Levels of Charging

There are 4 Levels of Charging. Read on to learn more about the levels of charging and how to best take care of your electric vehicle for the long term.

Level 3-

There are 4 Levels of Charging for Electric Vehicles

D/C Fast Charging. Level 3 Charging is done with a CCS Plug, CHAdeMO Plug or Tesla Supercharger Plug. Level 3 Charging will charge your vehicle in roughly ~ 1 Hour. D/C Fast Charging is done with Direct Current.

Level 2-

A/C Slow Charging. Level 2 Charging is done with a J1772 Plug. Level 2 Charging will charge your vehicle in roughly ~ 8 hours. A/C Slow Charging is done with Alternating Current.

Level 1-

Trickle Charging. Level 1 Charging is done with your Level 1 Charging Cord. (It looks like a long extension cord with a regular outlet plug on one end and a J1772 Plug on the other end). With Level 1 Charging you plug your vehicle into a regular wall outlet. Level 1 Charging will charge your vehicle in roughly ~ 16 hours. Trickle Charging is done with a 120V A/C Wall Outlet.

There are 4 Levels of Charging for Electric Vehicles: Level 4 Hyper Fast Charging, Level 3 D/C Fast Charging, Level 2 A/C Slow Charging and Level 1 Trickle Charging.

Level 4 Charging is also called "Super Charging", Level 3 Charging is also called "Fast Charging", Level 2 Charging is also called "Overnight Charging", and Level 1 Charging is also called "Emergency Charging".

Level 4-

Hyper Fast Charging. Level 4 Charging is only done with a CCS Plug or Tesla Supercharger Plug. Level 4 Charging will charge your vehicle in roughly ~ 20 minutes. Hyper Fast Charging is done with Direct Current at a machine with a higher power output, 350kW.

By now you know that there are 4 Levels of Charging: Level 4 Hyper-Fast Charging, Level 3 D/C Fast Charging, Level 2 A/C Slow Charging and Level 1 Trickle Charging.

Which Level of Charging Should I Use?

An analogy explains this best:

Fast Charging is like Fast Food. You can eat it. But you don't want to eat it every meal every day. Because, just like if you were to eat fast food every meal every day, you wouldn't last as long. The same is true of your battery. If you feed your Electric Vehicle fast charging every meal every day, the battery won't last as long.

Level 3 D/C Fast Charging

Level 2 A/C Slow Charging

Slow Charging is like slow food, or a home cooked meal. Slow food is what you want to feed yourself for a long and healthy life. The same is true of your Electric Vehicle. You want to feed it slow charging for a long and healthy battery life.

Level 1 Trickle Charging

Trickle Charging is like an I/V Drip, it just trickles in. Just like an I/V drip, this is a form of sustenance, but this is not how you would want to feed yourself on a regular basis. The same is true for your Electric Car. Just like an I/V drip, trickle charging is best used in Emergency Situations. That is also why Level 1 Charging is also called "Emergency Charging".

Hyper-Fast Charging is like an energy drink, it's a lot of energy very quickly, but at what expense to your health? D/C Fast Charging is like Fast food, you can eat it, but you don't want to eat it every meal every day. A/C Slow Charging is like slow food, this is what you want to feed your vehicle for a long and healthy life. Trickle Charging is like an I/V Drip, it is best used for emergency situations.

Level 4 Hyper-Fast Charging

Hyper-Fast Charging is like an energy drink. It gives you a lot of energy very quickly, but it's not really food and you wouldn't want to consume too many on a regular basis. The same is true of your battery. You can hyper-fast charge, but as often as you would think appropriate to drink an energy drink. You can drink energy drinks, but at what expense to your health? You can Hyper-fast charge, but at what expense to your battery health?

By now you know that there are 3 Levels of Charging: Level 3 D/C Fast Charging, Level 2 A/C Slow Charging and Level 1 Trickle Charging.

Which Level of Charging Should I Use the Most?

You should also know that:

Hyper-Fast Charging is like an Energy Drink.

Fast Charging is like Fast Food.

Slow Charging is like Slow Food.

Trickle Charging is like an I/V Drip.

But, Which Level of Charging Should I Use the Most?

Use: LEVEL 2 Charging Most Often

Use: LEVEL 3 Charging Sometimes

Use: LEVEL 1 Charging

Just like food, Electricity is what you feed your Electric Vehicle. You want to feed it Slow Charging most often, Fast Charging sometimes, Hyper-Fast Charging rarely and Trickle Charging in emergency situations.

Happy Charging EVeryone!!!

In Emergency Situations

Use: LEVEL 4 Charging Rarely