Charging an electric car faster: tips for e-car drivers

Kay Nordenbrock

kay nordenbrock 10.12.2021 13.01.2022 0

If you want to charge your electric car faster, the pillar and car must support the high kw number. For this, the battery needs the right temperature and charge level.

The charging times of different electric cars vary greatly in some cases. Where you need two to four hours to charge some e-cars, other models can be charged in as little as 20 minutes. The actual charging time basically depends on three factors: the car, the charging station and the cable used. We show you how to charge your electric car quickly and what you should look out for before you buy it.

For the fastest charging experience, these requirements should be met:

  • One DC charging station with high kw power (150 – 350 kw)
  • The car must support this kw-power and have over a CCS connection or chademo connection have.
  • The battery must suitable temperature have (20 to 40 degrees).
  • The battery should be less than 40 percent be filled.

If you meet these requirements, you charge the e-car at the fastest possible speed and are quickly back on the road again.

In this contribution:

Charging at the charging station: normal, fast or ultra-fast charging?

The first decisive factor for the speed of the charging process is the charging pole itself. In public chargers, you will usually find anything between 22 kw and up to 350 kw charging speed. That sounds like a big stretch, and it is. The more kw the charging station offers, the faster you can potentially charge your car.

The first big difference here is in the charging connections: AC or DC, i.e. alternating current or direct current. AC charging stations are often much slower than DC charging stations, which directly provide the direct current required for electric cars.

AC-pumps often manage 22 kw. But more and more often you will find some that can charge your car with up to 43 kw. At these charging stations in europe, you use a so-called type 2 cable, which is included with most cars when they are purchased – if they have a type 2 connection. AC-poles can often be found in towns or villages.

Charging an electric car faster: tips for e-car drivers

DC charging stations, on the other hand, use direct current, which charges your car many times faster, which is why you usually find these stations on highways. Here the speeds vary greatly. It starts at 50 kw and goes up to 350 kw. To use these, your car needs either a CCS connection or a chademo connection. The cables for these charging technologies are permanently installed on the charging pole.

The CCS connection is the standard in Europe and you will find this type of fast charging station at most locations. The chademo connection was used in early asian e-cars like the nissan leaf and is becoming less and less important here in europe. If you have such a connection, you can still charge at many stations.

The car: what you need to know

To be able to use such enormously fast charging speeds, the car must play along. Because if your car supports fast charging only with 30 kw, you will also charge at a 350 kw ultra fast charging station only with 30 kw. Therefore, before you buy, you should look at the maximum charging speed of the car you want, as this is a limiting factor.

It should also be noted that the e-car has two different upper limits for the charging speed. The dacia spring, for example, charges with the type 2 plug maximum with 6.6 kw, so it does not matter whether the charger can 22 kw or 42 kw.

The car must also have the appropriate connection to be able to use CCS or chademo chargers. You would think that a fast-charging port would be part of the basic equipment, but this is not the case with some electric microcars. Here you get the fast connection only as a special accessory. But it is worth it in any case, because the car is fit for the long haul. Even city cars with a CCS connection are suitable for longer trips.

Charging an electric car faster: tips for e-car drivers

In fact, the charging speed is also dependent on the weather conditions. The car battery has a comfortable temperature at which it charges faster. Some electric cars have a system that keeps the battery at the right temperature for fast charging. In winter, when it is cold, charging usually takes longer, especially if the car does not have a battery heater. Because here the battery must first warm up. The optimal temperature is between 20 and 40 degrees celsius.

In addition, the charging speed is dependent on the battery status. Since slow charging is good for the battery, your battery will rarely charge at full power. The ADAC has tested the charging curve on a random basis with five e-cars and found that the performance decreases progressively at around 40 percent battery level. This protects the battery and ensures that you charge the first kilometers the fastest.

How fast do I charge now??

How fast your electric car is charged at the different speeds also depends on how big your battery is. A small battery is logically charged faster than a large one at the same speed. If you charge with 22 kw, a charge takes about 2 to 4 hours, with a DC fast charger you can expect 10 to 60 minutes, depending on battery size, car and speed of the charger. The ultra-fast chargers are even supposed to give you a range of up to 100 kilometers in five minutes.

You can usually get more detailed information on the different models from the car manufacturers themselves.

How to find the fastest charging station?

Before you can charge quickly, you first need to find the right charging station. Fortunately, this is relatively simple and possible in different ways. The easiest way for many electric car owners is certainly the navigation system in the car itself. With many models, it plans the charging stops independently and shows you information on the corresponding charging station. To do this, you can usually search for the charging stations yourself and add them to the route or go directly to them.

Charging station with electric car

If your car does not have this function or you are not satisfied with it, it is not a problem. Many third-party apps offer similar functionality. With the app chargemap, for example, you can also search for charging stations and display important information about them. With electric routes you can also plan a route including charging stops. You specify your car model and which payment service providers and charging networks you would like to use. To do this, you select the speed of the charging stations so that you can always find the right station for you.

Alternative: charging at home

If you are not in a hurry, you can charge your electric car at home as an alternative. You basically have two options for this: a wallbox or with a Schuko cable via the household socket. The wallbox is the safer and faster method of charging. The boxes are usually available with either 11 kw or 22 kw. You can use a type 2 connection and charge your electric car conveniently while you sleep.

Of course, you can drive faster with the 22-kw version, but slower charging conserves the battery, which is why the 11-kw box is better for the car itself in the long run. For this reason, you should find out in advance how fast your car can charge with type 2 at all. If, for example, the on-board charger of the electric car can only manage 6.6 kw, you won’t charge any faster with a 22-kw wallbox. After all, you are not usually in a hurry at home. If you are looking for a suitable wallbox, you can find it directly at EURONICS. Conveniently, you can also use the installation service.

The second alternative for home is to charge with a Schuko cable at the household socket. But we do not recommend this, because it can be dangerous. The sockets are not designed to provide full power for many hours. The electrical resistors can heat up over time and, in the worst case, lead to a fire.

This can be a problem, especially with older lines. That’s why you should have your power lines checked by a professional before you charge your electric car with the schuko cable. In addition, at 2.3 KW, this is the slowest method of charging the car, which can take 24 hours or even longer, depending on the other technology installed. That’s why we recommend a wallbox or public charging stations.

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