Electric Vehicle Charging
Level 1 – This provides approx. 2-5 miles of driving range per hour of charging. You can charge your vehicle by plugging it into a regular 120 Volt outlet. This is called Level 1 charging and is the slowest speed of charging, but ensures that no matter where you are, you can always recharge. Most, if not all, plug-in vehicles come equipped with a cord to allow this type of charging. Level 1 will fully recharge most plugin hybrids over night.
Level 2 – These chargers supply current at 240 V (or 208 V) and provide 10-30 miles of range per hour of charging. Most electric cars and charging stations sold in North America use the same plug standard. Tesla charging stations, however, use a different plug type that cannot be used by other manufacturers’ vehicles. Tesla provides an adapter that allows its vehicles to use both Tesla and standard Level 2 charging stations.
Fast Charging – Also called DC fast charging or DC quick charging, is the fastest kind of charging and allows for approx. 50 or more miles of range to be provided to the battery in only 20 minutes. Not all vehicles can accept fast charging, nor do all vehicles use the same type of plug for DC fast charging.