EV Charging Levels

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For more than 100 years, we’ve relied on gasoline to fuel our cars and trucks. At the pump, there are different choices: regular, mid-grade, premium, and diesel. Most cars can get by on regular gas, but some require premium, which has a higher octane rating and helps the engine perform better.

With electric vehicles, there are also an array of choices for recharging. Like other electronics, the levels (indicating the type of charge) depend on how much power a vehicle can accept, the power outlet it can use, and the amount of time it takes to fill up the battery. There are three levels of charging, and the higher the level, the less time it takes to reach a full battery.

Level 1

These charging stations use a standard 120v outlet. The time to charge a vehicle’s battery can take 60 or more hours.

Level 2

These are the most commonly available charging stations and are used most often for home charging. The time to reach a full battery is around 11 hours.

Level 3

These charging stations are known as rapid charging stations, and there are two standards: DC Fast Charging and Supercharging. Level 3 stations can fully charge a battery in under 30 minutes and most closely resemble the customer experience of gasoline-powered cars. Tesla’s standard is Supercharging, and the company has the largest network of Level 3 charging stations in North America. “It’s no longer a matter of if, and it’s no longer a matter of when, it’s now the question is how fast? Because we know that the automakers have put the money into the retooling.”

— Jonathan Levy,

Chief commercial officer of EV charging company EVgo