Home EV charging stations typically range in amperage from 16 to 80 amps. However, the most common amperage for residential charging stations is between 30 and 50 amps. These levels of amperage provide ample charging power for most electric vehicles while still being compatible with standard residential electrical systems.
If one station is in use, it gets the full 30 amps of available power. If another vehicle plugs into another charger on that circuit, each charging stations would receive 15 amps of power. Using our formula, we can see how this affects the amount of kW delivered to the EV:
When deciding how many amps your home charging station should have, consider your average miles driven per day, how often you would be able to charge at home, and your vehicle’s charging rate. For example, using a 16-amp charging station for eight hours would provide you 95 miles of range each time you charge.
Most battery-electric vehicles (BEVs) available today can accept between 40 to 48-amps while charging from a level 2, 240-volt source. However, there are charging stations available today that can deliver more power, and some that can deliver far less, so deciding how many amps you need for your EV charger might seem a little confusing.
Suppose you have an EV with a 7.2 kW rating. This means if you use the charging station from Example 1, your EV can accept the full 7.2 kW of power that the charging station can supply. However, if you plug this same EV into the charging station from Example 2, it can still only accept a maximum of 7.2 kW of power.
A 240 V Level 2 charging station with a 30 amp rating will deliver 7.2 kW of electricity to your EV battery. This Level 2 charging station can provide up to 7.2 kW. If we replace the 30 amp charging station with an 80 amp Level 2 station, the result changes: This Level 2 charging station can supply up to 19.2 kW of power.