How Long Does It Take to Charge an Electric Car at Pick ‘n Save?
It’s not just individual drivers that have adapted to EV usage and the growing electrification of the automotive market. More businesses across the nation now provide EV charging stations for their employees and customers. You can charge your EV at many shopping malls, restaurants, grocery stores, and more.
However, since each establishment purchases different types of charging posts under different deals and contracts, not all of them will recharge your EV at the same speed. If you’re charging your EV at a Pick ‘n Save grocery store, here’s how long you might have to wait.
Charging speeds depend on EV charging levels
Neocharge tells us that there are three levels of EV charging, starting with Level 1. Pretty much every EV comes with a Level 1 charger that can be plugged into a 120V household outlet. However, since it usually charges at a rate of just 4 miles per hour, your EV won’t get a full battery quickly using this method.
Level 2 chargers are more powerful, supplying anywhere between 12-30 miles per hour. These use 240V connectors, allowing you to recharge your EV in as little as 8 hours. That applies to most modern EVs with ranges of 250 miles or above.
Level 3 chargers (also known as DC fast chargers) are the most powerful, producing twice the power output of a Level 2 charger. On many EVs, you can replenish the battery from empty to 80% capacity in little more than a half hour. However, unlike Level 1 and 2 chargers, these chargers aren’t typically used in residential settings.
Tesla Superchargers are a type of Level 3 charger, but they can currently only be used by Tesla vehicles. In the future, Tesla plans to release adapters so that any other EV can use these stations. EV Town claims that Superchargers can recharge a Model S battery completely in 40 minutes.
However, you may have different results depending on what kind of Tesla you have and the type of Supercharger you use. According to InsideEVs, Superchargers come in V2 and V3 varieties. When recharging a Tesla Model 3 battery to 100%, the V3 Supercharger accomplished this in about 64 minutes. The V2 Supercharger was 6 minutes slower.
What kind of EV chargers does Pick ‘n Save have?
According to the Department of Transportation, most of the charging stations you’ll find at local businesses are of the Level 2 or Level 3 variety. While each charging post has different power outputs, some Level 3 chargers can restore up to 240 miles per hour. Older EVs with less range can be recharged even faster.
For an approximate recharging time, compare the station’s charge rate to the battery capacity of your EV. For example, say that you’re recharging a Kia Niro EV with a battery capacity of 64.8 kWh. If plugged into a Level 2 charger with an output of 6.4 kWh, recharging the battery to 50% takes roughly 5.5 hours. With a Level 3 charging station, you can accomplish the same task in 44 minutes at most.
Pick ‘n Save plans to add more electric vehicle charging stations
According to Chain Store Age, Pick ‘n Save’s parent company Kroger plans to add even more EV chargers to its parking lots across its various sub-brands in the U.S. As of June 2022, more than 350 Level 2 and 3 chargers had been installed.
To find out which one your local Pick ‘n Save or Kroger has, Google Maps usually has this information. Alternatively, you can download a charging station locator app like Plugshare. These locator apps also show you the availability of each charging post and plan navigation routes with charging locations along the way.
