How much do charging stations cost in your area?

[panamamike]

I was a bit let down by how the charging stations rates in my area. $2.00 an hour at. 6.3 Kwh or at best 32 cents a Kwh. That doesn't pan out well from a cost perspective vs. gasoline at 2.50 per gallon for about the same range. Wanted to know if this the common rate. Seems like they could charge less if they really wanted to.

 

[eNate]

Pricing is often listed on the Plug Share app.

The Level 2 spots I visit charge $1.50 per hour at an estimated 25 Amps, and 49¢ per kWh for the other. But I don't charge at these often. Most of my charging is at home or work.

Finding the best pricing would be important to me if I was reliant on public charging, but I look to it more as an occasional convenience.

What's your daily charging situation?

Often memberships or pricing plans can get you discounted rates, depending on the network.

 

[robthebold]

The paid level 2 chargers around here are $.234/kWh. The free stations are considerably cheaper. The best deal is the free DC Fast charger across from our favorite library -- when it works. Second best is the not-quite-as-fast DC Fast charger at the dealership. That comes with coffee, and almost always works, at least during business hours when it's accessible.

 

[panamamike]

Pricing is often listed on the Plug Share app.

The Level 2 spots I visit charge $1.50 per hour at an estimated 25 Amps, and 49¢ per kWh for the other. But I don't charge at these often. Most of my charging is at home or work.

Finding the best pricing would be important to me if I was reliant on public charging, but I look to it more as an occasional convenience.

What's your daily charging situation?

Often memberships or pricing plans can get you discounted rates, depending on the network.

I'm new to the i3 and electric cars in general, and some assumptions I made are not holding up I have a charger at work, but it can be a challenge to get to it in time. I'm 18 miles from work and my plan was to charge every other day. I'm finding that I need to charge every day due to 2 issues.

1:My car's range is actually 60 miles vs. 72 due to battery degradation.
2: Car uses power when not technically in use. Preconditioning as well as just sitting overnight. I'm losing about 6 to 8 miles of range.

Another odd thing , when first starting and run the car, it losses about 1 mile of range faster than it should.

All said and told this results in having to charge every day to make it back and forth to work. The good news is if I can get a spot, the charge is free, but if I want to do anything beyond a very short run after work, I have to consider a charging station or add one at home. I was thinking of using the car for short trips into town and have a place to plug in while shopping. Can be done, but charging is fairly expensive and limited options. I would have to resort to installing a charger at home.

 

[panamamike]

The paid level 2 chargers around here are $.234/kWh. The free stations are considerably cheaper. The best deal is the free DC Fast charger across from our favorite library -- when it works. Second best is the not-quite-as-fast DC Fast charger at the dealership. That comes with coffee, and almost always works, at least during business hours when it's accessible.

How does the dealer feel about EV drivers charging at the dealer getting coffee? Mine is a little out of the way, but you have to get through the showroom floor if you want to get to the coffee

 

[Obioban]

Pricing is often listed on the Plug Share app.

The Level 2 spots I visit charge $1.50 per hour at an estimated 25 Amps, and 49¢ per kWh for the other. But I don't charge at these often. Most of my charging is at home or work.

Finding the best pricing would be important to me if I was reliant on public charging, but I look to it more as an occasional convenience.

What's your daily charging situation?

Often memberships or pricing plans can get you discounted rates, depending on the network.

I'm new to the i3 and electric cars in general, and some assumptions I made are not holding up I have a charger at work, but it can be a challenge to get to it in time. I'm 18 miles from work and my plan was to charge every other day. I'm finding that I need to charge every day due to 2 issues.

1:My car's range is actually 60 miles vs. 72 due to battery degradation.
2: Car uses power when not technically in use. Preconditioning as well as just sitting overnight. I'm losing about 6 to 8 miles of range.

Another odd thing , when first starting and run the car, it losses about 1 mile of range faster than it should.

