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Electric car chargepoints to overtake fuel pumps
- Thread starter Masklin
- Start date
Of course there is a huge spread of different usage patterns. The last time we used chargers away from home was last October returning from the south coast of England. At the moment we need to do a daily 100 mile round trip every weekday for 3 weeks, and we're 2 weeks in so 1000+ miles covered so far ... which is higher mileage than normal for us ... using the shortest range Tesla ... but all done on cheap rate home charging! I'm thinking there must be quite a significant proportion of EV owners who are going to be very light users of public chargers no matter how many are installed.
Unfortunately it becomes uneconomic to upgrade some models beyond a certain point, best to simply replace with something that better fits with current requirements.
Rooster6655
Active Member
If on a long journey over a few days, I would rather not use the motorway services for charging and instead choose a hotel where I can charge over night, if its free even better.
In the future it will be beneficial for the hotels to provide chargers to attract customers rather than doing the EV drivers a favour. Similar situation for car parks, where the ones that have 50+ chargers are going to get more business from EVs than the ones that either don't have any or just a couple.
In the future it will be beneficial for the hotels to provide chargers to attract customers rather than doing the EV drivers a favour. Similar situation for car parks, where the ones that have 50+ chargers are going to get more business from EVs than the ones that either don't have any or just a couple.
kelvin 660
White SR+ with LFP battery
Well don't hold your breath that things are going to improve in the near future. I've just looked at the Gridserve map and most CCS chargers are for only 2 cars, most are in use or out of service! The minister seems very positive that Tesla are going to open up the SuC network. Maybe Tesla have done some kind of "cash" deal with the government to accelerate the infrastructure, to boost government targets that will be good for other EV's, but no so for Tesla owners... If Tesla reinvest this money in more SuC's then it could be win-win becuase they know what they are doing??
Undecided_2
Member
I must admit that I love the preconditioning feature. My wife loves that there’s no more idling the car to defrost or clear the screen of ice or warm up the car.
Jason71
Well-Known Member
if this is correct I don't understand why new sites being completed now are still not designed to fit all vehicle due to cable length / tombstone placement. Makes no sense.
Rooster6655
Active Member
I don’t expect then to be free, finding a free one now is great but not something i expect to see more of in the future.
The price I pay to charge within reason doesn’t really matter but the convenience to charge at the destination is most important.
Wol747
Active Member
I think it's the "letting them have a go" that does the trick!Ah, good point. I know that in California there have been big queues for Supercharger at each end of public holidays.
I favour having chargers off-motorway so that holiday traffic - basically all going "one way" - can have the benefit of all the chargers, rather than only the half on their side of the Motorway ... a lot to be said for the up-and-over services at French Aires which share such resources for both carriageways.
Current solution would seem to be to charge before arrival, far enough away to avoid the crush, and rely on 200-ish miles of range until the weekend is done. Dunno if that is a practical solution though?
Different situation in USA where holiday trips are often drive-charge-drive-charge distance.
I liked the idea of the EVs fitted with lawn-mower range-extender generators, e.g. the i3-REX ... but they seem to have gone out of fashion / been discontinued.
I've converted plenty by taking them for a ride, and letting them have a go ... Fart Mode usually clinches itBut demand exceeds supply so I suppose the laggards can wait. The 2nd hand value for their ICE in a few years time will rub salt into the wound.
As a passenger one can feel the acceleration, not hear the noise etc, but it's the driving that really shows the difference - the effortless way the car just goes up and down hills. Even powerful ICE cars make you subliminally aware of things changing under the bonnet to make it all happen.
WannabeOwner
Well-Known Member
I agree. Also cost of battery will fall, energy density will increase, affordability of "more range" will increase, more cars will be longer range, and those with home charging will have fewer out-and-back journeys that need top-up charging. Maybe folk with no home charging will manage with destination chargers during e.g. Supermarket shop, or street/lamp post chargers, rather than rapid charging. Thus could be that we don't need huge numbers of Rapid chargers, just need enough at each site, and sites well spaced.
Just to make sure I have understood? your upgrade advice is to "Keep the car"?
Nah .. .she bills by the minute
Hmmm ... 7kW at £0.30 (might be optimistic!) for 10 hours overnight = 200-300 miles added / £20. Most people aren't going to have an empty battery where they can fit that much in. So perhaps £10 per car average. I don't know the pivot point between "Come to my hotel because I have charging" and "Chargers available, for a fee".
Some places are hooked up with yet-another-different-brand that I have to register an APP with and all that palaver ... mind, you, they've also farmed out their car park charges / fine / clamping too, and I tend to avoid those places as it indicates customer service cut to the bone.
I haven't checked, but Gridserve did a deal with Ecotricity to take-over? / upgrade their sites, and Ecotricity had very old, not-upgraded, poorly-maintained, equipment. Is it possible that that is showing on the Gridserve map? Gridserve map seems to have a lot of locations, but yet the front page only has a button for "Come to Braintree" their first, and showcase, prototype of what Grideserve charging is intended to look like.
They took over the electric highway and swapped out all the old charger for more reliable ones.
Most haven’t seen upgrades beyond that yet but some sites have, mainly moto services.
It seems welcome break are going to spin up their own chargers.
Most haven’t seen upgrades beyond that yet but some sites have, mainly moto services.
It seems welcome break are going to spin up their own chargers.
Let us also not forget the hideous decrease in bladder range as one reaches advanced maturity. My M3 might make 300 miles... but I won't
How many bladder miles do you lose each year? I know it's a bad thing to allow your bladder to fill to 100% but stopping at 80% can be hard to judge. I believe bladder management can give a more accurate estimate of potential distance travelled if you try emptying when only at 20% and then let it fill to 100% ... but don't let it stand at 100% for too long or you may suffer increased degeneration (and a dark patche on the front of your trousers). Cold weather is another bladder challenge ...Let us also not forget the hideous decrease in bladder range as one reaches advanced maturity. My M3 might make 300 miles... but I won't
That's why St. Elon gave us Destination Chargers, many free*... but alas many charge more than the Premier chain for a bed
* I got charged for a Destination Charger once at a Logis de France in Clermont Ferrand. Won't be going back there.
Undecided_2
Member
Hahahaha! Yep, I’m sure that my bladder has shrunk as I’ve aged!Let us also not forget the hideous decrease in bladder range as one reaches advanced maturity. My M3 might make 300 miles... but I won't
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