4 ms·

This. Curios to hear about people's experiences owning an EV without access to a charger at home.

by gregkerzhner 6y ago

traveler01 6y ago
Unless they get better charging times, a total nightmare.
random5634 6y ago
I looked into this very closely and opted against it.
dghlsakjg 6y ago
Obviously everyone's use case is different. The way I would frame it is this: 1. Your car has x range. Let's say 200 mi. or 321 km. And takes 1 hr. to charge. (Just for reference, my current car gets refilled with gas every 400 km. and takes 10ish minutes to do the task). 2. How long does it take you to travel that range in everyday life. For me, it would take about 2 weeks. But lets assume that its winter or I'm driving a lot and my time is cut in half, so I need a full charge every week. 3. Now I ask myself if there is anywhere in my driving schedule where I consistently spend about an hour in a place where there are chargers. The answer is, of course, I might go to Costco, the grocery store, home depot and the library In the course of a week. Of course partial charging is also an option, so two 30 min stays at any of the above also solves the issue. So I'm covered for my average use case if charging at home isn't an option. It is a smart question to ask, but it is actually pretty easy to answer if you think it through. Obviously there are a million and one use cases for a personal vehicle, but me and all my friends would be fine. Even thinking back over the past year, including lots of outdoor activities into the backcountry in Canada, I have a hard time thinking of more than one trip that would have been different with an electric car (towing on backroads in the mountains. A corner case if ever there was one). My theory is that charging infrastructure will all of a sudden become as necessary a commodity as parking. A restaurant that has a few chargers in the parking lot will attract more business, and I wouldn't be surprised if it also became a revenue stream as well.
- gregkerzhner 6y ago
  Nice, I was genuinely curious about this, and it seems like a solid strategy!
r00fus 6y ago
Some workplaces (like mine) offer charging (mostly L2) for employees. Makes commuting via EV more feasible. I mean, honestly, it's one of the only reasons I need a car. Of course, as I haven't had to go in for the past 10 months due to shelter in place - I charge like 1/week or less as opposed to daily.
blandflakes 6y ago
I have a plug-in hybrid in the US (which assuages my range concerns). It's pretty great to putter around the city on electric power, almost never swapping to gas unless I head over to the highway. But if I want to keep puttering on EV, I need to charge, and I rent. Thankfully, my city (Boston) has a decent number of chargers. My most convenient one is a couple blocks down the street, in front of a parking meter. The meter is only enforced from 8:00 AM to 8:00 PM, so I can get a charge for free if I park outside those hours. Sometimes my desire to not give off emissions even when I haven't had a chance to do it for free will encourage me to pay $1 or so for the 19ish mile range of a full charge... so it's not even a bad rate compared to the price of gasoline.
Daho0n 6y ago
Experience: swapping the car out with a mild hybrid as the charging while shopping strategy is awful and broken. If you absolutely have to charge there (because you can't charge at home for a lack of a private spot) you end up driving in circles, trying to get a spot, or go to a charging station instead after you have given up at the mall when the parking is full. Suddenly every shopping trip ends up with the risk of taking an hour instead of 15 minutes. Not recommended unless you have your own charger and parking available.

This. Curios to hear about people's experiences owning an EV without access to a charger at home.

traveler01 6y ago

Unless they get better charging times, a total nightmare.

random5634 6y ago

I looked into this very closely and opted against it.

dghlsakjg 6y ago

Obviously everyone's use case is different. The way I would frame it is this: 1. Your car has x range. Let's say 200 mi. or 321 km. And takes 1 hr. to charge. (Just for reference, my current car gets refilled with gas every 400 km. and takes 10ish minutes to do the task). 2. How long does it take you to travel that range in everyday life. For me, it would take about 2 weeks. But lets assume that its winter or I'm driving a lot and my time is cut in half, so I need a full charge every week. 3. Now I ask myself if there is anywhere in my driving schedule where I consistently spend about an hour in a place where there are chargers. The answer is, of course, I might go to Costco, the grocery store, home depot and the library In the course of a week. Of course partial charging is also an option, so two 30 min stays at any of the above also solves the issue. So I'm covered for my average use case if charging at home isn't an option. It is a smart question to ask, but it is actually pretty easy to answer if you think it through. Obviously there are a million and one use cases for a personal vehicle, but me and all my friends would be fine. Even thinking back over the past year, including lots of outdoor activities into the backcountry in Canada, I have a hard time thinking of more than one trip that would have been different with an electric car (towing on backroads in the mountains. A corner case if ever there was one). My theory is that charging infrastructure will all of a sudden become as necessary a commodity as parking. A restaurant that has a few chargers in the parking lot will attract more business, and I wouldn't be surprised if it also became a revenue stream as well.

gregkerzhner 6y ago
Nice, I was genuinely curious about this, and it seems like a solid strategy!

r00fus 6y ago

Some workplaces (like mine) offer charging (mostly L2) for employees. Makes commuting via EV more feasible. I mean, honestly, it's one of the only reasons I need a car. Of course, as I haven't had to go in for the past 10 months due to shelter in place - I charge like 1/week or less as opposed to daily.

blandflakes 6y ago

I have a plug-in hybrid in the US (which assuages my range concerns). It's pretty great to putter around the city on electric power, almost never swapping to gas unless I head over to the highway. But if I want to keep puttering on EV, I need to charge, and I rent. Thankfully, my city (Boston) has a decent number of chargers. My most convenient one is a couple blocks down the street, in front of a parking meter. The meter is only enforced from 8:00 AM to 8:00 PM, so I can get a charge for free if I park outside those hours. Sometimes my desire to not give off emissions even when I haven't had a chance to do it for free will encourage me to pay $1 or so for the 19ish mile range of a full charge... so it's not even a bad rate compared to the price of gasoline.

Daho0n 6y ago

Experience: swapping the car out with a mild hybrid as the charging while shopping strategy is awful and broken. If you absolutely have to charge there (because you can't charge at home for a lack of a private spot) you end up driving in circles, trying to get a spot, or go to a charging station instead after you have given up at the mall when the parking is full. Suddenly every shopping trip ends up with the risk of taking an hour instead of 15 minutes. Not recommended unless you have your own charger and parking available.