some of these latest large battery EVs over 6.0 kW ChargePoint units we have at our office led us to look for an alternative to the two Tesla Wall Connectors we also have at our office, both wired to support 19.2 kW charging on the Model S, an option. which Tesla discontinued long ago. While we used a Tesla-to-J1772 . Adapter for charging a non-Tesla electric vehicle, that connector is only rated to charge half the maximum 19.2 kW.
We landed Porsche Wall Connector, sold for $1586. Expensive, yes, but not many options for fastest Level 2 charging. by Ford Pro toll station priced at $1310, by Lucid Connected home charging station for $1200—both support two-way charging. Clipper Creek is a rare third-party choice and it costs $2195. And the Porsche device is the only one with a screen on it, the same 5.0-inch touchscreen interface found on the optional Porsche portable charger, which is a $1120 option with the Taycan purchase. .
We were hoping to be able to view our charging remotely through the My Porsche app, but it turns out you have to charge a Porsche you have in your account to do so. Instead, we view energy usage on the screen to monitor the efficiency of the electric vehicle and can review previous charging activity if needed. There’s also the ability to connect to the charger’s own hotspot to see the activity, although we haven’t been successful in doing that.
Try this at home?
To be able to charge at up to 19.2 kW, three things must match: your home must have a dedicated 100-amp circuit for charging EVs, your charging equipment must be capable, and the vehicle must be able to accept it . For example, the Hyundai ioniq 5ours EV 2022 of the year, has a built-in 10.9 kW charger. Therefore, it cannot charge at a rate higher than that on a Level 2 outlet no matter what charging device is installed. To be able to charge a Porsche Taycan at full speed, you must choose the $1680 option for the 19.2 kW integrated charger when ordering, or there is a possibility to retrofit it later.
However, when all this fits together, the charging times are impressive: a Taycan with a large case can be charged from empty to full in less than five hours, a Lucid Air in about 6.5 hours. and an F-150 Lightning or Rivian R1S or R1T for about 7.5 hours.
