Charging stations

[Tessy]

My topic is electric vehicle charging I have older not elderly parents who are looking to buy an electric vehicle and their biggest concern is access to charging stations is this an issue?

[Tessy]

Also another question would be I see charging stations at my local bank are all electric vehicles able to charge University or would the Hyundai ioniq have its own specific charging specifications for outlets and charging stations?

[Tessy]

** universally not university lol

[hstyles]

My topic is electric vehicle charging I have older not elderly parents who are looking to buy an electric vehicle and their biggest concern is access to charging stations is this an issue?

Have you checked out the nearest charging stations to your parents' place?

[new2evs]

So certain types of charging n charging stations have different quality levels?? Something new to look into for me

[voltage]

So certain types of charging n charging stations have different quality levels?? Something new to look into for me

I don't know the details of that but yeah I know that is true that there are different quality and types of charging stations

[sam]

Charging stations are definitely increasing in availability. In the next few years I'm sure they will be completely accessible in most areas. We already are seeing them around in suburban areas

[SparkE]

(1) My topic is electric vehicle charging I have older not elderly parents who are looking to buy an electric vehicle and their biggest concern is access to charging stations is this an issue?

(2) Also another question would be I see charging stations at my local bank are all electric vehicles able to charge University or would the Hyundai ioniq have its own specific charging specifications for outlets and charging stations?

2nd question first : All cars sold today (except maybe Teslas) use the same 'standard' level-2 (240V) connecter : J1772. It is an international standard published in 2009. All public level-2 stations (level-2 are the HUGE majority of public stations) will be J1772 plugs. Your parents will be able to charge at ANY charging station (except for Tesla-only, and the 'fast charging' specific stations). If they buy a car with a 'fast charging' option (DCFC = DC Fast Charge) they will be able to fill the battery to 80% in 20 minutes or so. There are TWO standards (and Tesla, which I won't address) : CHAdeMO and CCS/SAE-Combo. The Japanese & Korean vendors ship with CHAdeMO plugs, and everybody else (except Tesla) ships with CCS/SAE-Combo. So any car won't be able to charge at *every* DCFC station, but almost all DCFC stations being installed now are 'dual' DC chargers which support CHAdeMO and CCS. (Japanese and Korean car dealers are often the ones installing CHAdeMO-only stations on their lots.)

1st question: the number of charging stations depends on where they live. If they live in East Bumfluck Wyoming, there won't be a huge number of public charging stations. If they live in a large metro area in CA or MD, they will have lots of stations. There is a great smartphone app for finding charge stations : PlugShare. They also have a web interface : http://www.plugshare.com/# . Set the 'options' to select type of charging ('public' and 'J1772'), type in the zip code (or city/state) and you will see the charging stations available to them. Whether or not they will actually USE a public charging station is another (related) question. If they have their own garage with a 120V socket, then most of the charging will be done at home, overnight. The public chargers are useful for extending range (if planning on driving over 80 miles in one day) or if they live in an apartment/condo complex where they don't have a private garage. (They should try and convince the condo assoc to install public charging stations - they should walk around the complex and identify every EV they see and talk to the owners to get them on-board. A minimum of a pair of charging plugs, and one plug for every 5 EVs would be more than enough for a complex.)

You didn't ask :
*** should they install a 240V home charging station (most cars come with a 120V, much slower, charging station)? Well, It depends on :
- how far the car can go between charges
- how far they plan on driving in a day MOST of the time
- how many public charge stations there are in their area
I have lots of charge stations near my house and so have never needed a 240V home charger. But then, I don't commute 60 miles a day, I don't live in a cold climate (battery range will decrease maybe 30% in winter if it's really cold). Usually, plugging in the car overnight gives me a full charge next morning. 12 hours at 1.3kW (120V * 12A) will give me about 60 miles of range. A few times in 6 months I haven't been full, but then again I don't drive 60 miles/day and the morning after I WAS full (after a 2nd night of charging). OR, if I use a public charging station it will charge 3x or 4x faster than I can at home - so a couple of hours there is the same as 6-7 hours at home. After charging the battery up to 30% or 40%, THEN I can completely charge it overnight at home. I almost never drive more than 40 miles in a day (like most people) - maybe 1-3 times a month. And I only drive the car over 60 miles when I am going someplace with a DCFC somewhere along the way (I can charge up to 80% of battery in just 15 mins or so).

I would definitely recommend that your parents keep a 'gas' vehicle, however. It is useful for those few times that the EV won't cut it. I had a 20-year-old car that I was 'replacing' - nothing mechanically wrong with it (as far as I could tell), but a 20-year old is going to break down at some point, eh? So I *leased* an EV which we use 96% of the time, and kept the old one (which was worth < $900 as a trade-in). My old gasser has been driven about 5 times in 8 months, but I was very happy to have it when I drove 150-250 mi round-trips.

{Edit/Note : this info is applicable for the U.S. If you live elsewhere, most is (probably) also true, but I can't guarantee it is all true.}

[sam]

SparkE....response so helpful. Some users on forums really know their stuff and users like myself appreciate the information

[jimmyjon]

Some more generic Charging information

by Cynthia Shahan

EV charging is easy. At some chargers, all one has to do is simply lift the charger from the charging station and plug into the EV (takes 10 seconds… or less). No need for a card to activate charging, as with this free charger below. Push the button to start.

If you have an EV, you typically need apps such as ChargePoint, PlugShare, and Greenlots to locate stations — along with the dash of your EV.

One can normally activate a charger that requires a card for activation by phone app as well — or call the number on the station before a card arrives. A friend only uses her cell app to activate stations. I like my card.

Once you are signed up and have an account, ChargePoint is very customer friendly. The fastest way (for me) is to pull out the card, swipe it in front of the charging station to unlock the charger, and the charger is released to plug in. (In no time at all.)

Many of the 027 (2)leading grocers have handy EV charging spots. ChargePoint is a primary charging station company that one finds in many parking lots, etc. ChargePoint is easy and free 95% (where I live) of the time — but not always. I’d say nearly 99% of the chargers I use are free — even the fast charger.

I still do not have a CHAdeMO DC fast charging card, as I don’t seem to need it. In another place, I would — possibly with a charge such as 10 cents a minute or 60 cents or so for half an hour. The stations I frequent, though, are free and very user friend. The screen says “ready,” I touch it, two signs pop up, and I touch the charging sign applicable to my EV. The fast charger then unlocks and I can plug in and charge.

Signing up for ChargePoint takes only a few moments. In a few easy steps, one can set up an account to get or activate cards. In the ChargePoint Cards section, select the option to have a new card mailed to your address. If you have a ChargePoint account and just need to activate your ChargePoint cards: log in, go to “My Account,” and click on “Manage ChargePoint Cards.” Next, select “Activate More Cards,” then follow the steps to enter the serial numbers on your ChargePoint cards.

Kyle breaks down the simplicity of charging a Tesla in “Charging In Public: Tesla vs Other EVs.” From that, here’s a breakdown of various levels and types of EV charging:

Level 1 — Home charging @ 110v delivering ~1.1 kW speeds.
Level 2 — Typical Level 2 chargers utilize the J1772 or Mennekes adapters for public and private chargers delivering up to 7.2 kW speeds, with most being 6.6 kW.
Level 3 — Also known as “DC fast charging,” these CHAdeMO or SAE Combo chargers deliver charging speeds up to 50 kW in 30 minute sessions and have been designed to fill up current-gen EVs capable of “fast charging” in a relatively short amount of time.
Level 4 — This new charging tier is defined by the Tesla Superchargers which offer consistent speeds up to 135 kW today with a near-term goal of 150 kW speeds.