If you are buying your first electric car, you are most likely also thinking about charging problems. One of the most common questions about charging is how long will it take to charge a car and not effecting my next journey.

First, you need to know your battery size and how much you need for the drive. Then you can start to calculate how many hours you need for the charging. We will give you an example of the calculation. A 2023 Tesla Model 3 Long Range should have a 75-kWh battery pack. With a normal 220V outlet in your house and a 16A EV charger, you will get about 3.5kW(1kw=1000w) per hour. So you will need 21-22 hours(=75kWh/3.5kW) to charge the vehicle fully.

After knowing how the calculation works, there are 3 other main factors that will affect your charging speed: 

1. Maximum charging rate of vehicle: Different vehicles may have a different maximum charging rate, which depends on the onboard charger. An onboard charger is a built-in power electronics device to charge an electric vehicle's battery pack. If you have an 11.5kW onboard charger and a 75-kWh battery pack, that means you only need about 6.5 hours to charge the car. If the rate is higher, means you can charge your car faster. 

2. Maximum charging rate of chargepoint: The charging rate of a chargepoint mostly depends on the outlet and the charging cable if you are charging from home. And if you are outside and need to charge your car faster, you can choose a DC Fast Charging station. These chargers include rapids (60kW to 100kW) and ultra-rapids (up to 350kW).

3. Weather: It tends to take longer to charge at a lower temperature, particularly when using a rapid charger. Also, your car is less efficient at a lower temperature; so you cannot add much to the travel distance per time charging.