Quote:
Originally Posted by agorski
Like you, I'm retired. I do 99% of my driving around town and charge in my garage and this is a fantastic experience compared to going to gas stations.
Once a year I do a 1100 mile each way road trip. Did it once so far in my i5 and didn't mind the longer time it took. Spent an extra night in a motel (paid for by the free charging at Electrify America for two years that came with the car). It was much more relaxing than in the past when I would drive 600+ miles per day, lose 2 hours of time zone, and be all stressed out.
I understand you do more road trips, but in my case the much better experience in town totally outweighs the occasional road trip aggravation.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by RichardInCA
First time EV owner here….I cannot remember the last time I used DC fast charging. With a home charger and a charger at work, I now SAVE time that I used to spend detouring to fill up at a gas station on my commutes. Most everyone really underestimates the amazing convenience of home charging.
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Very similar for me, except I'm not retired yet (but I do work from home). I'm also a first-time EV driver and just love charging at home in the garage and never having to hit up a gas station again. I also have solar panels on the roof, so that helps to offset the price of charging at home too. I've had my car for one year now, and have used DC fast charging a handful of times, mostly for road trips. Only one of those times, I had to wait before I could plug in because of a lineup.
DC charge #1: Just plugged in for 5 minutes at a random place near my house to make sure my free EA charging was working.
Road Trip 1: Los Angeles to Solvang, CA - only 121 miles each way. I just charged once, the night before the drive to return home. No problems, 30 minutes long.
Road Trip 2: Los Angeles to Las Vegas - 264 miles each way. I charged three times: once during the trip to Vegas, once in Vegas the day before leaving for home, and once on the trip home. No problems during the trips - 30 minutes or less. The charge in Vegas took longer because I was 4th in line so had to wait a while (the wife went to the shopping mall during the wait).
Road Trip 3: Los Angeles to Thermal, CA and Palm Springs, CA - 175 miles each way. I only charged once before the return trip home. No problems, plugged in right away. Even though there were two cars waiting, there was no one in their cars, so I pulled into the open spot and started charging and hit the grocery store. When I got back, the two people were back in their cars, but were very cool about it when I spoke with them. They understood that if they leave their car, they can't expect others to wait around for them to return and leave an open charger unused.
Although it works great for me, I understand it's not for everyone. If you frequently travel long distances, or you can't install a level 2 charger at home, then it might not be the best choice. Although for me, it would be difficult to go back to gasoline - I might be a full convert now.
