How much of your charging is public?
Poll: How much of your charging is public?
Total Members Polled: 93
Discussion
This really highlights the big hurdle for widespread uptake of EVs...
If you have access to private charging and your main usage works with that, then an EV is both more convenient and hugely cheaper to "fuel" than an ICE.
If you're stuck using only public charging it's likely to be less convenient than filling up with fossil fuel, and also a fair bit more expensive - where's the incentive to switch?
I (and the majority on here it would seem) have the luxury of private charging so don't need to worry, but it's a very hard sell for someone without it.
If you have access to private charging and your main usage works with that, then an EV is both more convenient and hugely cheaper to "fuel" than an ICE.
If you're stuck using only public charging it's likely to be less convenient than filling up with fossil fuel, and also a fair bit more expensive - where's the incentive to switch?
I (and the majority on here it would seem) have the luxury of private charging so don't need to worry, but it's a very hard sell for someone without it.
Principal reason for getting back into an EV is the vast amount of miles we are all in range of a single charge. My wife uses the EV for commuting to work which is a total of 4 miles each way. An ICE is almost never warmed up before she would arrive. Doesn’t make sense and massively increase fuel use.
I’m able to charge at both of my home locations, and at work. So I only charge in public, at a fast charger, every thousand miles or so and so am not really bothered by he cost of that. But, public AC charging, at least near my south coast home where I spend a lot of my time can be very competitive with the cost of running an ICE vehicle. There are 30odd 7kWh chargers within a 10 minute walk that are 32p kWh. These are council run. There are 6 or 8 that are 45p KwH, but are 22 kWh. Both of these , at say 3.5 miles / kWh are cheaper per mile than a run of the mill petrol or diesel car. But, the inconvenience / less convenient factor can’t be ignored,
For those with an EV, and who want to stick two fingers up at Brighton’s anti car approach to life, a ‘hack’:
Brighton on street parking is an outrageous £5 an hour and limited to 2 hours. A day in a multi story is around £30.
Or, use a lamppost EV charging point at the side of the road, which are free to park at and have no time restrictions as far as I can see.
Charge at the lowest possible speed your car allows. That’s 3kWh for mine.
They charge £0.60p per kWh.
So, you now have unlimited parking, close to town or the seafront, at £1.80 an hour. Plus you get a little bit of electricity as well
For those with an EV, and who want to stick two fingers up at Brighton’s anti car approach to life, a ‘hack’:
Brighton on street parking is an outrageous £5 an hour and limited to 2 hours. A day in a multi story is around £30.
Or, use a lamppost EV charging point at the side of the road, which are free to park at and have no time restrictions as far as I can see.
Charge at the lowest possible speed your car allows. That’s 3kWh for mine.
They charge £0.60p per kWh.
So, you now have unlimited parking, close to town or the seafront, at £1.80 an hour. Plus you get a little bit of electricity as well
I’ve used public charging 5 times in 2 years, one of those times was the day of pickup as I didn’t have the range to get home.
The other 4 times were domestic holidaying.
Everything else is home charging, of which I’d estimate that 50-60% is at £0/KWh (excess solar generation), and the rest is at the Octopus 7.5p rate.
The other 4 times were domestic holidaying.
Everything else is home charging, of which I’d estimate that 50-60% is at £0/KWh (excess solar generation), and the rest is at the Octopus 7.5p rate.
Principal reason for getting back into an EV is the vast amount of miles we are all in range of a single charge. My wife uses the EV for commuting to work which is a total of 4 miles each way. An ICE is almost never warmed up before she would arrive. Doesn’t make sense and massively increase fuel use.
Mini: in a little over 2 years ownership it has never used a public charger, so it's 100% home.
Model3: Being off for work several times overnight for longer periods of time, I reckon 70% public chargers -mostly Tesla SUC- and 30% home.
When I am not travelling I use about 60 to 70% battery per week, so it gets a seldom charge now and then to keep it on a 50 to 80% charge.
Model3: Being off for work several times overnight for longer periods of time, I reckon 70% public chargers -mostly Tesla SUC- and 30% home.
When I am not travelling I use about 60 to 70% battery per week, so it gets a seldom charge now and then to keep it on a 50 to 80% charge.
blank said:
This really highlights the big hurdle for widespread uptake of EVs...
If you have access to private charging and your main usage works with that, then an EV is both more convenient and hugely cheaper to "fuel" than an ICE.
If you're stuck using only public charging it's likely to be less convenient than filling up with fossil fuel, and also a fair bit more expensive - where's the incentive to switch?
I (and the majority on here it would seem) have the luxury of private charging so don't need to worry, but it's a very hard sell for someone without it.
Agreed but Asda have done a deal with Tesla for a load of Superchargers so it is changing. You'll get a full charge while doing the weekly shop. Yes this will take a while to roll out but there is 10 years before no new ICE cars and if you look back over the last 10 we have come on so much since then that I'm confident that with battery tech improvements that it'll not be an issue for 95% of people.If you have access to private charging and your main usage works with that, then an EV is both more convenient and hugely cheaper to "fuel" than an ICE.
If you're stuck using only public charging it's likely to be less convenient than filling up with fossil fuel, and also a fair bit more expensive - where's the incentive to switch?
