If this average Norwegian charges their car with a speed of 22 kW** (22 kW pr. hour, it will only take him 15 minutes to charge his battery with 6 kWh – his average daily need. If he charges at 7,4 kW, it takes him no longer than 50 minutes. 

 

Despite this fact, most people probably still feel that they need to charge as quickly as possible. But if the car is ready for the next in less than an hour, is how quickly you charge important? 

 

Most of the time, most cars aren’t moving – and have the opportunity to recharge. Most cars are also parked at night, from midnight to when the early birds wake up and drive to work. During these hours, electricity is also at its cheapest in countries where the price of electricity fluctuates with the amount of power used on the grid – such as in Norway. 

Overnight Charging: Efficiently Powering Your Electric Car While Easing the Grid Strain 

 

So why isn’t more people charging slowly and regularly at night? Most modern electric cars lets you quickly and easily set up when the car should start charging. A lot of modern electricity providers have also started offering this functionality to their customers through their websites or apps. 

 

It’s natural for people – and the average Norwegian – to want to have the peace of mind of a full battery when they wake up. It goes for both their car and their phone. So what happens if you start to charge your car with a speed of 7,4 kW every night, from midnight until 6 am? 

  • After two hours, the car has charged its battery with 14,8 kWh (70 km of range) 
  • After four hours, the car has charged its battery with 22,2kWh (110 km of range) 
  • After six hours, the car has charged its battery with 44,4kWh (220 km of range) 

It’s clear that it doesn’t take a lot of hours or nights for the car to have recharge what you need for the next day – and then some. Getting that full battery-feeling doesn’t take long either, even if you aren’t charging as quickly as possible. 

 

Unlike your phone, an electric car (using a dedicated EV charger) can charge safely at night. And since you won’t be using a lot of electricity from other sources at night, it’s a convenient way to even out your electricity consumption.

Many electrical grids are under constant pressure due to the increasing number of electrical appliances, and charging at night is a nice way to make sure you aren’t contributing to putting unnecessary strain on your local grid. 

 

*kWh is a unit describing volume. While a fossil fuel car uses litres of petrol, an EV uses kWh of electricity. 

 

**kW is a unit describing speed. A higher kW will fill the car with electricity faster, just like a petrol pump fills the car with petrol faster than a straw would.