Do you want to know how long it will take you to charge your new electric vehicle? This is something like asking how long it will take to fill a swimming pool with water.  It depends on a few things, such as the pool size and the amount of water you have set to come out of the hose. If you turn up the water, it will fill faster.  If you have a large pool it will obviously take longer to fill than a small pool at the same rate.  Pretty simple stuff, right?

There are similar variables that apply when determining the amount of time to charge an electric vehicle. Determining the charge time for your new BEV (battery electric vehicle) or PHEV (plug in hybrid electric vehicle) is simple with 3 key pieces of information:

1.Vehicle Acceptance Rate (aka the car’s charger, in kW)

2.Vehicle Battery Capacity (in kWh)

3.Charging Station Delivery Rate (aka the stations’ max output capacity, in kW)

Here are some examples using the chart below:

A)    A Toyota Rav4 EV charging with an LCS-25 charging station with 240V:

1. Check the Vehicle Acceptance Rate versus the Charging Station Delivery Rate for the LCS-25.  Which is lower?  That will be your limiting factor.  The Vehicle Acceptance Rate of the Toyota Rav4 EV is 9.6 kW.  The LCS-25 Delivery Rate is 4.8 kW.  Use 4.8 kW because it is the lower of the two numbers (this is the maximum power the charging station can deliver to the vehicle).
2. Divide the battery capacity by the lower number from above.  Divide 41.8 kWh by 4.8 kW from above.  The result is 8.71 hours to recharge the battery pack from empty to full.

B)     A Toyota Rav4 EV and a CS-50 charging station with 240V:

1. Check the Vehicle Acceptance Rate versus the Charging Station Delivery Rate for the CS-50.  Which is lower?  That will be your limiting factor.  The Vehicle Acceptance Rate of the Toyota Rav4 is 9.6 kW.  The CS-50 Delivery Rate is 9.6 kW.  Use 9.6 kW because both are the same (it is both the maximum the vehicle will draw and the maximum power the charging station is capable of delivering).
2. Divide the battery capacity by the lowest number from above.  Divide 41.8 kWh by 9.6 kW from above.  The result is 4.35 hours from empty to full.

Note to EV owners and soon-to-be owners:  Your Vehicle Acceptance Rate will probably determine what type of electric vehicle charging station you will choose to install in your home.  Depending on your vehicle’s needs, some stations will be overkill and make no difference in the time it takes to charge your vehicle.  Other charging stations won’t be enough to charge overnight, so you will want to take some time to get know your vehicle and your individual charging needs.  That way, you can choose the station that best fits your needs through http://www.clippercreek.com/products.html and click “Buy Now” to purchase it from our online store!

*Acceptance Rates and Battery Sizes were obtained using Wikipedia and/or manufacturer websites in October of 2012.  This chart does not take into account the usable battery % (this means that it won’t actually take you as long to charge your EV as shown in the chart above!  This is a good thing Example: the Nissan Leaf has an approximate 90% useable battery for charging purposes).

NEW!  Check out our follow up blog to determine how much it will cost to charge your electric vehicle!

-Stacey Barhydt, 10/10/2012