The time taken to charge an electric car can vary from as little as 20 minutes to as much as 24 hours. Here’s why…
With almost one-in-five new cars being fully electric, more drivers will be learning about charging electric cars for the first time. And alongside how much charging an electric car cost and how to use a charging point, they’ll likely be considering the time it takes to charge.
The two biggest factors in how long it’ll take to charge your electric car are the size of the battery, and the speed at which your car can charge. For example, an electric car with a small battery and a fast charging speed will charge a lot faster than one with a large battery and a slow charging speed. We’ll go into both of those factors in more depth in this story, as well as looking at the different types of electric car chargers and answering your electric car charger questions.
Types of electric car chargers
The speed at which you can charge your electric car can be governed by the type of charger you’re using. Charging at home using a three-pin plug is the slowest method, typically taking around 24hrs to replenish the battery on your car. Doing so is therefore impractical for many electric car owners, although it can be doable if you own a plug-in hybrid car.
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Fast charging stations that allow for longer journeys are being added in regions beyond London
Charging companies are plugging the gaps in the UK’s high-speed charger network, with hundreds added this year outside London in a shift that will help end the “range anxiety” that holds back some would-be electric car buyers.
The capital and the south-east still have far more chargers of all speeds – ranging from slow to rapid and ultra-rapid – than the rest of the country. But the presence of high-speed chargers, generally used for quick recharging on longer journeys, is increasing in other regions as electric car sales surge.
The UK’s electric vehicle drive has put the energy sector on the road to change
The West Midlands, east Midlands, the south-west of England and Wales all installed more rapid or ultra-rapid chargers than London during the past year, and their networks have grown more rapidly than the south-east of England, according to data from ZapMap, which maps UK public charging points.
Nine out of 12 regions of the UK installed more than 100 rapid chargers during the past year, ZapMap’s data showed.
Long journeys are relatively rare occurrences for most households, but perceived difficulties in finding chargers for the occasional long drive – such as the 14m trips expected over the August bank holiday weekend – have been one factor putting people off electric cars.
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Energy supplier OVO says it has saved customers on its Charge Anytime tariff over £1 million in half a year.
The Charge Anytime tariff uses smart charging to power electric vehicles (EVs) for 10p per kWh at any time of day, saving the average customer £129 per month.
Customers have completed over 5 million kWh of smart charging, which uses an algorithm to automatically shift charging away from peak times, usually between 4-7 pm, to periods when the grid relies on cleaner energy sources.
POD Point installed (Image: T. Heale)
The 10p per kWh rate is three times cheaper than the national average (30p per kWh) and seven times cheaper than many public charge points. The tariff is powered by Kaluza’s smart technology, which OVO says has resulted in a 67% reduction in charging costs.
One OVO customer who drives over 1,000 miles per month to transport disabled, vulnerable, and elderly individuals to their appointments, is said to have seen their monthly costs drop significantly from over £120 in a petrol car to approximately £40 with her EV and the Charge Anytime program.
Alex Thwaites, director of EV, OVO, said: “It’s incredible to see the impact Charge Anytime is making for people and the planet. By using smart technology to shift EV charging out of peak times when the grid is more reliant on fossil fuels, we’re able to provide greener, cheaper energy for customers.
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With its rugged landscape, winding country lanes and laidback lifestyle, you wouldn’t necessarily put The Lake District down as being an electrifying hotspot.
However, the folks at BMW have teamed up with 15 UK National Parks – including The Lakes – as part of a three-year initiative called Recharge in Nature, which aims to install electric vehicle (EV) charging points at some of our best-loved beauty spots.
It’s a wise move. With sustainable tourism and off-grid adventures being big business these days, eco-friendly destinations are becoming a must-have on our in our holiday tick list. (Not to mention the boom in staycations due to the pandemic and cost of living crisis.)
Being England’s largest and most visited National Park, The Lakes are the first to be kitted out with charging points in three locations, Windermere and Ambleside, Hawkshead and Coniston.
But just how well will this eco-conscious initiative work in reality?
To find out I was loaned the newly launched fully-electric BMW iX1 and told to head to the Langdale Hotel just outside Ambleside – a mere 285 miles away from my Essex home.
Advised that the car had a range of between 259 and 270 miles on a single charge, and able to recharge up to 80% of the range in less than half an hour, it looked like we’d need just one pit stop along the way, so we were more than excited to jump in our fancy new wheels and head towards the M6.
If you would like to know more about Solar Panels and the PowerBanx range of home battery systems, and get a free instant quote, please complete our online form:
If you would like to know more about Solar Panels and the PowerBanx range of home battery systems, and get a free instant quote, please complete our online form:
We have picked the top EVs you can buy now in terms of range, efficiency and desirability ahead of a ban on fossil-fuelled cars by 2030
Thinking about buying an electric car? You’re not the only one. Plenty of British buyers are wondering about when to switch from petrol or diesel to an electric model and it will be interesting to see the percentage of EVs sold in March with the advent of the new 22 registration.
