Jeesh! How Many Charging Apps Will I need?

[Smokewagun]

So I’m trying to locate chargers and super chargers near my day to day locations. I had figured I’d plug in every night at home, but that’s looking like it’s not too good for batteries. So, I’ll need to charge every other day… somewhere. I may be at the office, where they have agreed to install a charger in their effort to go green. But, I need to find locations to rid myself of range anxiety.
Looking at the various chargers available, there are more than several brands, or stations, available. EVgo, Volta, Electrify America, etc… Most have rates for charging per hour or kW. If I’m paying through a phone application, it seems I may need several applications for paying. Is this true? Just seems overkill. Can’t this charging get unitized?

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[MickeyAO]

I know a fair amount about batteries and what is the best way to charge due to my real job. So I have a couple of questions for you;
How many miles do you NORMALLY drive a day?
Do you have a level 2 charger at home or plan on installing one?
Do you plan on charging to 100% every other day or are you good with 80% every night?
What leaves you to believe that charging every night is bad?

 

[sotek2345]

I know a fair amount about batteries and what is the best way to charge due to my real job. So I have a couple of questions for you;
How many miles do you NORMALLY drive a day?
Do you have a level 2 charger at home or plan on installing one?
Do you plan on charging to 100% every other day or are you good with 80% every night?
What leaves you to believe that charging every night is bad?

Good questions - sounds like a lot of misinformation here.

 

[rodhx]

Yes, there are several networks but the apps and membership are free. It is good insurance to set up for any network you might encounter to avoid having to download an app and create an account when you could be charging. I know it sounds like a pain but It’s just not a big deal in practice. I think I have them all ready to go but in two years have only had to use EA and Chargepoint.

 

[Garbone]

Charge lvl2 at home. in 9700 miles I have used my chargepoint app twice and charged at EA twice on free weekends so just plugged in without the app. Have EA, Chargepoint, EVGO, Plugshare, Fordpass and ABRP on my phone. Never use them.

Have a GrizzL-E classic 40amp charger at home (24ft cable ftw) try to run the car down to the 40 percentages but the 6 year old daughter usually plugs it in if we park it below 70, set the car to only charge to 90 per Ford recommendations, only go 100 if I plan on going over 150 miles in one day.

 

[shutterbug]

I had figured I’d plug in every night at home, but that’s looking like it’s not too good for batteries.

WRONG!!!

Plugging in and charging at night is probably the best way to maintain the battery health. Probably best to charge to 90% or less (depending on your daily needs) is probably best. However, even if you charge to 100%, it's still better than just charging at DCFC.

Charging at other AC chargers is fine too.

 

[jefro]

I've plugged in every night for the last 4 years on two EV's

I have 7 apps currently. Not one correct.

Unless you have a home or work L2 charger or even a L1 you will have to find a public charging station. One of the best app, try to use is plugshare.

On my current EV I only run battery between 70% down to 50% each day usually. I have never charged to 100% but I may have to for long trips.

Current batteries go bad from quite a lot of reasons. They really aren't that great to be honest. They are currently all that we have. I assume next gen batteries will be a huge improvement.

Time, charge rate, temperatures, depth of charge, level of charge, discharge rate are maybe the top ones that make a battery go bad. Even under warranty 70% loss at 100K mi is a lot of range. A regular pickup at 100K mi will usually be near perfect under typical homeowner uses.

 

[metroshot]

I know a fair amount about batteries and what is the best way to charge due to my real job. So I have a couple of questions for you;
How many miles do you NORMALLY drive a day?
Do you have a level 2 charger at home or plan on installing one?
Do you plan on charging to 100% every other day or are you good with 80% every night?
What leaves you to believe that charging every night is bad?

^^^ These are good questions!

If you already have range anxiety, before you even drive an EV, I would highly recommend you start with a PHEV.

I had the same questions and concerns when I was shopping for an EV.
My co-worker who drives a Tesla said, just get a PHEV first and get used to finding out your comfort level before diving into an EV.

Sure enough, 3 years later with a PHEV, I was glad I got to get a "taste" of EV driving without the range anxiety.

Now I am "graduating" to full EV.

