ChargePoint
Well-known member
:?: What do you all like to do while your Bolt charges??
(or any other EV, if you happen to have others.)
(or any other EV, if you happen to have others.)
Question for the community
- Thread starter ChargePoint
- Start date
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winterescape
Well-known member
Sperling3 said:
Same here, my use case is mostly charging at home overnight or destination charging at a hotel (L2)
My desired use is occasional longer distance travel with a DCFC stop, at that stop it would be eat, walk/ stretch legs, bio break.
I do make use of the available free L2 charging in our community, but I convenience charge, and I only bother to plug in to show support of public charging and help raise awareness. When they start charging to charge, I will just charge @ home @ night.
BarfOMatic
Well-known member
When fast-charging (I *assume* that the question is about fast charging - because most people charge overnight, if possible) ...
... it depends.
* If I am "out and about" (say, shopping for groceries) and my battery is "not very full", I might plug in to an EVgo fast charger while shopping. 20-30 minutes @ 50 kW will push me back up to "over half full", at a comparable (or lower) cost than available overnight in my garage. I already pay the "old" EVgo on-the-go subscription price - and 10c/minute - for the family's EV charging needs: me, wife, and 2 driving kids have THREE EVs, two of which are 'shorter range' and it isn't always possible to charge all of them overnight and the subscription allows everybody to comfortably drive on any given day. I realize that this probably isn't a very common
. But 10 cents a minute (~.12/kWh) is lower than my at-home cost per kWh.
* related to above : although I am in a rare case, I think that lower-power DCFC charging at places where one stays 15-45 minutes could be a benefit to both driver and store (by bringing in customers). A 20 kW station costs a lot less than a more powerful one - not just initial price, but electrical subscription (for owner) and "on demand" costs (if the utility has one when there are surges in power consumption). The charge doesn't have to be free - if the cost of the charge is 'about' the same as charging at home, I would think that would bring the EV owners to THAT place instead of 'the competition'. This would be especially true of people living in apartments, who don't have 'home' charging available. That could easily make the local Safeway or Albertson’s or Wegmans or Winn-Dixie or Kroger or (...) the 'go-to' shopping spot for EV apartment dwellers. 50+ kW stations are 'too fast' for many EV drivers to leave their vehicle and go shopping.
* If I am traveling and *forced* to charge (i.e., not opportunity charging) I am resigned to the fact that I will be there for an hour or more. So the question is really "what can I do for an hour while I am stuck here?" Eating and 'bodily functions' are the two things that I (and/or my family) might want to do during that time. A big plus for ME would be if there was a nice place to walk, or picnic, nearby. So the edge of a small shopping area with restaurant(s), not *right* next to the noisy, polluted freeway, with a park nearby that has grassy/tree areas for walking, tables for picnics, maybe a playground for kids would be a (highly rated) second choice . Sometimes, actually, it might be my first choice. In my experience, this is also fairly rare: charging places with BOTH nearby food and nearby calm.
This doesn't answer the asked question - but it is related to fast charging .
I would really, REALLY like it if the DCFC chargers would penalize drivers who "hog" a station. I am really tired of pulling in to a 50 kW station where an EV is already there, but only charging at 15 kW because they are almost full. ChargePoint already has some very interesting software options ("wait list", "parking fee" if charging has stopped, for example). I think it would be fantastic if there were an additional charge for people who are charging "too long" *when others are waiting* (maybe build on the "wait list" concept). "Too long" could be based on how full the battery is, the charge rate (say, only pulling 20 kW on a 100 kW-max charger), and possibly even combined with "how many people are waiting". Heck, even "no parking fee so long as charging rate is over 60% of rated max, $0.20/minute otherwise)" would be great. The DCFC protocol(s) allow seeing how full the battery is, and the charger obviously knows the charging rate.
... it depends.
* If I am "out and about" (say, shopping for groceries) and my battery is "not very full", I might plug in to an EVgo fast charger while shopping. 20-30 minutes @ 50 kW will push me back up to "over half full", at a comparable (or lower) cost than available overnight in my garage. I already pay the "old" EVgo on-the-go subscription price - and 10c/minute - for the family's EV charging needs: me, wife, and 2 driving kids have THREE EVs, two of which are 'shorter range' and it isn't always possible to charge all of them overnight and the subscription allows everybody to comfortably drive on any given day. I realize that this probably isn't a very common
. But 10 cents a minute (~.12/kWh) is lower than my at-home cost per kWh.* related to above : although I am in a rare case, I think that lower-power DCFC charging at places where one stays 15-45 minutes could be a benefit to both driver and store (by bringing in customers). A 20 kW station costs a lot less than a more powerful one - not just initial price, but electrical subscription (for owner) and "on demand" costs (if the utility has one when there are surges in power consumption). The charge doesn't have to be free - if the cost of the charge is 'about' the same as charging at home, I would think that would bring the EV owners to THAT place instead of 'the competition'. This would be especially true of people living in apartments, who don't have 'home' charging available. That could easily make the local Safeway or Albertson’s or Wegmans or Winn-Dixie or Kroger or (...) the 'go-to' shopping spot for EV apartment dwellers. 50+ kW stations are 'too fast' for many EV drivers to leave their vehicle and go shopping.
* If I am traveling and *forced* to charge (i.e., not opportunity charging) I am resigned to the fact that I will be there for an hour or more. So the question is really "what can I do for an hour while I am stuck here?" Eating and 'bodily functions' are the two things that I (and/or my family) might want to do during that time. A big plus for ME would be if there was a nice place to walk, or picnic, nearby. So the edge of a small shopping area with restaurant(s), not *right* next to the noisy, polluted freeway, with a park nearby that has grassy/tree areas for walking, tables for picnics, maybe a playground for kids would be a (highly rated) second choice . Sometimes, actually, it might be my first choice. In my experience, this is also fairly rare: charging places with BOTH nearby food and nearby calm.
This doesn't answer the asked question - but it is related to fast charging .
I would really, REALLY like it if the DCFC chargers would penalize drivers who "hog" a station. I am really tired of pulling in to a 50 kW station where an EV is already there, but only charging at 15 kW because they are almost full. ChargePoint already has some very interesting software options ("wait list", "parking fee" if charging has stopped, for example). I think it would be fantastic if there were an additional charge for people who are charging "too long" *when others are waiting* (maybe build on the "wait list" concept). "Too long" could be based on how full the battery is, the charge rate (say, only pulling 20 kW on a 100 kW-max charger), and possibly even combined with "how many people are waiting". Heck, even "no parking fee so long as charging rate is over 60% of rated max, $0.20/minute otherwise)" would be great. The DCFC protocol(s) allow seeing how full the battery is, and the charger obviously knows the charging rate.
SparkE
Well-known member
Evoforce said:
They will definitely install them anywhere and everywhere that customers pay them to do so - that is their business: selling and installing charging stations.
SparkE said:
We don't have even 1 ChargePoint fast/quick (DCFC) charge station in Arizona (okay there is 1 that is forever broken and ICE'd at BMW dealer). Must be having a dry spell in sales for DCFC here in Arizona. But I can dream that they will, as I am stuck on a level 2 charger for hours!
SmokingRubber
Well-known member
I'm plugged in while I am at work all day. So I guess I like to read www.mychevybolt.com while I charge