There’s good news if you’ve decided to make the leap: the market is brimming with brilliant options. Indeed, it feels like each week a new electric car (EV) comes out that brings with it more range, more equipment, a lower price or even a combination of all three.
To keep up, we’ve revised our list of the 10 best electric cars to buy for 2022. This list, of course, is not exhaustive; there are plenty more excellent EVs on sale, and indeed, it’s taken us no small amount of teeth-gnashing, hair-pulling and some heated discussion to come up with this ranking.
With that in mind, it’s important to remember that these cars are very closely matched; there are no bad cars in this list, and what’s more, several very good EVs missed out by mere fractions of a hair’s breadth; honourable mentions must therefore go to the incomparably affordable MG ZS EV, the brilliantly practical Vauxhall Combo-E Life, a glut of much-vaunted Teslas, the quietly competent Skoda Enyaq and the surprisingly sporty Ford Mustang Mach-E.
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“We run POLAR, the UK’s biggest public charging network. It links over 5,000 public charging points, not limited to just Chargemaster units, giving EV drivers a convenient and reliable nationwide charging system. The POLAR network is growing all the time, making the future of electric motoring possible for more and more drivers.
POLAR Plus is our unique subscription service that offers members better value and special benefits. With the first three months’ membership free, you pay just £7.85 per month thereafter. Members enjoy unlimited access to over 5,000 charging points, most of which are then free to use. For the others, they just pay for the electricity consumed (at only 9p per kWh, which is cheaper than the average cost at home). There’s no long term contract or nasty notice period to worry about. If you decide for any reason to cancel, you can do so. Immediately. It’s as simple and painless as that.
POLAR Plus members earn ‘POLAR Points’ when they charge in a different town each month. Points can be used to borrow one of our fleet of 20 EV Experience cars for free for a week, including our BMW i8 and i3, Tesla Model S and Nissan Leaf.
POLAR Plus Ts & Cs: To receive three months’ free POLAR Plus membership, you must first sign-up for the scheme and provide your Direct Debit details. From the start of month four you will automatically be charged £7.85 each month for membership on an ongoing basis, until you cancel. New customers only. You can see whether a charging post is free or chargeable using our live map. Please note that during the free membership period you will still be charged for any electricity used.
Close-up of POLAR charge point (Image: J. Pegram-Mills)
POLAR Instant is a smart phone app that is available for both iPhone and Android smart phones that enables you to use hundreds of charging points across the country directly from your smart phone without the need for a RFID card or pre-registration to a “scheme”. iPhone App will be available from Mid April,2014 and Android from early May.
You can view where all the charging points are across the country, check if they are free to use in or what tariff they are charging, see what type of socket and output they have, see if they are available for use in real time, get directions to the charging point and then simply start and stop the charge from your phone with simple instructions.
POLAR Instant Ts & Cs: All charges are subject to a £1.20 admin fee which is deducted from your balance once the charge is complete. Some chargepoints will also incur a cost for the electricity used. To check the costs of individual chargepoints, please view our map. You may set up your account, make credits, view charging point check locations and tariffs as well as check your charging history and account balance on line at www.POLARinstant.com in the same way as on your smartphone app. If you need any assistance when charging call the POLAR Instant Help line on 0845 5280 289.”
Our View
POLAR is the biggest network of chargepoints around England. If you have seen chargepoints around your town, at supermarkets, town centres, car parks and public buildings, then chances are they are part of the POLAR network. Most of the points are low power and will charge an electric car in 3-8 hours (for these you will need to provide your own Type 2 cable – there is usually one supplied with each car). However, some are rapid chargers that can charge to 80% in about half an hour (these have their own tethered cables); the majority are manufactured in-house by Chargemaster.
POLAR rapid chargers (Image: T. Larkum)
There are two ways to pay – by subscription on POLAR Plus or Pay As You Go (PAYG) on POLAR Instant. The POLAR Plus subscription costs £7.85 per month (including VAT) which gets you an RFID access card. Most charging is then free, though some is charged per unit of electricity (kWh). On POLAR Instant you use a Smartphone App and you prepay into your account. There is a £1.20 ‘administration fee’ per charge and most charging is then either free or charged per hour (for example, £1.50 per hour on the ones I use in Milton Keynes). Note, however, outside Milton Keynes the majority of Chargemaster rapid chargers are only available on POLAR Plus. If you charge regularly on POLAR, more than a few times a month, or you want access to all the rapids, it’s generally worth joining the POLAR Plus scheme; you will also get additional benefits such as ‘POLAR Points’ allowing you to borrow from Chargemaster’s pool of electric cars.
Reliability of the POLAR charge points is generally good, and as the maps are real-time you can check in advance if a particular one you want is working. Further, you can check to see if it’s actually in use.
