Electric Vehicles

[Distracted1]

It varies from free to too much. Our local power company has installed several charging stations in our area. Most charge about 13 cents a kWh which is about the same as our residential rate, but some are free. Most are "Level 2" charging stations that add about 20 miles of range (based on my car and driving) per hour of charging. But, some are high-speed Fast DC chargers that can charge my car to 80% in about 20 minutes.

Many businesses have free Level 2 charging stations. Some have ones that charge - usually costing more than the ones installed by the power company.

All of the Dunkin Donuts stores along I-4 have charging stations, so I would have no issues driving from Orlando to Tampa and back (other than it taking a long time and adding inches to my waistline).

I see.
I don't imagine "free" will be the norm for very long. But, who knows?

If your car is about dead, and you are forced to pay the 13Cents per, how much until it is "topped off"? And I am assuming that is not taxed?

 

[Distracted1]

Would it have cost $1200 to "fill up" an EV in Texas last week?

 

[P.J. Denyer]

You really are comparing apples and something much more different than oranges. As an EV owner, you don't need charging stations near your house. It is better when they are farther away.

That's going to be the big change, there won't be a need for a local equivalent to petrol stations, why would you use one? It's going to be more like a 'Motorway Sevices' model, demand will be reduced so the number of stations will reduce but since they will be almost exclusively for long trips that won't matter. With an ICE you have to fill up periodically even if you never go more than 5 miles from home, so local services make sense, having to drive 20 minutes to get petrol would be crazy, with electric vehicles and home/roadside/carpark slow charging the need for a filling station analogue will be limited to long journeys, if you're driving 300+ miles only having a charging point every fifty miles doesn't really matter (so long as you don't play 'remaining charge roulette' of course).

 

[Shalamar]

Question for those who may already have an EV.
When charging away from home, what is the charge?

How much does it cost to recharge a nearly empty battery to %100? Is it metered? Taxed?
Flat rate? Do different charging stations offer different prices?

I'll charge at tesla Supercharger stations when needed.
Speed of charging depends on far too many variables:
Power of Supercharger: 72kW, 120kW, 250kW
How much charge you have in your battery (faster charging the lower the battery charge)
How many people are currently charging. Some stations 'share' charging with other cars. Don't park next to another Tesla if you can help it.
How much you want to charge. As you approach 100%, charging speed drops.

So about 20-30 minutes to charge enough to your destination/next charger, up to 75 minutes if you really want to charge to full.

Cost is roughly 28 cents a kWh, but it varies across the country, and time of day. Many now add a '$1.00/min idle fee' if you keep your car plugged in after you've finished charging.

 

[Shalamar]

That's going to be the big change, there won't be a need for a local equivalent to petrol stations, why would you use one? It's going to be more like a 'Motorway Sevices' model, demand will be reduced so the number of stations will reduce but since they will be almost exclusively for long trips that won't matter. With an ICE you have to fill up periodically even if you never go more than 5 miles from home, so local services make sense, having to drive 20 minutes to get petrol would be crazy, with electric vehicles and home/roadside/carpark slow charging the need for a filling station analogue will be limited to long journeys, if you're driving 300+ miles only having a charging point every fifty miles doesn't really matter (so long as you don't play 'remaining charge roulette' of course).

My car is fully charged (well, 90%. Tesla recommends 80-90% for regular use) every night. Takes roughly 3-4 hours to 'fill up' at home. I don't need a charging location near me.

 

[jadebox]

I see.
I don't imagine "free" will be the norm for very long. But, who knows?

If your car is about dead, and you are forced to pay the 13Cents per, how much until it is "topped off"? And I am assuming that is not taxed?

Free Level 2 options will probably be around for a while since they don't cost the businesses very much and there are advertising supported networks installing them.

I don't see any tax explicitly added to the cost in my area.

And before anyone brings it up, we pay exactly the same amount of gasoline taxes as anyone else. We just use less gas.

 

[Distracted1]

I'll charge at tesla Supercharger stations when needed.
Speed of charging depends on far too many variables:
Power of Supercharger: 72kW, 120kW, 250kW
How much charge you have in your battery (faster charging the lower the battery charge)
How many people are currently charging. Some stations 'share' charging with other cars. Don't park next to another Tesla if you can help it.
How much you want to charge. As you approach 100%, charging speed drops.

So about 20-30 minutes to charge enough to your destination/next charger, up to 75 minutes if you really want to charge to full.

Cost is roughly 28 cents a kWh, but it varies across the country, and time of day. Many now add a '$1.00/min idle fee' if you keep your car plugged in after you've finished charging.

How many Kwh does it take to fill up at 28 cents per?

Is it possible to pre-determine the amount of charge you wish to purchase (As in "give me $10 on charger number 6" ) ?

 

[Shalamar]

How many Kwh does it take to fill up at 28 cents per?

