One of the biggest concerns for electric vehicle (EV) owners is knowing when and how to charge their vehicle. It makes sense: The average citizen has spent their life driving around in gas-powered cars, filling up at one of the hundreds of thousands of gas stations as the gauge creeps towards empty. Charging one’s EV takes a little more planning, but with the growing demand and incentives for alternatives to gas-powered cars, Level 2 public EV charging stations are becoming a more common sight.

So whether you’re the owner of an EV or looking to add a public EV charging station to your commercial property, here are just a few things you should know about how an EV charger works.

Summary. The time it takes to charge an electric car can be as little as 30 minutes or more than 12 hours. This depends on the size of the battery and the speed of the charging point. A typical electric car (60kWh battery) takes just under 8 hours to charge from empty-to-full with a 7kW charging point.

For the most part, a J1772 plug is standard for EVs—that is, unless you have a Tesla or are trying to use a Tesla EV charging station. Think of it as a device charging cord: If you have a USB-C cord, but your device takes Mini-USB, the USB-C cord can’t be used to charge your device without an adaptor.

Because Teslas use their own form of connector from the device to the vehicle, a Tesla charger cannot be used on a non-Tesla vehicle, and a non-Tesla charger cannot be used on a Tesla vehicle without an adaptor.

Adaptors do exist and can be purchased online, but it’s important for drivers to note what type of charger they’re parking in front of. Additionally, commercial entities that want to provide EV charging on their property or parking lots should take into consideration that buying only Tesla chargers will leave many EV drivers unable to use your services.