Charge Station EV conversion to $4.50 per gallon @18mpg

[Pioneer74]

Now you know why Elon is the richest man in the world. I have 32K miles on my ER Latiat. Only once did I try to find one and then charge to batteries. 4th location worked. After 45 minutes on the phone with EVGO. 3 hours later I was on the road again. Love the truck, hate the charging infrastructure.

I plan to keep the Lightning for around-town stuff. Daily distance limit without stress is about 230 miles. BTW, a Porsche 911 only gets about 220-250 miles per tank. I plan to Buy a tow/road-trip machine next year for cross-country travel. I figure a 7 year-old F250 should do it.

Elon is the richest man in the world because he learned how to play the government subsidies and contracts game. Like him or not, it was a smart way to go.

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[I <3 My Lightning]

I tell the EV naysayers all the time, yes you are correct, EVs are NOT for everyone, especially if you have to charge out in the wild (outside of free and your home).

But why do I have two evs at home? Well because I planed for it 5.5 years ago when solar was dirt cheap, after all incentives, and created a system on a home with zero shade at the correct angles that was double our typical usage, no less we are net metered. Plus our work commute and everything we need to shop for is all within very short doable distances The first ev still allowed for the electric company to kindly cash us out once a year at their commercial rate. The second ev and mini split heat pump I added to the garage that I fully insulated now puts us about 100kw over per month on average. And now if we charge at least 50kwh off peak and keep our charging at least 80 percent off peak per month we get $15 off the bill. After all taxes and delivery charges the electricity comes out to about 19 cents per kwh across the year. Basically for our ev6 alone it's like getting 3300 miles a year of free charging.

The extra kickers, I no longer have to do oil changes and the garage is a nice heated area to clean the vehicles at my leisure and it no longer smells of fossil fuels/exhuast... Oh and we get to start to drive off in a vehicle that's already 70 degrees F because of the mini split.

 

[RickLightning]

Yea I might be taking my wife’s Subaru across Wisconsin. Gonna calculate with and without Tesla membership

Not rocket science.

Assume 50 cents per kWh. $12.99 fee. ~20% savings. 12.99 / 0.10 = 130kW 1.X charges.

Me and the wife sat down and talked about it. This either needs to rectify itself very quickly, get an another vehicle, or seeing as this is worth more than I paid for it get rid of it. It makes me sick thinking like that, but that was just unacceptable. It wouldn’t bother me that the trip took four hours longer due to charging stops if it was cheaper. But I actually looked and a plane ticket for the trip I took would’ve only cost me $50 more round-trip.

If your expectation that driving an EV on the highway was cheaper than gas, you didn't do enough research prior to buying. EVs are cheaper to drive LOCALLY. On the highway, including leaving with a full, lower-priced, "tank", plus finding free hotel charging, you will usually come in around the same price as a similar gas vehicle.

 

[MotoGary]

I don't plan on charging my Lightning anywhere other than home anytime soon. Given the range of my Lightning (SR), and the associated charging costs in time, money, anxiety, and frustration--Road-tripping doesn't make any sense for me.

We own a 2nd home 300 miles away and thought that it would be great to take the Lightning. It only took one trip to realize that it makes no sense at all. It can add an hour to the trip, and given the current price of gas vs the relatively high price of charging on the road, we basically save nothing.

The only way it would make sense is if we had an EV with the range to easily make that trip without charging along the way. That day will come, but for now we'll take our Telluride on road trips and use the Lightning exclusively for commuting and around town.

I get that some people really enjoy planning an EV road trip and have the time and patience to do it. It's just not for me. I reserve that type of adventuring for my motorcycle trips.

 

[VAF84]

Yeesh… regulating product costs? “Make money, but not a fortune”? How do you decide what a “fortune” is? For a second there I tripped and fell into a socialist chat.

I’ll tell you what. If I was in BFE and had to pay $1 kW/h to get 350kW/hr service vs discounted wall outlet or 60kW/hr service, I’d probably dish out the extra cash, and with gratitude. I’ve run into this situation a handful of times, where I would have happily paid more for better charging service.

I disagree on the "no compelling reason to drive an EV." They are faster, more fun to drive, often loaded with nifty technologies, and should have an overall lower cost of ownership in the end. Personally I have zero reason to buy another gas car ever again with more superior drive trains all over the place and more coming all the time.

Might as well ask why anyone buys a pointlessly fast sports car... usually it's just cause they like it

This is exactly why I paid more than a fully loaded ICE Sierra Denali for my Sierra EV. It’s a truck that does truck things with the speed of a sports car, and the comfort of a sedan. I would have saved money by getting an eco boost since it uses regular, and I probably break even with what it would cost me when I had to use premium gas in my 6.2L V8.

 

[Ragman]

For info here's our calculations which operating data has backed up, even if we charged 100% at Tesla DCFC (we don't) - the Lightning still is a smart purchase.

Values are in Cdn, so take 70% for USD conversion. Your Fuel prices and Electricity will also vary.

Right now I'd put an ICE vs Lightning both filling "at the pump" at about break even cost of ownership - if you charge at home or ideally at "work" (we have free L2 for employees as a perk) it becomes a no brainer. Fancier ICE or fancier Lightning - purchase prices are pretty equal now.

 

[Mach Turtle]

Given that most EV charging is done at home, it's interesting to look at how electricity costs vary around the US. Here's a source:
https://www.marketwatch.com/guides/utilities/electricity-rates-by-state/
Living in one of the "greenest" states on that map as I do, there's a bit of envy toward you folks in states with rates as low as a third of ours... except that we have lots of solar production, so for those of us with panels on our roofs, the marginal cost per mile is just a bit more than diddly squat.

