How long does it take to charge an electric car at home?

Glossary · EV charging

How home charging time works

Two numbers decide how long a charge takes: the size of the battery in kilowatt hours (kWh) and the rate of charge in kilowatts (kW).^{[2]myenergi, How long does an electric car take to charge?} Divide the first by the second and you have a rough time. Our guide to amps, volts, watts and kWh explains the units.

Both ends of the cable set the limit. A car can only take charge at the maximum rate it accepts, so a car that tops out at 7kW will not charge any faster on a 22kW charger. The charger has its own ceiling too, so a car that could take 11kW will only get 7kW from a 7kW charger.^{[1]Pod Point, How long does it take to charge an electric car?}

Cold weather can also make a charge take slightly longer.^{[1]Pod Point, How long does it take to charge an electric car?} The figures below are for charging from empty to full, which is the longest case. Pod Point says most drivers charge whenever they park, so a normal night adds only what the car used that day.^{[1]Pod Point, How long does it take to charge an electric car?}

Typical times by charger speed

Pod Point says home charge points are usually rated at 3.6kW or 7.4kW.^{[3]Pod Point, Everything you need to know about charging an electric car at home} Most UK homes have a single phase supply, which caps a home charger at 7.4kW. Faster 22kW units need a three-phase supply and are usually found at commercial premises.^{[3]Pod Point, Everything you need to know about charging an electric car at home} Our own installation page says the same: most homes suit a 7kW charger, and a 22kW charger needs three-phase, which most UK homes do not have.^{[5]Martin Day Electricians, Home EV charger installation in Leeds}

The 3.6kW and 7.4kW times and the range figures are from Pod Point’s charging guide.^{[1]Pod Point, How long does it take to charge an electric car?} The 3-pin rate and range are from Pod Point’s home charging guide,^{[3]Pod Point, Everything you need to know about charging an electric car at home} and the 24-hour figure is from its extension cable guide.^{[4]Pod Point, Can you charge an electric car with an extension cable?} A 3-pin socket is slow enough that Pod Point treats it as an emergency fallback only. Our granny charger page covers that in detail.

Example

Priya in Headingley has a car with a 54kWh battery, which myenergi uses as a rough average across 40 best-selling EVs. On a 7kW home charger myenergi works the time out at around 7 hours 42 minutes for a full charge from empty.^{[2]myenergi, How long does an electric car take to charge?}

In practice Priya drives 30 miles a day and plugs in each night. She never charges from empty, so the car is ready each morning with plenty of time to spare. Her neighbour Tom has a 60kWh car and uses a 3-pin socket in his garage. Pod Point says that takes over 24 hours for a full charge, so he leaves it plugged in for days at a time.^{[4]Pod Point, Can you charge an electric car with an extension cable?}

If your overnight charge is not finishing, the usual causes are the charger rating, the car’s own limit or a very large battery. A smart charger and an off-peak EV tariff can schedule the session to fit the cheap overnight window.

What people get wrong

Many drivers assume a faster charger always means a faster charge. It does not. The car sets its own maximum rate, so paying for a 22kW charger will not speed up a car that accepts 7kW, and it needs a three-phase supply as well.

The second mistake is judging a charger by the empty-to-full time. Pod Point points out that most drivers top up rather than charge from empty, so the miles added per hour is the more useful figure.^{[1]Pod Point, How long does it take to charge an electric car?} If you are not sure which charger rating suits your car and your supply, a registered electrician can check both before you buy.

The bottom line

Charging time is battery size divided by charging rate, limited by whichever of the car and the charger is slower. On a typical 7.4kW home charger a 60kWh battery fills from empty in just under 8 hours. A slower 3.6kW unit takes about twice as long, and a 3-pin socket takes over a day. For most households a 7kW charger overnight is the practical answer, and EV charger installation starts with checking your supply.