Until recently, long charging times and an acute lack of charging stations were reason enough for a lot of people not to buy an electric car. Thankfully a lot has changed these past few years: more and more commercial and public charging stations are being installed and faster charging is also making inroads. But how exactly do you fast charge your car? We’re delighted to give you a few tips to help you cut your charging times.
Select the right charging station
Nowadays, you’ll find various types of charging station in commercial and public spaces. These are:
- Public charging station with Type 2 connector
- Public charging station with Combo Type 2 connector
- Public charging station with CHAdeMO connector
- Tesla Supercharger
So which charging station should you use to fast charge your car? That depends on your car model and the battery capacity.
How do you recognise a fast charger? That’s easy: check the station capacity. The typical capacity of a ‘regular’ charging station is 11kW or 22kW (AC). A fast charger or DC charging station gets up to at least 43kW (DC). Some fast chargers even achieve 350kW. So how fast will you be done? It depends, but expect to have a fully charged battery within 20-30 minutes.
It’s good to know that virtually all electric cars are fast charge-compatible. Fast chargers always have their own charging cable attached. Combo Type 2 is the European standard. You need an adapter to charge cars that use other connectors, like CHAdeMO or Tesla.
Plan ahead
When you’re making a journey you’ll obviously want to go for fast charging. Because you don’t want to wait longer than you need to. So how do you find a fast charger close by? The Gabriëls app has a convenient filter to direct you to the nearest filling station with fast-charging facilities.
Found a fast charger? Always choose a station where there’s no car to ensure there’s a free connection.
Keep an eye on the temperature
Low temperatures impact the range of an electric car. They also impact the charging time: the colder the battery the longer it takes to charge.
Find Gabriëls DC charging stations
Looking for a charging station to fast charge your car? Find one near you with our convenient locator.