- AC charging is generally cheaper than DC fast charging.
- Understanding how to use public charging effectively can save an EV driver money.
As I reported last week, DC fast charging isn’t necessary, even for drivers that don’t have a home Level 2 setup. Of course, DC fast charge if you need to—that’s why the stations are there—they’re good for adding lots of juice in a short amount of time, great for road trips, and other times where a driver would be in a bind. But, most of our lives aren’t lived in a perpetual time crunch, nor is every outing behind the wheel of an EV a road trip. I did it in the Kona, and before then, I’d been doing it every day with my worn-out 2012 Mitsubishi i-MiEV. Here’s how I do it.
Use Your Level 1 Charging Cable
Generally speaking, charging at home will be cheaper than charging in public, regardless of type. Public charging infrastructure isn’t cheap. The station's costs, plus whatever fees the service provider adds on, will naturally raise the prices to higher than what you’re getting at home.
Thankfully, EVs can charge on 110-volt power from a standard NEMA 5-15 plug. This won’t add a lot of juice at one time, but more and more are learning that L1 has far more utility than they realize. Our cars are parked for much of their lives; a car parked and plugged into a 110v outlet can add a surprising amount of range over time. A car parked overnight could add more than 12 kWh to the battery. For the 2024 Hyundai Kona, that’s about 20% of its battery capacity or about 50 miles.
Of course, I admit that I am privileged in this way. My apartment is on the ground floor with a parking pad directly connected to my unit, making running a plug out to the car pretty easy. This may not be feasible for apartment dwellers who live a few floors up, but if you can, then use them. Most new EVs come with an included level 1 portable charger. If not, there are plenty on the market to choose from.
Familiarize Yourself With Your Local Charging Infrastructure
Arguably, the biggest part of the success of any EV driver is understanding where the chargers are in their city. Apps like Plugshare or Chargeway might give a street address or general idea of where a charging station is. Still, the specifics of where it is located could confuse someone who hasn’t been to that location before. Also, plugshare won’t necessarily show if a station is offline or in use by another vehicle. You’ll need the specific app that each charging station uses.
Thus, it’s important to go around your local area and understand where chargers are. It’s much easier to download the necessary apps, make accounts, and link payment details at home than at the charging station. Then, when you’re on a trip around town, you won’t waste precious charging time pulling into a station that’s already occupied (or broken) or fumble around trying to find the correct app to use the station in the first place. In my experience, the smoother the charging experience became, the more inclined I became to use the charging stations.
Think Of It Like A Phone, Not A Car
One of the most common responses I saw in retort to our reporting is that level 2 (and level 1) just take too long to be 100% full. But think about it—do you need to be full at all times in a gas-powered car? Think of it like a cell phone—when was the last time you stayed in one place for hours on end until your phone was fully charged? I can generally tell how much battery percentage I’ll need for whatever errands I need to run; there’s no need to have a 100% full phone if I’m only going to be out for a few hours. I keep that in mind when I’m charging my phone, most times I’ll just need a little bit of energy to do what I need to do.
Likewise, an electric car is the same principle. True, a short charging event of, say, an hour on a level 2 station won’t be enough time for most cars to recharge fully. But, it would likely be enough to replenish more than the energy used to get there and give enough to get home. That’s all you need.
Think About Your Own Personal Driving Habits And Lifestyle
Electric cars are different—the slower recharging times may sound like a detriment on paper, but when they’re properly worked into our lifestyles, they won’t feel like such a big deal. Once again, cars are parked for most of their lives. Why not try and configure our lives so that the car is able to recharge while parked? Some may find this unconscionable, but in my experience, it didn’t take any change at all.
For example, here at InsideEVs, I often do much of my writing in coffee shops. Because I am familiar with my local charging infrastructure, I have at least four coffee shops I can choose from, with level 2 public charging nearby or on the premises. When I’m looking for a workout, my gym has two level 2 chargers a block away from its front door. If I want to go shopping, the mall has level 2 chargers available to use. All of these are activities I would have done in the first place, but now I’ve structured them to meet my charging needs. It’s easy and painless.
Using all these strategies, I piled more than 500 miles on the Kona Electric in one week without using DC fast charging. It’s also how I regularly drive my i-MiEV about 180 miles per week, despite its pitiful usable range of roughly 35 real-world miles. Not every tip will apply to every driver, but I bet that if more people did these tips, they’d improve things for themselves and future EV drivers.
Contact the author: kevin.williams@insideevs.com