All said and told this results in having to charge every day to make it back and forth to work. The good news is if I can get a spot, the charge is free, but if I want to do anything beyond a very short run after work, I have to consider a charging station or add one at home. I was thinking of using the car for short trips into town and have a place to plug in while shopping. Can be done, but charging is fairly expensive and limited options. I would have to resort to installing a charger at home.

EVs don't make much sense to own if you can't charge at home, imo.

 

[eNate]

I have a charger at work, but it can be a challenge to get to it in time. I'm 18 miles from work and my plan was to charge every other day. I'm finding that I need to charge every day ...

Is there a 120v receptacle you can plug in to at work?

What about at home -- you say you could install an EVSE, so I presume you have a place to do that. Are you Level 1 charging at home on a 120v outlet?

 

[panamamike]

I have a charger at work, but it can be a challenge to get to it in time. I'm 18 miles from work and my plan was to charge every other day. I'm finding that I need to charge every day ...

Is there a 120v receptacle you can plug in to at work?

What about at home -- you say you could install an EVSE, so I presume you have a place to do that. Are you Level 1 charging at home on a 120v outlet?

My goal was to avoid charging at home. My garage is at the bottom of a pretty steep grade vs. the road. If I can survive on charging at work only, that's my plan. It's just a bit of a hassle because I'm competing with other people charging at work. If I could charge every other day as opposed to every day, it would have been easier to deal with this issue.

 

[panamamike]

Pricing is often listed on the Plug Share app.

The Level 2 spots I visit charge $1.50 per hour at an estimated 25 Amps, and 49¢ per kWh for the other. But I don't charge at these often. Most of my charging is at home or work.

Finding the best pricing would be important to me if I was reliant on public charging, but I look to it more as an occasional convenience.

What's your daily charging situation?

Often memberships or pricing plans can get you discounted rates, depending on the network.

I'm new to the i3 and electric cars in general, and some assumptions I made are not holding up I have a charger at work, but it can be a challenge to get to it in time. I'm 18 miles from work and my plan was to charge every other day. I'm finding that I need to charge every day due to 2 issues.

1:My car's range is actually 60 miles vs. 72 due to battery degradation.
2: Car uses power when not technically in use. Preconditioning as well as just sitting overnight. I'm losing about 6 to 8 miles of range.

Another odd thing , when first starting and run the car, it losses about 1 mile of range faster than it should.

All said and told this results in having to charge every day to make it back and forth to work. The good news is if I can get a spot, the charge is free, but if I want to do anything beyond a very short run after work, I have to consider a charging station or add one at home. I was thinking of using the car for short trips into town and have a place to plug in while shopping. Can be done, but charging is fairly expensive and limited options. I would have to resort to installing a charger at home.

EVs don't make much sense to own if you can't charge at home, imo.

Are you saying EV owners should charge every day?

 

[alohart]

2: Car uses power when not technically in use. Preconditioning as well as just sitting overnight. I'm losing about 6 to 8 miles of range.

Another odd thing , when first starting and run the car, it losses about 1 mile of range faster than it should.

Don't confuse the actual range with the range estimate that changes with temperature, the past 18 or so miles of driving conditions, the climate control settings, whether routing in the navigation system is active, etc. An i3 has only 12 V vampire loads that discharge the 12 V battery at a very slow rate when an i3 is parked. The high-voltage battery pack is electrically isolated when an i3 is off, not charging, not preconditioning, and hasn't had a door, the frunk, or the trunk unlocked or opened within 15 or so minutes, so it doesn't lose any charge under these conditions.

If the battery pack's temperature drops, the range estimate will drop, but the pack hasn't lost any charge; it is less efficient at delivering its charge. When the pack warms, the range would increase even though no charge had been added.

 

[alohart]

Are you saying EV owners should charge every day?

No, just charge when necessary. For many, that could mean daily. I typically charge our 2014 BEV about once per week because I don't usually drive much.

