There are five things you should know about range and charging: three that impact how far you can go in your electric vehicle (EV) and two that impact how quickly you can charge.

Although charging an EV is a bit different from refueling a conventional vehicle, choosing to drive a BEV or PHEV does not require a substantial change in lifestyle. There is a variety of electric sedans, SUVs, and even minivans to help reduce your gasoline-use without compromising your space or performance, and there are more options every year. That means you can commute, go to the grocery store, and travel just like you always have, while dramatically reducing your carbon emissions.

The biggest change you’ll experience when you drive electric? You’ll make fewer trips to the gas station, if you need to go at all. Charging your all-electric or plug-in hybrid car at home is as easy as charging your cell phone. Just plug it in overnight or when you get home, and you’ll have it fully-charged and ready to go in the morning – it’s more convenient than stopping to refuel at the gas station. When you are away from home or if you can't charge at home, there are more and more public charging stations available.

There are three levels of charging available for EVs today: Level I, Level II, and DC Fast Charging.

Here's a summary of the important things to know about each charging level.

Most EV drivers charge at Level I and Level II because it’s inexpensive, convenient, and readily available. Although Level II charging speeds may be different from car model to car model (ie, a Tesla vs a Nissan LEAF), the speed you’ll charge at is consistent over time. For example, a Chevy Bolt charging at Level II will add roughly 25 miles of range per hour spent charging whether you plug in at 50% charged or 80% charged. Similar vehicles, like the Nissan LEAF, Hyundai Kona, and Kia Niro, have similar Level II charging speeds as the Bolt.

However, with DC fast charging, there’s a lot more variability across different car models, charging stations, and even according to how much juice you have left when you plug in.

Here’s a generalized “cheat sheet” to help decode how quickly you can expect to charge with different models and charging stations. Cold weather will slow down charging speeds across the board.

The key thing to remember about DC fast charging is that it’s fastest between 10% and 80% state of charge. Fast charging slows down to “Level II” speeds once you hit 80% capacity. Below, we’ve visualized a sample charging session for a Chevy Bolt.

The first hour of charging (assuming you plug in when the car reads 10% or less) happens at the car’s maximum DC fast charging speed. Once the vehicle is charged to nearly 80%, fast charging slows down and it may take much longer to top off the last 50 miles than the previous 180 miles. That’s why you might see automakers advertise their EVs’ fast charging speeds as “time to 80% charged.” Two important conclusions about DC fast charging that are important for EV drivers to know:

1. There is a lot of variability in speed of DC fast charging depending on the weather, the station you’re plugged into, and the vehicle model itself.
2. Charging to 100% using a DC fast charger may not be the best way to fuel an EV for a long trip. Tools like A Better Route Planner can help you optimize long-distance travel stops to minimize the time you spend waiting.

The charger: The charger is built into the electric vehicle. The charging port accepts electricity from an outside source and stores it in the vehicle's battery. There are different types of charging ports, which becomes very important when we talk about DC Fast Charging. Here are four of the more common options:

Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment (EVSE)

The EVSE is the machine with the cord that you plug into your onboard charger. The plug on the EVSE must match up with the charging port on the vehicle. All vehicles come equipped with a cord that will plug into a normal wall outlet for a "trickle charge". More on this below!