Want to buy a battery-powered vehicle but worried about what goes into charging an EV at home? It’s a multi-faceted question and one we are here to answer! 

EV Sales Are Skyrocketing 

EV Charger station at home
EV Charger station at home

If you’re researching “charging an EV at home”, asking the question “How much does an EV charger cost?”, and generally diving into the ever-expanding world of electric vehicles (EV), chances are you’re aware of how fast that expansion is happening. If you’re looking to hop on the EV train, but have some questions about ownership, we’re here to help!

EV Basics 

Charging stations
Charging stations

If you’re brand-new to the EV conversation, this explainer article on the differences between traditional hybrids (HEV), plug-in hybrids (PHEV), and full-electrics (EV) will give you more detail. But the important distinctions for those curious about charging an EV at home revolve around the propulsion system.

HEVs cannot be plugged in as the gas and electric (hybrid) motor system is self-charging. PHEVs can be plugged in if the owner wants to drive short distances on battery power (30 miles or so), but even if it never gets plugged in, a PHEV will continue to run on the gas-powered engine.

2023 Tesla Model X - tesla.com
2023 Tesla Model X - tesla.com

Finally, there are EVs which do not have a gas-powered engine and use only batteries to run. These types of vehicles must be plugged in and that’s where the questions often arise. Before we dive into the nuts and bolts of charging ports, public charging, charging an EV at home, charging speed, and the like, an important technical detail.

When you’re looking at EVs, there will be a spec for battery capacity expressed in kilowatt-hours (kWh) and a spec for charger capacity denoted in kilowatts (kW). A Tesla Model X with a 100-kWh battery pack and onboard charger that can handle 17 kW of electricity flow would need about six hours (100/17) to fully charge at home with a Level 2 connection. But when using DC fast charging, that charging speed goes up to 250 kW so it would only take about 24 minutes (100/250) to fully charge.

What Do EV Charging Levels Mean?  

Level 2 Charger - amazon.com
Level 2 Charger - amazon.com

EVs can be charged using Level 1, 2, or 3 charging stations. Level 1 refers to a 120-volt household power source like you would plug a toaster into. Expect an increase of 3-5 miles of range every hour by employing this method, resulting in a total of 40-50 hours to charge a battery pack up to 80% capacity. If your EV is only going to see occasional use with short trips, Level 1 charging could suffice. For this scenario, imagine filling up a barrel with a water pistol.

Level 2 charging refers to a charging source of up to 240 volts like you would plug a clothes dryer into. With Level 2 charging, you can hit that 80% battery capacity in 4-10 hours per the US DOT.

If you’re looking at an EV for daily commuting use, plugging it into a Level 2 charging station overnight would be ideal. It is akin to filling that barrel with a garden hose. But this approach comes with added upfront costs as we’ll look at below.

Tesla Supercharger station
Tesla Supercharger station

Finally, there is Level 3, or DC Fast Charging, which requires 400 volts or more. A Tesla Supercharger is a Level 3 charging station. At that level, you can fill up the “tank” in an hour or less with the equivalent – in our barrel example from above – of a wide-open fire hydrant.

Generally speaking, Level 3 charging is only available at public stations due to the prohibitive cost of installing one at home. These types of stations are spread around the country and are ideal for long road trips where you want to charge up relatively quickly.

Regarding filling a battery to capacity, most manufacturers note that 80% is full, not 100%. This lowered capacity extends the battery lifespan so most systems will automatically slow down the rate of charge once 80% is reached. You can fill the battery pack up to 100% capacity, but it will take a long time.

How Much Does It Cost to Install an EV Charger? 

Electric vehicle charging station for home
Electric vehicle charging station for home

As the charging level goes up, so does the cost. Using a household outlet (Level 1) or a 240-volt outlet (Level 2) at home will cost you the same electricity rates that you pay on your home utility bill. But, unlike a Level 1 outlet that you will generally find throughout a living space, Level 2 charging will require a special wall-mounted interface and outlet supplying 240 volts.

If you already have a 240V outlet handy, you’ll just need to buy a Level 2 charger. Manufacturers sell level 2 home charging stations as optional equipment usually for $500 or less. But if you need to start from scratch by hiring an electrician to run a new line, that cost could be closer to $1,500. If you go this route, be sure to look for incentives on the municipal, state, and federal levels first.

Charging station - electrifyamerica.com
Charging station - electrifyamerica.com

Using Level 3 fast chargers requires tapping into a network such as Electrify America which currently costs $0.48 per kWh. These rates vary for users with subscriptions and from one EV charging company to the next. Some EV manufacturers include a certain amount of free Level 3 electricity with the purchase of a new vehicle, so be sure to factor that into your buying decision.

Until recently, only Teslas could access the automaker’s wide network of Supercharger, or Level 3, stations. But that is starting to change.

If You Can’t Beat ‘Em… 

Tesla Charging Station
Tesla Charging Station

Tesla made waves early in the EV game by rolling out its own network of Supercharger EV charging stations across North America. It made sense as a way to ease the range anxiety of early adopters. Dubbed the North American Charging Standard (NACS), this Tesla-only method of hooking up the battery pack to the charging station meant that the rest of the industry needed its own connector. At the moment, that is known as the Combined Charging System (CCS). Essentially these are two different plugs that are not compatible with one another.

However, in an interesting shift, legacy automakers Ford and General Motors recently announced plans to convert their respective lineups over to the NACS. This means that EVs like the Ford Mustang Mach-E and Chevy Bolt will be able to charge at Tesla stations. So although the federal government is busily trying to establish a national EV charging network, the industry has made it clear they’re not waiting around as Tesla is just as busy installing its own network.

To accomplish this, Ford has announced that existing Blue Oval EVs will receive an adapter and software update and as of 2025, new models will have the NACS port installed at the factory. Though this throws the charging infrastructure conversation into chaos, it’s generally good news for EV consumers as they will now have access to a sprawling network of chargers. So far, Volvo and Rivian have also jumped on the NACS bandwagon, but only time will tell if this leads to the complete adoption of a standardized charging system.

Not Sold on EVs? 

2023 Toyota Prius - toyota.com
2023 Toyota Prius - toyota.com

If you’re on the fence about buying an EV but want to step up your vehicle’s efficiency, there are other options out there. Traditional hybrids and plug-in hybrids have been operating in the shadow of the EV mania lately, but these vehicles are excellent alternatives. In both cases, you can enjoy impressive fuel economy without having to worry about being stranded due to an empty battery. The all-new, and very handsome, Toyota Prius earns up to 57 mpg for example. For more insight, be sure to check out our article on transitioning from internal combustion to battery power.

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Niel Stender

Niel Stender grew up doing replacement work on his 1990 Cherokee and 1989 Starion, so it’s not surprising that he would put his mechanical engineering degree from the University of New Hampshire to use in the car world as a vehicle dynamics engineer. Now engineering sentence structures, his writing infuses his auto experience with his time in marketing and his sales experience. Writing about cars for close to a decade now, he focuses on some of the more technical mechanical systems that are found under the hood and throughout a vehicle.

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