At What Speed Should You Charge Your EV Batteries?

Electric vehicles represent the next frontier of vehicular travel. Thanks to powerful battery packs, electric vehicles run on clean energy and produce minimal to zero emissions, making them the perfect vehicle for customers who are conscious of their carbon footprints. For customers who switch from carbon powered vehicles, especially those who’ve used conventional vehicles for years, taking a crash course on EV batteries and charging is crucial.

Unlike traditional vehicles that run on carbon fuel, electric vehicles are powered by rechargeable lithium-ion battery packs. To refuel a carbon fuel-powered vehicle, all you need to do is head to a gas station and fill the gas tank with as much fuel as you want. It’s a little different for electric vehicles, however. As an EV driver, you will have to rely on a network of charging stations and many choose to have a specialized EV charger installed at their home.

The amount of time it takes to charge the vehicle will depend on the size of its battery pack (let’s use a hypothetical EV with a 50kWh battery) as well as how fast the electric current is being delivered. There are three main types of charging speed: slow, rapid, and fast.

Slow charging, as the name suggests, is the slowest type of charging at around 2.3kW to 3 kW. Household sockets fall into this category, and they charge EVs super slow, taking around 22 hours to fill up a 50kWh EV. Clearly, not the best option if you are in a hurry. However, slow charging may conserve battery life as less heat is produced as a byproduct of internal resistance compared to faster charging.

Fast charging is the most commonly used by EV users. A fast charger will release juice at 7kW or 11kW if you’re using a Tesla Destination charger. A 50kWh electric vehicle would take roughly 8 hours to charge up. Considering that most EVs spend this amount of time parked at home overnight or at work during the day, fast charging is considered by many EV drivers to be the most ideal charging speed.

Rapid charging has been getting a lot of attention recently. Typically found at motorway service stations or on main driving routes, rapid chargers can fill your car up within minutes. A 50kW DC fast charger, common around Europe and North America, can get a 50kWh EV to 80% in around 45 minutes. Ultra-rapid chargers, like Tesla’s Supercharging network, can get an EV from 20% power to 89% within 20 minutes.

However, rapid charging has the potential to degrade your battery pack and ultimately reduce its lifespan. It also tends to be more expensive than slow and fast charging. Ultimately, the charging speed you use will depend on your needs and how much you are willing to part with. Undoubtedly, companies like Net Element (NASDAQ: NETE) would gladly work with EV makers to develop payments solutions for battery pack charging facilities.

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