Hi, new here. I’m picking up a used 2022 Kia Niro EV tomorrow with 15k miles. It comes with a Level 1 home charging cable. If I’m driving about 50 miles a day in town, will that be enough for home charging?
It might just cover your daily needs, especially if you can charge it for more than 12 hours. It should be fine for now until you figure out installing a Level 2 charger, but you’ll probably want one eventually since you’ll likely drive the EV more once you get used to it.
If you’re only doing 50 miles a day and charging overnight, you’ll be okay with the Level 1. I used that setup for the first year with my e-golf. Just remember to plug it in every night.
We drove 70-80 miles a day with a Level 1 charger, charging overnight during the week and doing a full charge on the weekend. It worked fine when the weather was warmer, and we were getting close to 300 miles on a full charge. I installed a Level 2 charger after my wife got a PHEV Jeep. The charger cost about $160 on Amazon with a coupon. With colder weather, we’re now getting around 200 miles at 80%.
Yep, should be fine.
I don’t think so. I would recommend getting a Level 2 charger. If you charge overnight, you’ll be set for a few days.
Try it and see. In the USA, you’d charge at about 1.1kW, roughly 100V times your amperage (10A to 13A). In the UK, it’s 2.4kW (220V to 240V with 10A to 13A). Multiply your charge rate by the charging time and your average miles per kWh. For example, in the USA, you might get about 5 miles per hour of charging. In the UK, it’s about 10 miles per hour.
Level 1 usually gives about 5 miles per hour in the summer. In the winter, you might get around 3 miles per hour. I was in a similar position and recommend getting a Level 2 charger installed at home. It will relieve stress, allowing you to fully charge overnight and be ready for longer trips.
@benshark
Do you know if the cold weather package helps or affects charging when it’s cooler outside?
Wei said:
@benshark
Do you know if the cold weather package helps or affects charging when it’s cooler outside?
It’s more about battery chemistry. Cold weather increases battery resistance, which means more energy is lost when power flows in and out. I’m not sure exactly when the cold weather package helps, but I think it’s mainly for fast charging. Heating the battery might help, but it uses energy too, so it’s probably more for protecting the battery at high charging rates in cold temps.
@benshark
It’s about 45°F here tonight, and after 12 hours, I’ve only got a 30% charge. Is that above normal?
Wei said:
@benshark
It’s about 45°F here tonight, and after 12 hours, I’ve only got a 30% charge. Is that above normal?
That’s about 1.6kW for 12 hours, which is pretty normal for Level 1. The real question is how much 30% translates into mileage. It depends on your speed and the temperature. If you’re driving 50 miles a day on slow city roads, you should be fine, but driving 70-75mph in cold temps might drain it faster.
As others mentioned, it might be tight. I was doing about 60 miles a day with my 2020 model, and by the end of the week, it felt like I was cutting it close.
You can use a dryer plug for Level 2 if you can’t install a 50A breaker in your fuse box at home.
Blair said:
You can use a dryer plug for Level 2 if you can’t install a 50A breaker in your fuse box at home.
I usually do a weekly 100-mile round trip. I thought I could get by with Level 1 for a while, but then I had a week when I had to do that trip twice. That made me convert my dryer circuit. The original poster might be fine if they have access to a public Level 2 charger when needed.
Look into low amperage Level 2 chargers. Many systems can be set up for 12-20 amps. A 12-amp Level 2 will charge twice as fast as Level 1 and still save money. Even a 240V charger at 8 amps will charge a little faster and put less load on your circuit. To answer your question: yes, Level 1 is enough for 50 miles a day. If you’re getting 12 hours of charge and driving efficiently, it’ll be fine. In winter, you might need more time to charge due to heating needs. If that happens, try to find a local Level 2 charger to catch up.
You’ll get about 2.5-3 miles per hour with the ‘lightbulb charger’ (Level 1) since it uses about as much power as a 100-watt light bulb. A Level 2 charger is like running your dryer and will give you about 25 miles per hour. On weekends, leave your car at a Level 2 charger for a few hours to top up. Then, use the Level 1 charger overnight to get through the week.
@Sam
Level 1 is up to 1400 watts, so more like a toaster. 50 miles a day might be tough, especially if you need heat.
@Sam
Correction…