Why Level 1 EV Home Charging Might Be Smarter Than You Assume

Using an electric vehicle, you might find that a simple wall socket becomes your greatest ally. I discovered this during my journey with the Rivian R1T.

Let’s be real for a second: nobody wants to sit around and wait hours and hours for their electric vehicle to charge. The fear of long charging times, along with nowhere to actually do it, is what scares many people away from owning an EV. And certainly, the time it takes to charge from a standard wall outlet—which might take
anywhere from 60 to 200 hours
depending on the car—isn’t very encouraging.

Many electric vehicle (EV) owners connect their cars at home and utilize quicker Level 2 chargers to power up within hours instead of days. Some depend on public DC fast charging stations either routinely or during vacations to refill in just minutes. Nonetheless, every EV is capable of being plugged into an ordinary 120-volt household socket as well. However, how practical is this option truly?

It’s actually very good, believe it or not. I found this out during my road trip
out to the far West Texas desert in a 2025 Rivian R1T
. That experience convinced me that so-called Level 1 charging, the slowest form of EV charging there is, can be an immensely useful tool—if you use it correctly.

Actually, using wall chargers really came to my rescue during this trip. Here’s why.

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Full Disclosure:

Rivian lent me an R1T for a journey during the 2024 winter break.

Over the holidays, I drove about 400 miles from San Antonio to the remote town of Marfa, Texas near the Mexican border. As you might guess, there aren’t many EV charging options out that way. One hotel near the house where I was staying had a Level 2 charger, but it was for guests only and I wasn’t staying there. I probably could’ve talked my way into borrowing it a few times, but didn’t want to take advantage.

My best bet was a Tesla Supercharger station in the town of Alpine, which I used quite often on this trip thanks to the adapter Rivian included. But that was 30 miles away before any highway range losses, and in the
opposite
The direction towards everything I love doing outside in Marfa. To summarize, once I left the parking area, success came rather quickly.

Luckily for me, Rivian also included a portable wall charger. I decided to throw the R1T on that when it was parked in the driveway. Lo and behold, it was just what I needed.

Stage 1 Charging: What You Need to Know

A typical 120-volt household electrical socket usually delivers between 1 to 2 kilowatts (kW) of power, which equates to approximately three to five miles of range added per hour.

With a 149-kilowatt-hour battery pack (of which 140 kilowatt-hours are usable), similar to the one in my R1T Dual Motor Max Pack test unit, you would expect
around 30 to 40 hours to charge from 20% to 80% capacity
, depending on the speed. Around 2 kilowatts of electricity for each kilowatt-hour of battery capacity, best-case scenario. Makes sense, right?

That’s a lot less than my own home ChargePoint Level 2 charger, which runs a steady output of 7.2 kW. That means it can charge my Kia EV6, with its 77.4 kWh battery, from 0% to 100% in around 10 hours, though my typical time is around five or six hours. I’ve never run that car all the way down to 0%, and I don’t intend to ever do that.

So if you’re new to EVs, you may scoff at Level 1 wall charging as being too slow. But remember this: What is your car doing most of the time? Well, it’s just sitting there parked.

Since it’s just sitting there, that means you can “refuel” it. This is a kind of secret superpower for EVs that few people talk about. With a gas-powered car, you have to drive somewhere and get gas. With an EV,
for 95% of the time when the car is stationary
, it can continue charging its battery as long as it’s close to a power source.

This proved to be highly beneficial for me. During my journey, I didn’t spend every moment behind the wheel. Instead, I spent time exploring the city on foot, visiting landmarks, dining and imbibing with loved ones, or snapping pictures. Just like how any car would sit idle during the day, so did the R1T most of the time. Hence, I thought why not leave it plugged in when it wasn’t being used.

It turned out very rewarding. Simply by plugging into the wall socket, I managed to gain an additional 30 to 40 miles of range each day, with much of this happening during nighttime hours while I slept. Since I never let the Rivian’s battery dip all the way to zero percent, I avoided having to recharge from empty. Additionally, I could rely on residual charge left over from using the Tesla Supercharger. As such, connecting to the standard wall outlet guaranteed ample range for handling my everyday tasks and trips.

I’ve noticed that electric vehicle (EV) charging isn’t usually an “it’s depleted, so I should refill immediately” scenario as with gasoline vehicles. Instead, it’s all about ensuring you get just enough charge for your specific needs each time. I didn’t require the R1T to be fully charged daily; rather, I only needed sufficient range to meet my regular travel requirements. Charging via the wall outlet provided ample everyday coverage until I could reach a Tesla Supercharger station again. Owning an EV makes one think more deliberately about managing power consumption. This shift in mindset can actually be quite beneficial.

That extra 30 to 40 miles from daily wall charging powered a lot of my trip. It’s why there’s also a not-insignificant number of EV owners out there who only use Level 1 wall charging for the job.
My colleague Kevin Williams has written about this extensively
; he’s an apartment-dweller and uses slower charging with great frequency.

Consider individuals who possess a compact electric vehicle equipped with a less sizable battery, or those who use an electric vehicle as their secondary or tertiary mode of transportation mainly for local trips and errands within the city. Why might they
not
Why use a wall outlet, particularly when you don’t require something as quick or expensive as a Level 2 home charger?

For me personally, I find that using a Level 2 charger is essential because I drive quite often at home. Depending only on Level 1 charging doesn’t meet my requirements effectively. However, nowadays, I view this Level 2 charger more like an additional resource—an extremely handy one—for situations such as long drives and holidays. Especially when traveling to unfamiliar locations where high-speed charging stations might be sparse, I’d highly suggest packing a portable wall charger. Although it’s not the quickest solution available, having it beats being without power altogether and can prevent serious issues.

I’ll include the usual warnings here and emphasize that it’s crucial to ensure the electrical setup you’re drawing power from is safe.
is secure, contemporary, sturdy and capable of managing the workload
. If you’re leasing an Airbnb, make sure to confirm with the hosts whether they allow EV charging (and
It likely won’t make a significant impact on their electricity bill.
.)

Several manufacturers suggest avoiding the use of an extension cord for such purposes. When dealing with prolonged usage involving significant power draw, extension cords can pose issues. Although an industrial-strength, thick-gauge extension cord might work better in these scenarios, my advice remains consistent: follow exactly what your user’s guide recommends—alternatively, consult an electrician if you’re unsure about safely extending cables over greater lengths. Never presume that simply plugging in any available extension cord is safe. Certainly, level one charging aids in keeping vehicles operational; however, damaging chargers or causing fires could complicate matters significantly rather than solve them.

So long as you can do it safely, do not rule out Level 1 wall charging, especially on your next EV road trip. Always remember: if it’s parked, maybe it can be plugged in somewhere.

Contact the author:
patrick.george@insideevs.com

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