Can you Charge an EV Using Only 120V Power? | Yes! - Here’s How

[@BioniqBob]

Thanks for doing this video. So many out there squawk about charging with 120V, saying so many hours to charge. Who in the world runs it to zero and charge to 100% everyday. Ones that drive 200 miles everyday need the 240V. Well done.

[@TheTom2video]

Thanks for the well informed video. I own a 2023 Ioniq 5 and satisfied with it. I decided against having a level 2 charger installed in my garage. I had 2 electricians come in to do an estimate and both wanted $4000 to install due to my location of my electrical box. I have a gas vehicle as well. I could use my gas vehicle for a couple of days while the Ioniq 5 is on 120 volt charge. In doing the math, I avoid the expense of installing a level 2 charger and the money saved doing this. My weekend utility rate is low so I take advantage of it. I try not to charge during peak hours which the rate is higher. Also my 2 years of free dc charging expires on October 31 so I will start using my 120 volt house outlet to charge my Ioniq 5.

[@hg60justice]

can you? yes. but should you? just the differences in losses adds up. and your analogy is right. the charger is an appliance that uses a bit of power to work. and it uses the same power pretty much no matter the amount of power it's converting. got a new bolt euv, and it comes with a level 1-2 charger with 2 plugs. your car can use 9a 120., or set to 12a 120. then level 2 on it with a 14-50 plug adaptor gives 9kw. i got an extra charger for permanent mount able to serve the whole 11.5 kw capable of the onboard charger. a little faster but should be even a bit more efficient.

[@SkaBob]

We started with a PHEV and a 120V charger, it was around 8-9 hours if we ran it all the way down. We got a cheap 3.8KW charger from amazon and that cut the time to 2-3 hours. Later we traded the PHEV for an Ioniq 5 AWD, the 3.8KW charger got us by but could be 6-12 hours depending on how far we drove, again not ideal. Now we have a 40A charger that will cover a lot of driving in 2-3 hours. I don't think a 120V charger would cover our daily driving on the I5, we would need to stop to fast charge once or twice a week to fill er up.

[@CarsMadeSimple]

Very interesting progression but it all makes sense. How many miles are you driving/battery using on a daily basis?

[@SkaBob]

@@CarsMadeSimple We drive just over 100 miles a day, although usually I charge at work. Today we went 110 miles and didn't charge so I'm plugged in now to get my 110 miles back. Shows it will be about 3.5 hours on the 40A 9.2KW charger. On a 1.4KW 110 charger looks it would have been about 24 hours.

[@CarsMadeSimple]

@@SkaBob Depending on the state of charge, that sounds about right.

[@toner37]

this is the kind of info all salespeople should have for potential EV buyers. Break it down and let the buyer be more informed of home charging on regular outlet vs the L2 charging.

[@CarsMadeSimple]

Appreciate it!

[@tobytaylor1454]

I’m a truck driver and I hate to drive ANYWHERE😂😂I’m not in my car every minute and everything I need is in a 50 mile radius at where I live I think house hold current should do it for a EV I’m considering for 79.5% charge I’m good the vehicle I’m considering is a Chevy Bolt! I believe the so-called Quick Charge 12amps and higher is dangerous and wares the battery pack out quicker! What are your findings? Opinion?

[@MrBeugh]

The onboard power converter, which converts AC (wall) power to DC (battery) power, there will be some loss, including thermal loss. There's much more charging "headroom" with 240V, meaning the net losses will be quite a bit lower. Level I charging will add around 3 miles of range per hour of charging. Bottom line: If you stick with Level I charging at home you MUST charge every night, or plan on visiting a public charging station.

[@jwang6027]

Really want to voice the message that 120V is perfectly fine for daily use. Simple math says nightly charging can easily get you 15,000 miles a year and that's exactly what I actually get. 10 hours overnight gets me 10 kwh enough to go over 40 miles the next day

[@daisiesushitam984]

How do you set the battery to charge to 80%?

[@bv3700]

Most vehicles have a setting to select a charge level. This is either through a connected app and/or in the vehicle settings.

[@imarowbot11]

No part 2?

[@LSwaggy]

I plan on charging a Smart Electric Drive on a generator... Would it make a difference or would it even work and charge faster on a 30Amp but just 120V outlet on a Generator?

[@CarsMadeSimple]

The quickest you can charge an EV (that I have seen) with a level 1 EVSE is at 16 amp's which is 1.6-1.7kw. The charge rate will depend on the EVSE as well as the outlet power.

[@DonaldMains]

Multiply Amps by Volts and that's your charge rate. 30A. (24A) x 120V= 2.88 kw/ hour. Its that simple.

[@Lelandlipe]

do I need special wall plug for like hot tubs or is standard 120 ok?

[@CarsMadeSimple]

You can use a standard 120V outlet but it is highly recommended to use a dedicated circuit for EV charging given the constant draw for hours on end. If you want to use a circuit already available to you, just make sure nothing else is plugged in on the circuit and you should be fine.

[@KiRiTO72987]

For L1 charging just a standard 3 prong 120V outlet will work but try to make sure there's nothing else on the circuit and if possible look at getting a 240V L2 charger installed

[@marcw.5492]

thanks for this ! I am considering an Ioniq5 - is there a particular cable (extension chord) to use ? what are the safety considerations ? Not sure I heard that in the video.

[@CarsMadeSimple]

You can buy EV charging specific extension cables for Level 1 or Level 2 charging. It is not advised to use a regular extension cord for EV charging.

[@CarsMadeSimple]

@@terryalgranati1326 If you're discussing 120V power, the shorter the extension cord the better. At least 12 gauge wire but 10 gauge would likely be better at full power. You can also change the power output from the EVSE but that would slow the charging down even further.

[@nutanshah9725]

I charge with 120 volt

[@Digikidthevoiceofreason]

Now….do this exact same experiment on a Hummer EV. 😂

[@CarsMadeSimple]

Believe it or not, that might actual happen in the future! 😉

[@Digikidthevoiceofreason]

Has one hell of a big power pack. Should be interesting.

[@CarsMadeSimple]

It sure does! Less efficient and larger pack should mean less mileage possible to be driven all things equal to recoup all energy lost that day.

[@SkaBob]

Assuming a 0-100% charge on a 212KWh battery with a 1.3KW charger it would be 163 hours. But since charging isn't 100% efficient, even less at 120V, maybe closer to 175 hours. Or A little over 7 days. But it's just a guess, batteries usually keep a buffer so a 212KWh battery may only have 200-205 usable.

[@CarsMadeSimple]

@@SkaBob I would never try charging it from 0% to full. I would only attempt to cover my usage for a single day which tends to be between 23-30 miles.

[@MAGApepe]

3 days later lol