Johno02 wrote:
Just a question, does anybody have any idea what it costs to use these chargers?? Do they charge by time, or how much used, or are they just free??
Well, it depends. We use DCFC or DC fast chargers when we do longer trips. Otherwise, like most EV drivers we charge at home as its cheaper. So the most expensive place an EV driver can charge an EV is a DC fast charger. Typically they are about 30 to 35 cents per kilowatt hour but depending on the network they are on you can pay a flat monthly fee and get a reduced per KWH charge. I am not on one of those plans so I can't tell you much about that. Like I say, you pay for the fast charge convenience. It's always cheaper to charge at home.
They also mentioned a level 2 charger. That is typically a slower 6.8KW to 10 KWH charge rate. These are usually co-located at a DCFC site as emergency back up. They are much less in price, maybe half, but again depends on the network. Many level 2 fast chargers you see at shopping malls and restaurants are free but they are used as loss leaders by the business. EG, you go to Starbucks that has a level 2 charger and have lunch and a coffee for 12 bucks and they give you 30 cents worth of power free. Kinda like a restaurant using a coupon to get you there. Instead they don't have to print anything and instead of a 2 buck coupon its 30 or 40 cents of power.
We are pay as you go costumers on three different networks but have pre paid RFID cards that we just flash in front of the charger. It deducts from the card automatically. I put 50 bucks on my "add energy" card a year ago and I still have about 28 bucks left. Like I said, we only use it on longer trips. We do 95 percent of our charging in the garage.
Oh, on edit, the Tesla guys charge for free (for now) on their supercharger network. But that's why they pay 35,000 for a base model 3 and a leaf owner pays 22,000 for a base model leaf. Well, that and the fact they go twice as far on a charge. :). Meh.