 

[Smokewagun]

I’m not sure I have 100% range anxiety anymore, but rather be realistic and prepared. Upgrading to a Level 2 charger at home may not be possible. I can snag 100 amps for the panel in my barn, but charging at night in the summer with A/C on in the house could get questionable. The $10k cost to upgrade to a 350amp service is not in the cards… EVER. Even if BEV’s become the norm in 30 years, I’ll stay with an ICE for that cost.
I’ll have charging daily at work. Up to twice a week I drive 150-200 miles a day. The rest, about 40. The latter days, I can charge at work… easily. It’s the higher mileage days when it’s cold, I could see issues. In addition, I’d likely put 100k on in just under 3 years. If 70% battery capacity is likely, that cuts 90 miles off my range, putting me right at my max driving range 2x a week. That’s under perfect conditions… not in the extreme hot with A/C or cold with heat.
I’m thinking the Lightning may not be for me without an ICE option in the next garage bay.

 

[F150ROD]

Plus in every night just don't charge to 100%, you will slowly find out how much range you need on a daily basis and adjust accordingly. It's a learning process with these EV's when you first get them.

 

[Garbone]

I’m not sure I have 100% range anxiety anymore, but rather be realistic and prepared. Upgrading to a Level 2 charger at home may not be possible. I can snag 100 amps for the panel in my barn, but charging at night in the summer with A/C on in the house could get questionable. The $10k cost to upgrade to a 350amp service is not in the cards… EVER. Even if BEV’s become the norm in 30 years, I’ll stay with an ICE for that cost.
I’ll have charging daily at work. Up to twice a week I drive 150-200 miles a day. The rest, about 40. The latter days, I can charge at work… easily. It’s the higher mileage days when it’s cold, I could see issues. In addition, I’d likely put 100k on in just under 3 years. If 70% battery capacity is likely, that cuts 90 miles off my range, putting me right at my max driving range 2x a week. That’s under perfect conditions… not in the extreme hot with A/C or cold with heat.
I’m thinking the Lightning may not be for me without an ICE option in the next garage bay.

Unfortunately we do not yet know the miles per KW these trucks will get at highway speed. My Mustang gets just over 3 miles per KW at mid 70s with the air on.

Here is a charge log from my car .

Basically it shows adding 37Kw at 40 amps in 4.25 hours.

I think we can not expect much over 2miles per KW pushing the brick at 70mph.

A 48amp charger may get you up to near capacity overnight but any less you will be hard pressed if your 200 mile days are back to back..

 

[shutterbug]

My Mustang gets just over 3 miles per KW at mid 70s with the air on.

Mine gets that at 110s with the air on.

 

[Garbone]

Mine gets that at 110s with the air on.

Nice. I set my cruise at 78 but am lucky if it stays above 72 or so on I-4.

 

[Smokewagun]

So, question from another angle…
I saw $0.39/kW on a Blink charger at my local Ford Dealer. If I log 2,500 miles per week, and get 2 miles per KW, that’s almost $500 per month to charge at remote chargers if $0.39 per kW is realistic. Now, charging at home at $0.10 per kW would be only $125 per month, but I’m not thinking I’ll be upgrading my home service to accept a level 2 charger (80A), so I’ll be petering around with the 240V charger at home. If I split the difference, and say charging costs are more like $300 per month, I’m not so sure the savings vs. the inconvenience is as attractive.

 

[sotek2345]

So, question from another angle…
I saw $0.39/kW on a Blink charger at my local Ford Dealer. If I log 2,500 miles per week, and get 2 miles per KW, that’s almost $500 per month to charge at remote chargers if $0.39 per kW is realistic. Now, charging at home at $0.10 per kW would be only $125 per month, but I’m not thinking I’ll be upgrading my home service to accept a level 2 charger (80A), so I’ll be petering around with the 240V charger at home. If I split the difference, and say charging costs are more like $300 per month, I’m not so sure the savings vs. the inconvenience is as attractive.

240V is level 2 - you don't need the 80A home charger (unless you think you will be draining the ER battery on a daily basis regularly. 60A circuits are much cheaper and should take care of pretty much all of your home charging needs.

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