The POLAR network continues to expand and develop. In January 2017 Chargemaster completed the acquisition of Elektromotive and its Charge Your Car network (though access is not available via Polar Instant). In March 2017 it took on some parts of the Source East network. In July 2017 it announced that it was switching to 100% renewable energy.
An electric vehicle charge point has been installed in the Tove Short Stay car park in Towcester by South Northamptonshire Council (SNC).
Cllr Dermot Bambridge and Facilities Manager Stephen Wright
The charge point is a type-two floor mounted socket which is part of the Charge Your Car electric vehicle re-charging network.
The charge point can be activated by using the Charge Your Car access card, Charge Your Car mobile phone app or automated pay-as-you-go telephone line and is compatible with most electric vehicles.
There are two parking bays designated for electric vehicle charging only and they are marked in green.
Parking restrictions of three hours maximum stay, with no return within 3 hours Monday to Friday 8am until 6pm still apply.
Cllr Dermot Bambridge, SNC’s portfolio holder for environmental services, said:
“This is a really proactive step forward in the move towards greener energy sources in the district.
“As a council it’s important for us to encourage the use of more environmentally friendly travel options, and also pave the way for other councils to follow suit.
“I hope that, as electric vehicles become increasingly accessible and common place, we will see an increase in use and adoption of charge points such as this.”
Electric vehicle owners will need to supply their own cable in order to use the charge point.
Rebecca Roper, Community Manager for Charge Your Car, also said:
“Here at Charge Your Car we want to make it as easy as possible for electric vehicle drivers to charge their cars, so it’s encouraging to see organisations such as SNC taking the initiative and installing charge points in more rural locations.”
Users of electric vehicles in the UK will soon find it much easier to recharge their vehicles in Europe, thanks to a new agreement between two of the largest networks of publicly-accessible charge points.
Charge Your Car, the UK’s largest EV charge point network with over 2,000 units, has formed an interoperability agreement with The New Motion, the leading charge-point network in mainland Europe. It means that Charge Your Car members in the UK can now access over 15,000 points located in the Netherlands, Germany, Austria, Luxembourg and Belgium. Similarly, members of The New Motion travelling to the UK will be able to use any of the charge units forming part of the Charge Your Car network.
As well as enabling the UK’s EV drivers to drive more electric kilometres overseas, the agreement also accelerates moves to create ‘open roaming interfaces’ between international charge-point networks. The goal is to make it much easier for EV drivers to travel further afield in the knowledge that they will have unfettered access to roadside recharging units.
Alexandra Prescott, Operations Director at Charge Your Car, says of the landmark agreement,
“This agreement is a logical step to enhance services for both The New Motion and CYC drivers. Continental roaming is easier, opening up new e-mobility opportunities across Europe for our drivers.”
Ritsaart van Montfrans, Founder of The New Motion, commented:
“It is important for EV drivers to be able to take their car wherever they want, and through this agreement with Charge Your Car, we have added the UK to our expanding European infrastructure. This will open up new routes and new adventures for EV drivers on both sides of the Channel, in line with our mission to continue to facilitate and enable more electric kilometres to be driven by more EV drivers across Europe.”
To celebrate the new collaboration, four customers of Charge Your Car and The New Motion will be offered a refund on a meal for two, eaten by Charge Your Car customers in Europe and The New Motion customers in Great Britain[1]. Customers can enter the competition by sending a picture of their electric car charging at either a Charge Your Car or The New Motion charging point as well as the receipt from their meal[2].
Users of electric vehicles in the UK will soon be able to to recharge their vehicles in Europe, thanks to an agreement between two of the largest networks of publicly-accessible charge points.
Charge Your Car, the UK’s largest EV charge point network with over 2,000 units, has formed an interoperability agreement with The New Motion, the leading charge-point network in mainland Europe.
It means that Charge Your Car members in the UK can now access over 15,000 points located in the Netherlands, Germany, Austria, Luxembourg and Belgium. Similarly, members of The New Motion travelling to the UK will be able to use any of the charge units forming part of the Charge Your Car network.
As well as enabling the UK’s EV drivers to drive more electric kilometres overseas, the agreement also accelerates moves to create ‘open roaming interfaces’ between international charge-point networks. The goal is to make it much easier for EV drivers to travel further afield in the knowledge that they will have unfettered access to roadside recharging units.
Alexandra Prescott, operations director at Charge Your Car, said of the landmark agreement,
“This agreement is a logical step to enhance services for both The New Motion and CYC drivers. Continental roaming is easier, opening up new e-mobility opportunities across Europe for our drivers.”
Ritsaart van Montfrans, founder of The New Motion, added:
“It is important for EV drivers to be able to take their car wherever they want, and through this agreement with Charge Your Car, we have added the UK to our expanding European infrastructure. This will open up new routes and new adventures for EV drivers on both sides of the Channel, in line with our mission to continue to facilitate and enable more electric kilometres to be driven by more EV drivers across Europe.”
