It’s one of the first questions people have: Is it going to take a long time to charge my EV?
If you’re new to electric vehicles, you’ve probably wondered: “How long will I spend waiting for my car to charge?” It’s a fair question, and one that matters when you’re planning your day or considering whether an EV fits your lifestyle.
The truth is, charging times vary enormously – anywhere from 20 minutes on a motorway to a leisurely overnight top-up at home.
Let’s break down what you can expect in different situations, with some simple calculations to help you work it out for your own car.
Understanding the Basics
Before diving into specific scenarios, here’s the fundamental equation you’ll need:
Charging time = Battery capacity (kWh) ÷ Charger power (kW)
For instance, if you’re putting 37 kWh into your battery using a 7.4 kW charger, that’s 5 hours of charging. Simple enough, right?
One thing to keep in mind: your car won’t always charge at the maximum rate throughout the entire session.
Charging speeds tend to taper off, particularly at the upper and lower ends of the battery’s capacity. But for planning purposes, this formula gives you a solid estimate.
Charging at Home Overnight
For most homeowners with an EV, home charging is the secret sauce. It’s convenient, affordable (especially on an off-peak tariff), and means you wake up every morning with a full battery – like having your own private petrol station.
Your Home Charging Window
Think about your typical day. Leave for work at 8am, return at 6pm. That gives you a 14-hour window for charging overnight.
Even if you arrive home with a nearly flat battery, you’ve got plenty of time to reach 100% before your morning commute.
Standard Home Chargers: 7.4 kW
Almost all UK homes have a single-phase electricity supply, which supports a 7.4 kW charging point. This is the standard EV charger that gets installed on your driveway or in your garage.
Let’s use a typical scenario: you’ve got a car with a 60 kWh battery (fairly common these days), and you’ve somehow managed to drain it completely, though in reality, you’d rarely let it get that low.
- 60 kWh ÷ 7.4 kW = 8.1 hours
So, from completely empty to completely full takes just over 8 hours. That fits comfortably into your overnight charging window, with time to spare.
Practical Charging: Top-Ups Rather Than Full Charges
Here’s how most people actually use their EV: you don’t let the battery run flat, and you don’t always charge to 100%. Instead, you top up regularly.
Imagine you arrive home with 50% battery remaining and want to charge to 90%. That’s a 40% top-up on your 60 kWh battery:
- 60 kWh × 40% = 24 kWh needed
- 24 kWh ÷ 7.4 kW = 3.2 hours
Just over three hours of charging, which easily fits within the off-peak window of most EV-friendly tariffs. You save money and never worry about range.
Charging at Your Workplace
If your employer has installed charging points, you’re in luck – free or subsidised charging during the workday is a brilliant perk.
Standard 7.4 kW Workplace Chargers
Many workplace chargers are identical to home units: 7.4 kW, with the same charging times as outlined above. Park up at 9am, and by lunchtime you’ve added substantial range to your battery.
Faster 22 kW Chargers
Some businesses – particularly those with three-phase electrical supplies – can offer 22 kW charging. That’s three times faster than home charging.
There’s a catch, though: your car needs to support it. Most modern EVs can handle 11 kW AC charging, while only a few can manage the full 22 kW.
If your car supports 22 kW: A 60 kWh battery charges from empty in about 2 hours 45 minutes.
If your car maxes out at 11 kW: The same charge takes roughly 5 hours 30 minutes. Still substantially quicker than home charging, and you’re parked at work anyway, so it’s no inconvenience.
Charging While You’re Out & About
Nowadays, you’ll find charging points in all sorts of places: supermarkets, gyms, restaurants, shopping centres, hotels, even National Trust car parks. This is ‘destination charging’ – you’re going there anyway, so why not top up while you’re doing your thing?
Typical Destination Charging Speeds
Most destination chargers are either 7.4 kW or 22 kW, depending on the site’s electrical infrastructure. Some businesses offer free charging to attract customers; others charge a fee.
For example: Two hours at the gym on a 7.4 kW charger gets you about 15 kWh, which might be 40-50 miles of range. Not enough for a full charge, but perfect for topping up.
The beauty of destination charging is that you’re not waiting around specifically to charge – you’re doing something else anyway, and the car charges in the background.
Rapid Charging on Longer Journeys
When you’re on a road trip and need a quick boost, rapid chargers are your friend. These use DC (Direct Current) technology to charge much faster than home or workplace chargers.
The 80% Rule
Here’s something crucial about rapid charging: getting from 0% to 80% is relatively quick, but the final 20% slows right down. This happens because the battery management system protects the cells from damage during high-speed charging.
The practical tip: On long journeys, charge to 80% and then hit the road. You’ll spend far less time waiting than if you try to reach 100%.
50 kW Rapid Chargers
These were the first generation of rapid chargers and they’re still common at service stations across the UK.
Using our 60 kWh battery example again: you arrive with 10% remaining and want to reach 80%. That’s 70% of the battery, or 42 kWh.
- 42 kWh ÷ 50 kW = 0.84 hours, or about 50 minutes
In practice, expect it to take slightly longer due to the ‘charging curve’ (see below) slowing down as you approach 80%.
150 kW Rapid Chargers
Newer sites often feature 150 kW chargers, which significantly reduce waiting times.
Same scenario (10% to 80%): 42 kWh ÷ 150 kW = 0.28 hours, or roughly 17 minutes. That’s barely enough time for a coffee and a comfort break – perfect for motorway services.
Important caveat: Your car needs to support these charging speeds. If your EV maxes out at 100 kW, that’s the fastest it’ll charge, even on a 150 kW charger. For our example, that would be about 25 minutes from 10% to 80%.
350 kW Chargers: Future-Proofing
A handful of charging networks have installed 350 kW ultra-rapid chargers. Currently, very few cars can use anything close to this speed – the Lotus Eletre, MG IM5 and IM6 are notable exceptions – but having them available means that as EVs evolve, the infrastructure is already there.
Even if your current car can’t charge at 350 kW, you’ll still benefit from charging at your vehicle’s maximum rate, and there’s usually a shorter queue for the charger.
What Affects Your Charging Speed?
Beyond the basics of battery size and charger power, several factors influence how quickly your EV charges:
- Temperature: Cold weather slows charging (and reduces range), while extremely hot weather can also affect battery performance. Your car’s thermal management system works to optimise this, but expect slower charging on a freezing January morning.
- Battery condition: As batteries age, their charging characteristics can change slightly. Modern EVs manage this intelligently, but a five-year-old battery might not charge quite as quickly as it did when new.
- Current charge level: The charging curve means you’ll charge fastest in the middle range of your battery (roughly 20-60%), with slower speeds at the very bottom and top.
- Your car’s maximum charging rate: This is the ultimate limiting factor. Always check your EV’s specifications – a car that can only accept 50 kW DC charging won’t go any faster on a 150 kW charger.
Making It Work for You
The beauty of EV ownership is that, most of the time, you simply don’t think about charging. You plug in overnight at home, wake up with a full battery, and that covers your daily driving. It’s actually more convenient than petrol – no more trips to the forecourt.
For longer journeys, a bit of planning goes a long way. Most modern EVs have built-in route planners that tell you where and when to stop for charging. A 20-minute coffee break every few hours isn’t exactly a hardship.
Before buying an EV, check its charging specifications:
- AC charging rate: This determines home and workplace charging speed
- DC rapid charging rate: This matters for long-distance travel
- Battery size: Larger batteries take longer to charge, but offer greater range
Armed with this knowledge and the simple calculations above, you can confidently work out charging times for any scenario. The days of range anxiety are well and truly behind us.