I (and the majority on here it would seem) have the luxury of private charging so don't need to worry, but it's a very hard sell for someone without it.
I don't have a home charger so I am exclusively public charging.
Disagree with more expensive, maybe compared to driving a 20 year old 1.9 VAG TDI but for something with 300+ bhp AWD and 0-60 in mid-5s it STILL costs 10-15% less per mile in 'fuel' than my BMW X1 did despite having 50% more power and being twice as fast.
And brand new.
Factor in less maintenance costs, and also salary sacrifice saves and it's really quite economical for a brand new car.
Disagree with more expensive, maybe compared to driving a 20 year old 1.9 VAG TDI but for something with 300+ bhp AWD and 0-60 in mid-5s it STILL costs 10-15% less per mile in 'fuel' than my BMW X1 did despite having 50% more power and being twice as fast.
And brand new.
Factor in less maintenance costs, and also salary sacrifice saves and it's really quite economical for a brand new car.
Another exclusive public charger user here. Absolutely home charging would be fantastic, for both the price and convenience, and the times we have stayed on holiday with friends or a hotel which have EV chargers has given me and my partner a taste of that life, but, we knew we couldn’t charge at home before buying our car (i3), and we simply take little adaptations to our normal routine to charge the car e.g. our nearest supermarket doesn’t have a rapid charger, but the next two closest ones do, so if the car needs charged, we simply shop there instead.
The price is of course extortionate in places, the BP near me has 3 rapid chargers which are 85p/kWh which is crazy. Atleast our EV is relatively efficient and has a small battery
The price is of course extortionate in places, the BP near me has 3 rapid chargers which are 85p/kWh which is crazy. Atleast our EV is relatively efficient and has a small battery
PistonTim said:
I don't have a home charger so I am exclusively public charging.
Disagree with more expensive, maybe compared to driving a 20 year old 1.9 VAG TDI but for something with 300+ bhp AWD and 0-60 in mid-5s it STILL costs 10-15% less per mile in 'fuel' than my BMW X1 did despite having 50% more power and being twice as fast.
And brand new.
Factor in less maintenance costs, and also salary sacrifice saves and it's really quite economical for a brand new car.
That's a good point. If I compare my EV with the equivalent ICE (power, size, performance), I would also be saving on petrol, even if I only used public rapid chargers.Disagree with more expensive, maybe compared to driving a 20 year old 1.9 VAG TDI but for something with 300+ bhp AWD and 0-60 in mid-5s it STILL costs 10-15% less per mile in 'fuel' than my BMW X1 did despite having 50% more power and being twice as fast.
And brand new.
Factor in less maintenance costs, and also salary sacrifice saves and it's really quite economical for a brand new car.
plfrench said:
I suspect 0-10% is a bit blunt as it's probably a lot closer to 0% than 10% for many.
I agree. I had to tick this box but haven’t used a public charger since Tesco stopped the free charge. All my charging (Mini SE) is at home on Octopus Intelligent Go cheap tariff. Also had the bonus of bringing my overall house average down to 17p per kWh.
85% home
9% supercharger
6% other
...in the last 12 months - probably a similar trend over the last 5 years that I've owned EVs.
I tell everyone who asks - owning and driving an EV everyday is easier than owning and driving an ICE; Full tank of super cheap fuel every morning, no service schedule, no road tax, quiet, clean, it's great.
9% supercharger
6% other
...in the last 12 months - probably a similar trend over the last 5 years that I've owned EVs.
I tell everyone who asks - owning and driving an EV everyday is easier than owning and driving an ICE; Full tank of super cheap fuel every morning, no service schedule, no road tax, quiet, clean, it's great.
ColdoRS said:
85% home
9% supercharger
6% other
...in the last 12 months - probably a similar trend over the last 5 years that I've owned EVs.
I tell everyone who asks - owning and driving an EV everyday is easier than owning and driving an ICE; Full tank of super cheap fuel every morning, no service schedule, no road tax, quiet, clean, it's great.
You mean you have never starved to death while camping for 3 weeks for a free charger, it’s never burned your house down and your insurance is more than the GDP of a small nation?9% supercharger
6% other
...in the last 12 months - probably a similar trend over the last 5 years that I've owned EVs.
I tell everyone who asks - owning and driving an EV everyday is easier than owning and driving an ICE; Full tank of super cheap fuel every morning, no service schedule, no road tax, quiet, clean, it's great.
fatjon said:
ColdoRS said:
85% home
9% supercharger
6% other
...in the last 12 months - probably a similar trend over the last 5 years that I've owned EVs.
I tell everyone who asks - owning and driving an EV everyday is easier than owning and driving an ICE; Full tank of super cheap fuel every morning, no service schedule, no road tax, quiet, clean, it's great.
You mean you have never starved to death while camping for 3 weeks for a free charger, it’s never burned your house down and your insurance is more than the GDP of a small nation?9% supercharger
6% other
...in the last 12 months - probably a similar trend over the last 5 years that I've owned EVs.
I tell everyone who asks - owning and driving an EV everyday is easier than owning and driving an ICE; Full tank of super cheap fuel every morning, no service schedule, no road tax, quiet, clean, it's great.
Gassing Station | EV and Alternative Fuels | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff