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FWIW personally I've never been able to obtain a 20mph charging rate from a L2 charger. In my experience a L2 charger is around 12-14mph while you sit in the car, and then gets closer to 18mph once the car quiesces and goes to sleep. At that rate, you'll probably need 3-4 solid hours of charging just to cover a 50 mile commute. I think you can do it, but it's tight.
Obviously if you can use a CHAdeMO charger, that changes the story a bit, but if it takes 3-4 hours of daytime vehicle management to get home, I'd say that's a little bit of a stretch. And if you don't get to charge for more than 2 days, you pretty much can't make back the deficit in even one work day of charging.
Obviously if you can use a CHAdeMO charger, that changes the story a bit, but if it takes 3-4 hours of daytime vehicle management to get home, I'd say that's a little bit of a stretch. And if you don't get to charge for more than 2 days, you pretty much can't make back the deficit in even one work day of charging.
WannabeOwner
Well-Known Member
I think the only thing you need to worry about is not to charge above 90% and leave the battery sitting there full for a long time. i.e. if charging to 100% set off promptly after charging finishes. After charging to 100% driving 25-ish miles should be enough to bring you down to 90%. If its only 23 miles then charge to 99% instead
Only thought I have to add is to get the bigger battery, that will a) reduce the frequency that you need to charge and b) will charge faster (i.e. miles-added per unit of time, at low starting-point states of charge). You still need to be able to charge fast enough to replenish the battery in the available charging time.
I had a 60 mile round trip commute, and was lucky to have free 4 hours of L2 charging per day at my place of work. Since a full charge could be accomplished in about 3 hours, I charged there and didn't bother with charging at home.
So that sounds ideal, except for needing to manage the car charging. When I arrived at work, usually all 8 of the stations were in use, so I'd park my car, walk to my desk (5 minutes), then come back later to try again. Rats, still all busy. Rinse and repeat. Very frustrating. Finally the stations were added to the ChargePoint active map, and I could poll it from time to time to see if there was an open station. Ha! There's one! Run to the car.... only to find someone else got there first. Back to the desk, 10 minutes lost... Then, once charged, I'd need to get back out to the car to move it, both before the 4 hours ran out, and as a matter of etiquette in not blocking the station while not charging.
While I'm making this sound a lot worse than it really was (usually an open spot would stay so long enough to get the car hooked up), do consider that there is an overhead in managing the car's charging. Still, I did this daily for over a year, and found that the need to manage the car was rarely conflicting with time management of my work. It also got me out of my chair for a much needed break. And as you note, with a commute of that distance with a car of that range (I have a Roadster), you can miss a day's charging and not be in trouble. But it's something to consider, especially with winter coming on, if you choose to charge while working at a different location.
So that sounds ideal, except for needing to manage the car charging. When I arrived at work, usually all 8 of the stations were in use, so I'd park my car, walk to my desk (5 minutes), then come back later to try again. Rats, still all busy. Rinse and repeat. Very frustrating. Finally the stations were added to the ChargePoint active map, and I could poll it from time to time to see if there was an open station. Ha! There's one! Run to the car.... only to find someone else got there first. Back to the desk, 10 minutes lost... Then, once charged, I'd need to get back out to the car to move it, both before the 4 hours ran out, and as a matter of etiquette in not blocking the station while not charging.
While I'm making this sound a lot worse than it really was (usually an open spot would stay so long enough to get the car hooked up), do consider that there is an overhead in managing the car's charging. Still, I did this daily for over a year, and found that the need to manage the car was rarely conflicting with time management of my work. It also got me out of my chair for a much needed break. And as you note, with a commute of that distance with a car of that range (I have a Roadster), you can miss a day's charging and not be in trouble. But it's something to consider, especially with winter coming on, if you choose to charge while working at a different location.
Keep fighting.The association doesn't allow me. They are most old people and told me no
I joined the board of directors at my rental, and all I can say is keep fighting. Don't just ask them if you can do it. Put together a plan, tell them how much it'll cost YOU, that it'll cost the association nothing; show them there wont be a tripping hazard, and if they say no, ask them to document why they said no.
