10 Things You Should Know About Charging Electric Vehicles

This is a recap of concepts I've covered at length in previous posts.

• 1) It's pointless to be able to "search for nearby charging stations," unless you're prepared to wait at least 1 hour for every 20 miles of charge you need.
• 2) There aren't nearly enough public charging sites to actually matter. If one happens to be in walking distance of a place you need to go, consider yourself lucky. (By the same token, if you know of a charging site at which you'd like to charge, it's not likely to be available - see #5.)
• 3) Yes, you can travel further than the full range of your EV's battery by stopping to charge. But if you do not plan carefully, you will either be stranded or find yourself sitting in your car for hours while it charges.
• 4) Public charging stations work, but how useful they are depends upon your level of commitment and/or spirit of adventure.
• 5) There's no guarantee or even likelihood that any given public EVSE will be available. It may be:
• non-existent
• non-operational (broken, or never completed as an installation project)
• charging another EV
• inaccessible because an EV or ICE (internal-combustion engine) vehicle is using the space only for parking
• 6) Even though most public charging stations deliver around 6-7kW (kilowatts), some don't.
• Those that can achieve at least 6-7kW replenish most vehicles at about 20 miles/hour. But some vehicles can only charge at about half that rate (i.e., some Nissan Leaf models have only 3.3kW chargers), and some public EVSEs don't provide more than 2-3kW, even to vehicles capable of charging at higher rates.
• 7) Most for-pay public charging stations provide a way for EV users who have not previously established an account to pay for charging.
• This involves a telephone call, a credit card, and a way to identify the charging station.
• 8) For-pay charging services may bill: a) by the hour of charging; b) by the kilowatt-hour (amount of electricity transferred); or c) by the hour of being plugged in (regardless of charging).
• 9) Regardless of your vehicle's battery capacity, the time required to replenish the battery at most public charging sites is about the same:
• Most "Level 2" EVSEs provide around 6 kilowatts, providing about 20 miles of range for every hour of charging.
• 10) For many users, public charging is irrelevant. If you don't drive more than 70 miles a day, don't worry about it.