 

[richl025]

This is a topic that we need regulations on the limit per KW for EV charging stations.

Typical fast charging EV rates I've seen between $0.45 and $0.55 per KW.

My old 2020 ICE 5.0 F150 averaged 18mpg.

18miles devided by 2miles per KW = 9KW. At $0.50 x 9KW = $4.50.

loved the truck and 99% of my charging is at home, but without limits. I believe we will get fk'd 5 years down the road....just saying

This would be a great way to kill further development in DCFCs....

 

[hturnerfamily]

I paid the most ever for a DC Fast Charge just the other day... $42... at .70 per/kwh... and, while a very SPEEDY charge for our EV9, I chose that specific location BECAUSE it was a 'FAST' fast charger, and not the 50kw Charge point down the the street, at 1/2 the price...

Yes, I could have contained my price by choosing a different 'gas station', but I wanted a speedier get-away... and I was willing to pay for it.

DC Fast Charging prices are not the 'end all' to every EV conversation, nor should they be. Yes, they will 'self regulate' as more and more chargers come online, but, even then, this type of charging is for VERY infrequent needs. Don't compare this to gas station prices, as 'those' vehicles have ONLY one choice: a gas station EVERY TIME they refuel.

We get to refuel at home... 99% of the time.
If you are an EV owner that doesn't, well, that's a different conversation for another thread.

 

[TaxmanHog]

PLEASE .....ONE ....... thread for a topic!

Carry on.....................

 

[Ekiehn]

I don't plan on charging my Lightning anywhere other than home anytime soon. Given the range of my Lightning (SR), and the associated charging costs in time, money, anxiety, and frustration--Road-tripping doesn't make any sense for me.

We own a 2nd home 300 miles away and thought that it would be great to take the Lightning. It only took one trip to realize that it makes no sense at all. It can add an hour to the trip, and given the current price of gas vs the relatively high price of charging on the road, we basically save nothing.

The only way it would make sense is if we had an EV with the range to easily make that trip without charging along the way. That day will come, but for now we'll take our Telluride on road trips and use the Lightning exclusively for commuting and around town.

I get that some people really enjoy planning an EV road trip and have the time and patience to do it. It's just not for me. I reserve that type of adventuring for my motorcycle trips.

Ok I'm a little lost on how a 300 mile trip adds 1 hour to your second home... I am assuming you have an ER. I drive 640 miles to our 2nd home and it adds only 30 minutes to an hour over that distance.. granted we always stopped for a 30 to 45 min lunch whichnis our mid point. With a 300 mile drive leaving at 100% highway driving you should be able to stop once, twice for two 10 min stops if you like, and make it at most 20 min longer either way... Maybe sit down with ABRP free version will work, and do some planing then trust you will be fine...

 

[00SVT]

I tell the EV naysayers all the time, yes you are correct, EVs are NOT for everyone, especially if you have to charge out in the wild (outside of free and your home).

But why do I have two evs at home? Well because I planed for it 5.5 years ago when solar was dirt cheap, after all incentives, and created a system on a home with zero shade at the correct angles that was double our typical usage, no less we are net metered. Plus our work commute and everything we need to shop for is all within very short doable distances The first ev still allowed for the electric company to kindly cash us out once a year at their commercial rate. The second ev and mini split heat pump I added to the garage that I fully insulated now puts us about 100kw over per month on average. And now if we charge at least 50kwh off peak and keep our charging at least 80 percent off peak per month we get $15 off the bill. After all taxes and delivery charges the electricity comes out to about 19 cents per kwh across the year. Basically for our ev6 alone it's like getting 3300 miles a year of free charging.

The extra kickers, I no longer have to do oil changes and the garage is a nice heated area to clean the vehicles at my leisure and it no longer smells of fossil fuels/exhuast... Oh and we get to start to drive off in a vehicle that's already 70 degrees F because of the mini split.

I stopped long ago. Some people just like their recycled talking points. EVs aren’t for everyone. Ok cool- neither is any vehicle ever. Just because they aren’t for everyone- that doesn’t mean they are for no one.

if one of the naysayers can show me where to get a full-size, 580hp/775tq vehicle- I’m game. This truck requires almost no maintenance in the foreseeable future- perfect daily driver.

I live 4 miles from work and do shift work. Not ideal to drive a truck for 4 miles and let it sit for 12+ hours. I wish I could daily drive a sedan- but years of truck driving making it a chore. And if you were lucky enough to buy these trucks at the right time- man did you save some money. I still can’t believe 0% apr was offered.

 

[PAndaemonium]

Yep, definitely taking the Subaru. Cost me half at current gas prices to drive the 5 hrs. Still love the truck for local purposes

 

[Heliian]

I guess it depends on your location and fuel prices. In Canada it costs me half as much to use my f150 lightning as it does my cx-5 on a road trip.

Overall I've cut my fuel cost to a 1/4 of what my old f150 2.7l was using.

 

[astrand1]

Market will drive it. No limit on gas costs. Do your research. On most trips, hotel charging is free. Some trips we have done 30% free charging.

Exactly! Smaller government less regulations. I drove from LA to mi a couple months ago and 2 of the hotels I stayed in had free chargers. Woke up at 100% both mornings. I also plan out my charging stops and look at prices just like I would for gas.

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