My battery is 74kWh capacity. It entirely depends on what charge you have left, and what charge you want to get to.

Is it possible to pre-determine the amount of charge you wish to purchase (As in "give me $10 on charger number 6" ) ?

Yes and No. In the car, you can set what capacity you want to charge to (60% for example), but you can't tell it 'gimme ten bucks worth'.

 

[bruto]

Well, if the UK government goes through with the announced plan (and I have my doubts) then, around 2035, there will be no choice. EV or no vehicle at all, so it isn't my "all or nothing" error, it'll be a stark fact of life in the UK in 14 years time.

Oh, I understand that, and do not at all fault you for trying your best to negotiate in the face of reality.

 

[bruto]

My battery is 74kWh capacity. It entirely depends on what charge you have left, and what charge you want to get to.




Yes and No. In the car, you can set what capacity you want to charge to (60% for example), but you can't tell it 'gimme ten bucks worth'.

Can you do it by time? I.e. I'll take ten minutes?

 

[Distracted1]

My battery is 74kWh capacity. It entirely depends on what charge you have left, and what charge you want to get to.




Yes and No. In the car, you can set what capacity you want to charge to (60% for example), but you can't tell it 'gimme ten bucks worth'.

If I grok that right it is about $21 from empty to full?
That gives a range of how far?

 

[Shalamar]

Can you do it by time? I.e. I'll take ten minutes?

Nope. The only thing you can set on the car is to stop charging at a percentage.

You can unplug at any time you want, of course.

 

[acbytesla]

My battery is 74kWh capacity. It entirely depends on what charge you have left, and what charge you want to get to.


Yes and No. In the car, you can set what capacity you want to charge to (60% for example), but you can't tell it 'gimme ten bucks worth'.

Can you do it by time? I.e. I'll take ten minutes?

This is just a matter of vending. If there is a meter on the charger, it shows the number of watts. 500 watts, a Kwh, 20Kwhs, etc. There is no reason the charger couldn't also show the amount at the same time.

 

[Shalamar]

This is just a matter of vending. If there is a meter on the charger, it shows the number of watts. 500 watts, a Kwh, 20Kwhs, etc. There is no reason the charger couldn't also show the amount at the same time.

I haven't used any chargers other than my home charger, and a supercharger. Tesla Superchargers have no meters, screens, or any interface at all. You pull in, and plug in. That's it.

I've seen other chargers with interface screens, but not used them. My comments apply to Tesla Superchargers only.

 

[Distracted1]

I haven't used any chargers other than my home charger, and a supercharger. Tesla Superchargers have no meters, screens, or any interface at all. You pull in, and plug in. That's it.

I've seen other chargers with interface screens, but not used them. My comments apply to Tesla Superchargers only.

Are you even made aware of the charge for the fill up at the time of purchase?

 

[Shalamar]

Are you even made aware of the charge for the fill up at the time of purchase?

Sort of. On the map on the screen of the car, you can tap the supercharger icon, and it will tell you the current rate, and idle fees.

Something that should always be done. If you want to charge at a Supercharger, telling the car you're going to one will cause the car to 'precondition' the battery in preparation.

 

[Distracted1]

Sort of. On the map on the screen of the car, you can tap the supercharger icon, and it will tell you the current rate, and idle fees.

Something that should always be done. If you want to charge at a Supercharger, telling the car you're going to one will cause the car to 'precondition' the battery in preparation.

I think a feature like that one will need to be changed if EV's are going to become mainstream.

Kind of makes it difficult to determine if one is actually "saving" anything as well.
If I can buy $30 of unleaded, and travel 300 miles, traveling the same distance for a charge of $21 is going to take a loooooooong time to realize any savings given the cost differences of the two vehicles.

i can see where they would want the cost of a fill-up to be as murky as possible.

 

[acbytesla]

I haven't used any chargers other than my home charger, and a supercharger. Tesla Superchargers have no meters, screens, or any interface at all. You pull in, and plug in. That's it.

I've seen other chargers with interface screens, but not used them. My comments apply to Tesla Superchargers only.

Me either, but if they are charging per Kwh, they are metering it.

 

[Shalamar]

I think a feature like that one will need to be changed if EV's are going to become mainstream.

Kind of makes it difficult to determine if one is actually "saving" anything as well.
If I can buy $30 of unleaded, and travel 300 miles, traveling the same distance for a charge of $21 is going to take a loooooooong time to realize any savings given the cost differences of the two vehicles.

i can see where they would want the cost of a fill-up to be as murky as possible.

If you are *only* using the supercharge network, there isn't much in the way of savings. Some, but not a lot. I've had the car since mid December. I've charged 4 times on the network. The rest of the time I'm at home, It's 10 cents kWh to charge my car. Which *is* a significant savings.

 

[The Don]

Would it have cost $1200 to "fill up" an EV in Texas last week?

No.