A lot of it comes down to the size of your car and how often you use it. When deciding between a household or a Level 2 charger, remember that an EV is not a smartphone, so it doesn't need to start each day at 100 percent. Other key factors that come into play are the size of your EV's battery and its maximum AC charging speed, along with the number of miles you drive per day.

What kind of EV (or PHEV) do you own and how do you use it? Before we dive into chargers, let's take a look at your EV and, especially, its battery. Is it a city runabout like the Fiat 500e with a smallish 38 kWh battery? Or do you own a longer-range model like the Tesla Model 3 (79 kWh) or Volvo EX30 (69k Wh)? It could even be a big-battery pickup like the GMC Sierra EV (155 kWh). Many people also charge their plug-in hybrid vehicles like the Toyota Prius Prime (14 kWh) or Toyota RAV4 Prime (18 kWh) at home.

This is important, because battery capacity is the key factor dictating what type of charger you need at home. In the United States and Canada, a standard 15A 120 volt AC outlet pumps out about 1.8 kW maximum. When used with a standard outlet or portable adapter, this would recharge the PHEV hybrid in under 10 hours and the Fiat 500e in about 21 hours (38 kWh/1.8 kW), the Tesla Model 3 in 43 hours and the GMC Sierra EV in a whopping 86 hours, or over 3.5 days.

You'll need to consider the maximum AC charge rate of your EV too. Most PHEVs support relatively low charging speeds. Examples of those include the Toyota Prius Prime (3.5 kW maximum) and RAV4 Prime (7 kW maximum).

AC charging speeds for battery EVs can vary as well. For instance, the Nissan Ariya, MG4 and Kia e-Nero are limited to 7.4kW, while most models including the Tesla Model 3 and Model Y support up to 11 kW. The next thing to think about is usage.

Do you typically burn just a fraction of your EV's range every 24 hours, or do you have a long commute that uses up much of its charge on a daily basis? If you want to replenish your car from home and not rely on expensive public chargers, this is a key consideration. For example, say you have a long route that consumes 40 percent of a Tesla Model 3's battery per day (about 32 kWh, or around 100 miles). Then it's going to take 18 hours on standard household power to fully recharge it.

That means you'll run your battery down in just a few days, so this is a clear situation where household power alone won't cut it. Level 2 chargers to the rescue Eviqo Let's take a look at Level 2 chargers. These systems, which run on AC (alternating current) power and are available for residential or commercial use, should not be confused with DC (direct current) fast chargers.

When plugged into your car with either a 5-pin J1772 or Tesla's 5-pin NACS connector, the vehicle itself converts power from alternating...