With the development of the electric car market for several years, great progress has been made, particularly in terms of battery recharging time and therefore their capacity for autonomy.
Despite everything, the charging time of an electric car, which has nothing to do with the time required to refuel a thermal car, still remains a major obstacle for those who wish to move towards cleaner vehicles, like the electric car. Are there any solutions to speed up the charging of your electric vehicle? What are they ? What are the elements to take into account?
Charging times for an electric car according to different factors
Electric car battery charging times are not uniform. They vary significantly depending on the type of charging system used, but also depending on the model of their electric vehicle.
Depending on the performance of an electric vehicle, ie the size and capacity of its battery, the charging time can fluctuate from barely an hour to overnight, for example. The capacity of an electric car battery is expressed in kilowatt hours (kWh), i.e. its ability to deliver a range of 1,000 watts per hour.
On this capacity depends its degree of autonomy. When it comes to electric cars, the larger the battery capacity, the longer it takes to recharge.
The charging time for an electric vehicle also depends on the charging system used (domestic socket, reinforced, or wallbox-type charging station). The more powerful it is, the more the charging time is accelerated and therefore reduced. However, each type of electric vehicle can support what is called a maximum charge rate.
Thus, most electric cars, especially so-called first generation ones, can tolerate a charging system with a maximum power of 7.4 kW, which implies a fairly long charging time, even if this duration is much more efficient. than with a simple standard socket with a power of 2.2 kW.
Nevertheless, with the progress made in electric mobility, more and more electric vehicles have the possibility of supporting a charging system with a power of up to 22 kW. A technical feature that makes it possible to accelerate the charging of an electric car, but on condition that the charging station used corresponds to this power.
The elements to take into account to speed up the charging of your electric car
As described above, the charging systems available on the market today make it possible to significantly accelerate the charging of an electric car. This is the case with wallbox-type charging stations, which come in different powers: from 3.7 kW to 22 kW. But be careful all the same, these charging systems must be adapted to the capacity of the battery of the electric car.
On the other hand, to charge an electric vehicle, a specific cable is needed to connect the car to its charging system. This cable must also be adapted to the charging station in order to be effective and to speed up the charging time, at least that the latter corresponds to the expected duration, and that it is not less, depending on the charging station used.
Another element to take into account to speed up the charging of an electric car: depending on the charging system used, you will have this possibility or not. For example, if you use a simple household socket, its intensity (expressed in amperes) is limited to prevent your electrical installation from overheating, so you cannot make sure to speed up the charging time of your vehicle. because of this restrained power at the base.
On the other hand, in this case, you have the possibility of using a so-called “reinforced” socket, of the Green’Up type, which allows you to increase the power tolerated by your electrical installation (up to 3.7 kW), which which contributes to speeding up the charging of your electric car, and with all the safety guaranteed by this type of socket.
But, if you want to improve the charging time performance of your vehicle, wallboxes are still the most efficient charging systems.
Finally, it should be borne in mind that the vagaries of the weather also affect the charging times of an electric car. They can prevent not only accelerating vehicle charging, but even slowing it down. The batteries of electric vehicles are in fact, due in particular to the presence of lithium in their composition, very sensitive both to cold temperatures and to extreme heat.
This is why, if you charge your electric vehicle at home and want to charge it quickly, or even accelerate its charging, it is advisable to place your car and your charging station in a place that is at least isolated.