Level 1 vs. Level 2 vs. Level 3 EV chargers: Which is right for you?

If you’re considering buying your first electric car, you'll need to ask yourself some questions before you write that check. One of the most important is figuring out how you’re going to charge your car. You need to know what kind of chargers there are, and which of those kinds of charging are best for you. Luckily, we’re here to help.

EV charging can be broken down into three types: Level 1, Level 2 and Level 3. Each charging level has its benefits and drawbacks, but essentially all road-legal electric vehicles (aka not golf carts or scooters) in use today can use all three types to varying degrees. This is in part because of the standardization of hardware (with Tesla being the notable exception, though this is changing) in the form of the J1772 plug for L1 and L2 charging, and the Combined Charging System or CCS plug for L3. 

Tesla uses the same plug for L2 and L3 and that’s known as the J3200 or North American Charging Standard (NACS). In a move towards true standardization, now other vehicle manufacturers like Ford, Rivian, Volvo/Polestar and Nissan (among others) are beginning to adopt NACS which gives them access to Tesla’s massive network of public charging stations.

Seeing designations like J1772 or J3200 may seem confusing at first, or at the very least hard to remember, but these designations come from the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) and they're super important – not because you need to remember them – but because these standards make it easier to own and use an EV without the need for adapters or many different kinds of charger. Older standards like CHAdeMO are being phased out in the US, though you might still run into them in older EVs like first-generation Nissan Leafs.

Level 1: L1 chargers run off of 120-volt house circuits, and many electric vehicles come with an L1 charger in the trunk, though some, like Volkswagen’s ID.4, don’t. The problem with L1 is that modern EVs have such large-capacity batteries that in some cases it can take multiple days to charge a car from zero percent to 80 percent.

If you’re the kind of EV driver who does less than 50 miles a day, you might be able to make L1 charging work for you for running errands within a short distance, but too much more than that and you'll quickly start looking into an L2 system. According to the US Department of Energy, less than one percent of public chargers are L1.

Level 2: L2 charging is the sweet spot for most people who use their EVs every day. These chargers run on 220-volt power and typically require professional installation due to the requirement that they have a dedicated electrical circuit, but offer charge rates far in excess of those provided by an L1 charger. An L2 charger will typically fully charge your EV overnight, giving you maximum range when you leave the house in the morning. The US Department of Transportation states that L2 chargers should charge a typical battery electric vehicle in between four and 10 hours, or a typical Plug-In Hybrid Vehicle (PHEV) in just one to two hours.

Another benefit of L2 charging is cost. As an example, in California (which has some of the highest energy costs in the US), it would cost you approximately $12.80 to charge an EV with a 40-kilowatt-hour battery at home, assuming an average per-kilowatt energy cost of $0.32. If you used a public L3 charger, that cost would rise to $20 assuming a not-uncommon $0.50-per-kilowatt charge. Some public chargers also charge by time. On vehicles with considerably larger batteries, like the Lucid Air Pure with its 88 kWh battery pack, these prices escalate quickly.

Many new L2 chargers also have the benefit of being incredibly smart. This means that in some cases they will monitor energy prices and wait to charge your car when energy costs are lowest. Some will even tie into solar home power storage systems like Tesla’s Powerwall or the Enphase IQ which can significantly reduce the cost of running your EV. Some L2 chargers will also allow you to power your home in the event of an outage. This requires an EV with vehicle-to-load technology, like Kia’s new EV9 or Ford’s F-150 Lightning for example, but it can be a lifesaver in the event that you lose power during extreme weather.

Here's a look at the price of some Level 2 chargers on the EnergySage Marketplace

The charging ecosystem you choose for your car is pretty dependent on your lifestyle. If you live in an apartment or a rented house where you can’t easily access an L2 charger overnight, you’re going to have to think differently about your driving and charging habits than someone who has an L2 charging system in their garage. 

That said, the ideal system for most people is indeed a quality Level 2 charging system that’s been installed professionally according to local electrical codes. This gives you cheap, reliable charging with the least amount of thought required. In the most basic sense with the least feature-rich chargers, you simply plug your car in overnight and it’s topped off and ready for a whole day of driving when you come out to it in the morning. It’s the ideal EV owner experience.

If you have an especially long day of driving or maybe you’re taking a trip to visit friends or family, you can add in Level 3 charging with the understanding that there may be some trial and error involved and that you might have a different experience than what’s advertised. It’s great in a pinch and it’s certainly fast, but you’ll pay for the convenience and often you’ll need separate payment accounts for different charging networks, so plan accordingly.

Lastly, keep an L1 charger in your car. It’s not the most efficient way to charge your vehicle, but it doesn’t take up much space and if you’re in a real emergency situation, it could mean the difference between inconvenience and disaster.