Charging is slower than expected

The speed is whichever is lowest

Three things each set a ceiling, and you get the lowest of them:

1. The charger. Its rating, for example 22 kW, is its maximum.
2. Your car's on-board charger. The part inside the car that converts AC to DC for the battery. This is the usual limit, and it is often much lower than the charger's rating.
3. The battery's own state. Charging slows as the battery fills, and in cold weather.

The on-board charger is usually the answer

This surprises people more than anything else about AC charging.

A car with a 7.4 kW single-phase on-board charger will draw 7.4 kW from a 22 kW station. Not because the station is underperforming, but because the car will not accept more. Many popular models are 7.4 kW or 11 kW. Only some are the full 22 kW.

Your car's specification will list it, often as "on-board charger" or "AC charging".

Single phase and three phase

A 22 kW charger is three-phase. A car that can only charge single-phase takes one third of it, so around 7.4 kW. Again, the car's limit.

Heat

On a hot day a charger reduces its power to protect itself, and so does the car. An EV Charging Point in direct sun in August will not always deliver its rating.

If a charger gets hot enough to stop altogether, reducing the maximum charging power in your car's settings often gets you a complete, slightly slower session instead of one that cuts out. See Charging stopped part way through.

Cold

A cold battery accepts less power until it warms up. A session that starts slowly on a winter morning often speeds up after a while.

When it is worth telling us

If a station delivers noticeably less than another station with the same rating, and your car charges at full speed elsewhere, that is worth knowing about. Tell us the station and what power you saw, and we can compare it with what the charger reports.