How to Calculate Charge Time for Electric Vehicles (EVs)
With predicted growth rates for the percentage of electric vehicles (EVs) on the road ever increasing, the decision to install EV charging stations is growing in popularity among business owners seeking a high ROI. Not only are there tax rebates, other federal government incentives, and state or utility programs to help offset the expense, but having a charging solution on location can be an asset that attracts new customers/talent or adds an extra source of revenue (if you choose to initiate a payment system for that service). Finally, installing EV chargers alongside energy-producing solar solutions aligns with the universal push for businesses to achieve net zero. Aside from the boost this gives an organization’s reputation, it will also lower operating costs for that property and can increase the resale value.
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If you are interested in a custom quote for installing EV Charging Stations, please fill out this questionnaire so we can better understand your specific needs.
EV Charging QuestionnaireThere are several levels of determining factors when choosing which EV charging system to add to your property. Do you require a payment system to make this a sound investment? What will that look like (e.g., flat-fee charging, metered billing, a membership-based charging program, etc.)? The answers to these questions will help pinpoint which brand of EV charger will be the right one for your business, as some brands offer mobile capabilities (which would be very beneficial for managing flat-fee payments) and some do not. Once an EV charger has been chosen, employees and/or customers can easily calculate about how long they should expect it to take for their EV to be fully charged.
This calculator for the charging time of EV vehicles operates by the simplest formula, that the number of hours is the result of dividing the battery capacity by the charging power. This offers a good baseline for estimates, but it is important to note that several factors will affect the final time, including the following:
Charger Type
There are Level 2/AC Chargers with Type 1/J1772 (for North America) or there are Level 3/DC Fast Chargers with CHAdeMO (developed by Japanese manufacturers with some introduction to the North American market), CCS1 (for North America) and NCAS (all markets/Tesla). Each connector has a different maximum output power (and may even have different cable lengths) that will contribute to the charging speed.
Temperature
Batteries will charge slower in colder temperatures.
Location/Time of Day
The number of connections being made in a certain area will affect how much power any one connector can draw from the grid. Different locations may be more popular spots for charging at certain times of the day (peak hours).
Current Battery Level
If charging is initiated when a battery is already below 20% or over 80%, the speed can be greatly reduced.
All of these play a part in pinpointing the exact amount of time it will take to fully charge an EV, but the most significant elements are the ones utilized in the calculator: the battery capacity of your EV (which is different for every model and can be found in the EV Database) and the charging power (which requires a minor calculation of its own). The charging power is the kilowatts (kW) of energy that it is possible to introduce to the battery per hour. This number will be the lowest amount between the onboard charger and the charging station. For example, the charging power of a Mustang Mach-E GT (150 kW DC) connected to a Level 2 DC Fast charger (19.5 kW DC) is 19.5 kW (the lowest number).
Therefore, an employee who arrives at work with their Mustang Mach-E’s battery at 50% could hook up their car when they get to work at 8 AM and estimate that their car would be fully charged by 10:36 AM. (With a battery capacity of 91.0 kWh and a charging power of 19.5 kW, it would take less than 3 hours to fully charge from 50%). Through the acts of quickly crunching numbers and setting reminders to move the vehicles at the estimated times, people can cooperate in a practice that saves energy and other essential resources, without greatly disturbing their normal routines. In this scenario, it is not a stretch to assume that a mid-sized business with 2-3 dual charging stations could comfortably accommodate the EV-driving employees who park there every workday.
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