With one of the largest battery packs of a consumer electric vehicle to date…a really long time.
GMC’s Hummer EV is without a doubt a game changer for how Americans view electric vehicles. With its hulking size, up to 1,000 HP, and an iconic name that draws its lineage from our Armed Forces legendary tactical vehicle, it’s the most ‘murican way to step away from fossil fuels, at least at the pump.
Embed from Getty ImagesBut, with Hummer-like capabilities comes heft, a good 9,000+ pounds for the Hummer EV Edition 1. That calls for multiple electric motors and an enormous battery pack, at most a 200 kWh one.
To put that in perspective the Tesla Model X 100D has a 100 kWh battery.
While super-fast charging times of 100 miles of range in 12 minutes thanks to an 800 volt capable charging hardware steal Hummer EV charging headlines, those Level 3 chargers with that voltage are hard to find.
Most GMC Hummer EV owners will use Level 2 & 3 chargers on road trips and charging at home.
But, can you charge a Hummer EV on Level 1 charging using a regular 120 volt outlet?
Yes, but it will take a really long time.
Depending on which edition Hummer EV you get, from EV2 (250 miles range) to Edition 1 (350 miles range), it takes 140-200 hours to charge a Hummer EV’s battery (from empty to full) on regular 120 volt outlet with a 1.75 mile per hour charging rate.
For a regular 8-hour overnight charge on a regular plug, it will only add 14 miles of range.
Here’s how I came up with those estimates.
Hummer EV charging times with new Ultium battery on 120 volts
While GM has not released estimated charging times, we can make some educated guesses.
Regular 120 volt outlets can deliver up to 15 amps but, for continuous loads, you can’t draw over 12 amps from a home circuit for more than three hours.
12 amps x 120 volts = 1,440 watts
Next, we account for efficiency losses from outlet to battery pack which, according to Tesla owners for 120 volt outlets is, on average, a conservative 70 percent (Note- some EV owners record between 85% efficiency to 60% efficiency from regular outlets.)
1440 watts x .7 = 1,008 watts or 1.008 kWh
Dividing by the power of the battery
200 kw/1.008 kw= 198 hours (8.25 days)
For 350 miles of range, that’s about 1.75 miles per hour charged.
This roughly aligns with the charging capabilities of the Cadillac Lyriq which the Hummer EV shares the same charging hardware with but just half the battery size (while weighing 40 percent lighter).
The Hummer EV will come in 3 ranges with presumably different battery sizes, so, extrapolating, these are the total charge times on a regular plug for each from empty to full.
- Hummer First Edition- 350 miles / 200 kwh/ 198 hours
- Hummer EV3X- 300 miles/ 170 kwh/ 168 hours
- Hummer EV2X- 300 miles/ 170 kwh/ 168 hours
- Entry level Hummer EV 2- 250 miles/ 142 kwh/ 140 hours
As mentioned, charging overnight on a regular plug will only add 14 miles of range.
These are unofficial estimates but, as you can see, thanks to the Hummer EVs gigantic battery, it will take a really long time to charge a Hummer EV on a regular 120 volt outlet.
Realistically, Hummer EV owners will use some kind of Level 2 charging.
This is just a hypothetical that it’s possible to charge a Hummer EV on a regular plug if you’re in a pinch or don’t plan to use one daily
