Level 1 charging
Level 1 charging means plugging an EV into a standard 120 V household outlet. It delivers roughly 1–1.9 kW, adding about 3–5 miles of range per hour — enough for short commutes but slow for anything else.
Level 1 needs no installation: every EV ships with or can use a portable cord set that plugs into a regular NEMA 5-15 outlet. The trade-off is speed — a full charge on a long-range EV can take several days.
Level 1 makes sense as a backup, for plug-in hybrids with small batteries, or for drivers who cover under ~30 miles a day and can plug in every night.