How Long Does It Take to Charge an Electric Car at Kroger?
With the rise in electric vehicle sales within the last year, many companies are getting on board and installing EV chargers at the business, so customers and employees can quickly juice up their batteries. Kroger is one such place that’s opening up charging stations in the parking lots of its stores across the country. How long will it take to charge up at one of its stations? Let’s take a look.
An overview of the three types of electric vehicle chargers
There are three ways to charge up your electric vehicle. First, you can plug it into a socket in your home to charge overnight. Level 1 units use 120 volts and are the slowest way to juice up your EV’s battery. It can often take up to two days to get a full charge this way. It runs on about 1 kW of power and can add two to five miles with one hour of charging.
Level 2 chargers can also be used at your home, provided you have a special plug installed. These are typically 240-volt systems and can charge your vehicle at night and be done by morning.
Some stations use these chargers, so you can get a quick charge to extend your driving range a few more miles. According to the US Department of Transportation, you can get about 7 kW to 19 kW of power output at this level.
The fastest way to charge your electric vehicle is by using a Level 3 or DC fast charging system. These are found at public stations and can charge your car in no time. Tesla superchargers, which is an example of this kind of system, can reportedly juice up your car in 15-20 minutes in most cases. With a power output in the range of 50 to 350 kW, it’s not surprising.
How long will it take to charge up at Kroger with an electric car?
As with many businesses with dedicated charging stations, you’ll get a Level 2 or Level 3 charger, depending on the location. Kroger offers a mixture of units, so you can easily find what you need by checking with an online app, like ChargePoint or EVgo, to name a few.
They can help direct you to the nearest location with a charger compatible with your vehicle. Besides Kroger, you can find chargers at places like Walmart, Sam’s Club, and Costco.
How fast it takes depends on the size of the battery you want to juice up and which charger you use. According to the US Department of Transportation, you can get about 7 to 19 kW of power output at Level 2. That means you can extend your driving range by about 10-20 miles for one hour of charging.
Level 3 offers 50 to 350 kW of power, so it could take anywhere from 20 minutes to one hour to fully charge the battery. This will extend your driving range to an extra 180 to 240 miles. It’s also important to know what kind of charger you can use.
Not all vehicles can handle the Level 3 unit, so be sure your EV is equipped with the proper connectors before trying to use one. Kroger claims that you can get charged up in as little as 10 minutes in some areas, with most charging sessions taking closer to 30 minutes.
Will it be worth charging your EV at Kroger?
If you’re an electric car owner and frequent Kroger, you’ll be glad to know that you can charge up your vehicle while you shop in the store. While it isn’t at all locations yet, Kroger has plans to expand its charging stations project to as many more stores across the country.
According to the Kroger site, the company is partnering with Blink, EVgo, Volta, Tesla, and Electrify America, so virtually any EV owner can find the charger they need at any participating Kroger store. So far, you can find one in states like Arizona, Georgia, Oregon, Texas, and Wyoming, but the list goes on.
The company announced that it wants to add chargers in various locations in states like Illinois, Kentucky, Ohio, Michigan, Virginia, and Tennessee. Kroger wants to become one of the many retailers doing their part to clean up the environment by encouraging electric vehicle use.
Charging your EV while you’re out and about is becoming easier, with charging stations all across America popping up at places like Kroger. You can juice up the battery with either a Level 2 or Level 3 unit and get charged up within half an hour so that you can be on your way in no time.
RELATED: How Long Does It Take to Charge an Electric Car at Sam’s Club?
