Charging an electric car is similar to filling gas in a regular car. There won’t be any fumes, and it takes much longer, but it’s the same thing. Switching from a conventionally fueled car is surprisingly easier than you’d imagine. You need to get used to the idea of hunting for a plug point instead of a fuel station. And planning ahead because charging takes time.
Today there are more public charging stations than ever in the United States. But most people charge their electric vehicles at home about 80% of the time. It’s easy to do because every electric car on the road today is compatible with the U.S. standard Level 2 charger. The industry calls it the SAE J1772. It is also compatible with Tesla cars, but you need to use the adapter that comes with the vehicle to connect it to a J1772 plug. Unless you have access to Tesla’s supercharger at home.
If you have any other electric car, finding a public charger is very easy. There are many apps and websites that guide you to an outlet that is conveniently located. The best apps even tell you whether the outlets are free or occupied. Handles and cables of these Level 2 charging units are weatherproof and not really heavy. They also let out a very satisfying click when they lock into the car’s charging port, so you know that they’re safely connected and that your vehicle will get charged. Today, there are 22,816 Level 2 public charging stations across the country.
If you’d like to quickly charge your car’s battery to 80% in 30 minutes, you’ll need to find a DC fast charger. Apart from Tesla’s Superchargers, there are CHAdeMO and SAE Combo Combined Charging Systems (CCS). Nissan and Mitsubishi use CHAdeMO, and all other non-Tesla EVs use CCS. The Chargeway app will let you know which if the 3653 DC fast chargers will work with your car.
Just like with regular fuel, you’ll have to pay for charging your EV. The three biggest networks for this apart from Tesla Superchargers are EVgo, ChargePoint, and Electrify America. You can pay through an app, credit card, or if you own a particular model, you could even get it free.