Give them a feasible solution, and you might turn the no to a yes. The other option - join the board. You can fight for it in person.
You should be getting your nasty letter from Elon soon. They don't like the superchargers being used for anything other than long trips. If they notice you using the same supercharger repeatedly, they send a letter. I haven't heard what happens if you ignore it, but I imagine they could block your access.
FUD FUD FUD.
They only send a letter once, to many people, half of whom didn't even use local superchargers. They have not and likely will not shut off a feature that you paid for.
Superchargers are also placed in metropolitan areas so apartment dwellers can charge IF they can't charge at home.
/FUD FUD FUD
The wouldn't have to shut it off. They could just block you from using the supercharger that, in their opinion, you are abusing.
My wife used to charge her Volt at work. They set up an email list of all the EV owners. When anyone was done charging they would send an email and the next person moved their car into the charging spot.
It helped that they all worked for the same company, but it might be worth a try even if the chargers are shared between a few companies.
Won't happen. Can you imagine the *sugar* storm that will come from them blocking someone from using a local SpC? You paid for it, you can use it.
I agree. Nothing likely to happen. Doesn't mean they have to like it.
You used to be able to take a nap in the back seat while the car was on autopilot. They seemed to think that was abuse, so now you have to keep your hands on the wheel at all times. Pissed a lot of people off.
We actually did something similar. One of the engineers worked with ChargePoint's API to put up a small website on his workstation that displayed the status of the 8 stations - in-use vs available, and if in use, how long the occupant had left (count-down from 4 hours). It wasn't something portable to the general public, so I didn't mention it before. Polling the ChargePoint site also worked (and from outside the company network), but his site had a better user experience.
The use of an email reflector is a great idea too. It has the advantage that one could reply to the list to "claim" the next spot, so you don't have the race to plug in. Another advantage of these tools is that you can use the resulting usage patterns as supporting evidence for requests to have additional charging stalls installed.
davewill
Active Member
The local L2s should do the job, but I second the notion of scouting the locations for a few days to check on availability before committing to the plan. You might have to plan on arriving early on days you want to charge to be sure of getting a plug. Plan on being a good neighbor and moving the car when it finishes. Charging every other day might avoid that necessity. Having the CHAdeMO adapter for backup would be essential, I'd think.
I ran into a similar, although shorter-term, situation when I bought my 85D. City of LA inspection bureaucracy delayed home charging by a month.
Chademo saved the day. Don't know if FP&L offers this, but our local power utility offers free Chademo charging at neighborhood locations. Charging was at 100+ MPH.
Even if you have to pay to charge at City Hall there in the Gables, it would be a decent deal.
Chademo saved the day. Don't know if FP&L offers this, but our local power utility offers free Chademo charging at neighborhood locations. Charging was at 100+ MPH.
Even if you have to pay to charge at City Hall there in the Gables, it would be a decent deal.
brucet999
Active Member
Let's explore your association problem a bit more.
Do you have your own garage?
If so, you can certainly plug in 120V there. 5 miles per hour of charging gets you 50 to 70 miles overnight. An occasional visit to the nearby supercharger would make up the difference. Even a carport may have a 120V outlet.
Is there washer/dryer hookup in your garage? If so, you probably have a 30A 240V dryer plug that will charge at 14 to 17 miles per hour.
If your garage outlets are not within 20 feet of the left rear of your car, just extend the line yourself and install a new outlet without telling the association.
Is your circuit breaker panel in the garage? Then install a new outlet from there without permission.
Unfortunately I live on a building, and I park in a open parking space. The association told me no to install any charger.
There is only electricity by night for lights and it has not enough power even for a 110v.
So I would probably go to the CitiHall
Acrono
Member
I'm in a similar situation in that I live in an apartment complex without any outlets in the parking garage. However, unlike you, I live a mile away from a supercharger, so that's how I deal with it. I also only have a 15 mile commute each day, versus 50.
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