When we bought our first EV in 2012, we could not charge where we lived. We used only public charging stations for 2 years until we moved and were able to install an EVSE where we live. We did not enjoy not being able to charge where we lived. With EV's much more common now and with the number of public charging stations not keeping up with this popularity where we live, I would not want to own an EV without being able to charge at home.

 

[eNate]

My garage is at the bottom of a pretty steep grade vs. the road. If I can survive on charging at work only, that's my plan. It's just a bit of a hassle because I'm competing with other people charging at work. If I could charge every other day as opposed to every day, it would have been easier to deal with this issue.

How long is that driveway? Would it preclude you from picking up a 10/3 extension cord and plugging in your 120v charger?

My plan has also been to always charge at work. I do it using my 120v charger, and I have six 120v receptacles to choose from, do charge every day. But it doesn't stop me from charging at home when needed.

I think you'll find that owners have all sorts of charging routines and that yes, many charge ever day, and many skip days. It's all need-based.

 

[panamamike]

If I have to I will get a EVSE unit installed at home, but would like to run "free" as long as possible.

 

[Obioban]

Are you saying EV owners should charge every day?

I mean... if you choose an EV where you use more than half your range daily, clearly yes?

I average ~80 miles per day (down from 120 at my previous job), so yes, I charge at home daily.

 

[robthebold]

The paid level 2 chargers around here are $.234/kWh. The free stations are considerably cheaper. The best deal is the free DC Fast charger across from our favorite library -- when it works. Second best is the not-quite-as-fast DC Fast charger at the dealership. That comes with coffee, and almost always works, at least during business hours when it's accessible.

How does the dealer feel about EV drivers charging at the dealer getting coffee? Mine is a little out of the way, but you have to get through the showroom floor if you want to get to the coffee

Mine's quite close (just a mile past the Tesla showroom) and they don't mind at all when I come in to charge and go and get coffee for me and cocoa or water for the kids. If I don't get a cup, they come over and offer it. They've got USB charging ports at the bar and TV some comfy chairs. If my salesman is in, he checks on how I'm doing with the car.

 

[eNate]

If I have to I will get a EVSE unit installed at home, but would like to run "free" as long as possible.

Ok, just checking -- the two don't have to be mutually exclusive. If you've reached the conclusion that public charging is your primary backup option, and have the ability to charge at home, I'd definitely make the home option my No. 2.

Like you, I try to schedule my charging so I can always maximize free charging at work (120v, 16A) -- about 35 miles of range gained per workday. That more or less covers my daily commute.

I plug in at home on average about 3 days a week. This is also mostly 120v 16A. I have the ability to Level 2 charge at home (using my same EVSE -- it's dual voltage and my car charges 2x as quickly if I plug in to 220v). But normally I stick with 120v because I don't need the charging speed. My objective is to never pull in to work with more than 65% SOC. I recover roughly 35% while charging at work.

 

[panamamike]

The paid level 2 chargers around here are $.234/kWh. The free stations are considerably cheaper. The best deal is the free DC Fast charger across from our favorite library -- when it works. Second best is the not-quite-as-fast DC Fast charger at the dealership. That comes with coffee, and almost always works, at least during business hours when it's accessible.

How does the dealer feel about EV drivers charging at the dealer getting coffee? Mine is a little out of the way, but you have to get through the showroom floor if you want to get to the coffee

Mine's quite close (just a mile past the Tesla showroom) and they don't mind at all when I come in to charge and go and get coffee for me and cocoa or water for the kids. If I don't get a cup, they come over and offer it. They've got USB charging ports at the bar and TV some comfy chairs. If my salesman is in, he checks on how I'm doing with the car.

Wow, that's pretty nice. For the most part, the charger is a bit far for me to use.

 

[jadnashuanh]

FWIW, the i3 e-book states that charging from 90-100% 10x puts about the same wear on the battery as one charge from 0-100%. IOW, frequent charging does not degrade the battery. I charge almost exclusively at home, and just plug in when I get home, leaving with a 'full' tank each time. That also allows me to set a departure time to maximize range and comfort levels without affecting the overall charge status.