House Grail is reader-supported. When you buy via links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission at no cost to you. Learn more.

How Far Can an Electric Car Go on a Single Charge?

electric car being charged by tesla power system

How much power a car can hold on a single charge and how much they use for the average mile all depends on the car. As you imagine, electric cars have gotten better over the years. Currently, most electric cars can go about 250 miles on a single charge. However, some can do as much as 350 on a single charge, such as some Teslas.

In the future, we’ll likely see cars with even longer ranges and faster charge times. Technology is always getting better, especially batteries. We are able to hold more and more energy in a reasonably-sized battery and as you might imagine, this helps cars go much further than they once did.

There are a lot of factors that affect how far electric cars can go on one charge. The type of area you’re driving in matters substantially, for instance. Just like all cars, electric cars use more energy per mile in a city than they do on a highway.

divider 1

How Long Do Electric Cars Take to Charge?

Electric Car Charging
Image By: GoranH, Pixabay

Just like electric cars differ in how much energy they hold, they also differ in how fast it takes for them to get a full charge. Charging speed is one of the key features of these vehicles since it affects how long users have to wait between charges.

For the most part, this factor depends on the size of the battery and the speed of the charging port. Charging times range from only 30 minutes to more than 12 hours. However, the average is about 8 hours with a typical 7kW charging port.

Usually, most drivers perform top-up charges instead of running their car all the way down and then recharging. Therefore, you only rarely have to wait around the full 8 hours for your car to charge.

Using a high-speed charger is often a much different story. With a 50kW rapid charger, you can often add 100 miles of range in only 35 minutes. When you’re out and about finding one of these chargers is often necessary to make your trip in a timely manner.

Charging an electric car is just like charging any other electric device. You can top-off when necessary while you’re using it, but it’s also best to keep it plugged in when you aren’t using it to ensure that it’s full when you’re ready to go.

Home charging ports usually range from 3.7kW to 7kW, depending on the energy level in the home and what you had installed. You can get a 22kW charging port installed, but these are very expensive and much rarer. Luckily, most of the charging you do at home is going to be when you don’t need the car, like when you’re sleeping overnight.

When you’re out and about, you’ll find it easiest to plug in where you park if plugs are available. In this way, you can keep the battery as full as possible and prevent needing to get a full charge.

Of course, some cars are more efficient than others. Smaller electric cars tend to be most efficient and can get more miles out of their battery. While they don’t charge faster necessarily, each minute of charge gives you more range than it would in a larger car.

How Long Does a Single Charge Last?

Electric Cars Charging
Image By: Joenomias, Pixabay

Usually, the best electric cars can get about 200 miles on a single charge. Of course, it does depend largely on the particular car you’re driving since their range can vary greatly. On top of the size of the car, you’ll also have to keep the size of the battery in mind. A larger battery takes longer to charge, but it can also get you further on a single charge.

For reference, the average American driver drives about 40 miles a day, usually as they commute back and forth to work. Based on this metric, most people can use an electric car as their daily commuting vehicle without much of a problem.

Of course, longer-range driving is a bit more complicated. It helps to map out charging stations as you go, especially if you can find rapid charging stations. These can charge your car much faster, allowing you to top up while you’re parked.

How Far Do Teslas Go on a Charge?

small electric car charging
Image By: andreas160578, Pixabay

It all depends on the Tesla car we’re talking about. The smallest Tesla battery is in the Model 3. However, even this battery will go about 262 miles on a full battery. For most Americans, this is plenty. On the other hand, the biggest battery, which is in the Model S, offers 405 miles—much higher than most of the competition.

There are several factors that go into how many miles you get on a single battery. For one, you have to consider where you’re driving. Highway miles are much more efficient than city miles, due to all the starting and stopping. Therefore, you likely won’t get exactly 262 miles on your Model 3.

It is best to plan your charging locations as top-ups, not complete charges. You don’t want to run out of power before you make it to the next charging station on a longer trip.

Luckily, you typically won’t have to worry about this. The average commute is only 20 miles one-way and you can usually charge your car at night and not worry about topping off during the day. Even if your workplace doesn’t offer charging ports, you usually don’t have to worry about having enough charge to make it home.

divider 1

Conclusion

Electric cars typically go much further than the average person believes. The average electric car can go about 200 miles on a singular charge. With an average driving distance of about 40 miles a day, most people can easily get to and from work every day with an electric car. In fact, most people can drive quite a bit during the day with an electric car and only need to worry about recharging it during the night.

Luckily, rapid charging stations are becoming more common and if you need to go more than 200 miles in a single day, then you can stop for a meal and charge your car as you eat. Rapid chargers are extremely fast, so you can gain a lot of miles on a single charge.

Of course, there are a lot of factors that go into how many miles you get in a single charge. Everything in this article is only an estimate, as batteries tend to perform differently in the real world—where you’re driving and the car you’re driving will also affect the range of your battery.


Featured Image Credit: Blomst, Pixabay

Contents

Related posts

OUR categories

Project ideas

Hand & power tools

woodworking

Garden

Automotive