Most electric vehicles reach a full charge overnight at home. A 7kW wall charger adds 40 to 50 km of range per hour, so a standard eight hour overnight session adds around 320 to 400 km. A 10A portable charger adds 7.5 to 15 km per hour, which covers daily commuting but will not refill a large battery by morning.
Most New Zealand drivers plug in somewhere between 9pm and 7am. That gives eight to ten hours of charging time.
That window matters more than the size of your battery, because very few drivers arrive home empty. The realistic question is not how long a full charge takes. It is whether your charger can replace the range you used that day before you leave in the morning. For most households, a 7kW charger does this with hours to spare.
| Charger type | Power | Range added per hour | Range added in 8 hours | Suits |
| Portable charger (10A or 15A socket) | 1.4 kW | 7.5 to 15 km | 60 to 120 km | Short commutes, plug-in hybrids, backup use |
| Level 2 single phase | 3.3 to 7.4 kW | 18 to 40 km | 144 to 320 km | Most New Zealand homes |
| Level 2 at 7 kW (32A single phase) | 7 kW | 40 to 50 km | 320 to 400 km | Full battery electric vehicles |
| Level 2 three phase | 11 to 22 kW | 45 to 140 km | Full charge well before morning | Homes with existing three phase supply |
Speed depends on the vehicle as much as the charger. Every EV has an onboard charger that sets a ceiling on how much AC power it can accept. Most electric cars sold in New Zealand accept up to 11kW, so a 22kW charging station will not charge them any faster than 11kW. Check your vehicle specification before paying for capacity the car cannot use.
Take a mid-size EV with a 70 kWh battery that arrives home at 20 percent charge. It needs roughly 56 kWh to reach full.
At an average New Zealand rate of 28 cents per kWh, a full 70 kWh charge costs about $19.60 and delivers over 400 km of range.
Many drivers start with the portable charger supplied with the car and assume it will be enough. It usually is, until one of the following happens:
There is a safety dimension as well. A portable charger draws a sustained load through a general purpose socket for many hours at a time. A dedicated wall charger sits on its own circuit and is designed for that duty. EVSE chargers include internal DC leakage detection, which means a Type A RCBO can be used for protection rather than a more expensive Type B device.
Two settings reduce the cost of every overnight session:
On a 7kW charger, yes for almost every battery electric vehicle sold in New Zealand. Eight hours at 7kW delivers 320 to 400 km of range, which exceeds the usable capacity most drivers need to replace.
No. Level 2 AC charging is the gentlest form of charging. Many manufacturers recommend charging to 80 percent for daily use and 100 percent before long trips, because the final 20 percent charges more slowly while the battery cells balance.
Most homes do not. Three phase only helps if your vehicle can accept more than 7.4kW of AC power, and it requires an existing three phase supply. If three phase is already available at the property, it is worth running to the garage for future vehicles.
About $19.60 for a 70 kWh battery at 28 cents per kWh, which delivers over 400 km. The exact figure depends on your electricity plan, your charging times and whether you use solar.
The Ocular IQ Home Solar 7kW is the recommended single phase charger. It adds up to 50 km of range per hour of charge, has a small wall footprint and comes with a two year warranty.
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