The Electric Vehicle Routine
I know that driving to the house where I charge the electric vehicle will take about 20 percent. I also know that driving to the shops will take less than one percent per drive. This means that if I had an electric car, and I had a plug at home, rather than a climb up the Jura, I would need to charge every week or two, rather than almost every time I drive the car.
I Could Deplete the Battery
I could let the battery deplete to 30 percent, before charging but if I do this then I face two issues. The first of these is that you should always have a third in case of emergencies, or unexpected situations. The second reason is that to charge 20 percent to full takes four hours. To charge 30 percent takes six hours. To charge 40 percent takes eight hours. To charge 70 percent will take fourteen hours. Fourteen hours is a long time to sit around waiting for a car to charge.
The Hidden Beauty
Although it sounds as if I do not like that electric cars take so long to charge I really like that on the same socket that you charge your iphone you can recharge a car. This might not sound like much but this is liberating. If you charge overnight, you don’t need to spend thousands of francs on the charging port, upgrading the electrical circuit and more. You can simply add a normal plug, and charge overnight.
Future buildings could easily include a plug per property, for slow charging electric cars. This also means that there is no surge in demand, since a normal plug is being used.
0.35 Centimes Per Kilowatt/Hour
If you go to charge at Migros shopping centre it will cost 35 centimes per kilowatt hour. The Fiat 500 has a 42 KW/h battery so it will cost 14.7 CHF for a full charge. In theory you will only to top up the charge, rather than charge fully.
No Range Anxiety
Someone asked if I suffered from range anxiety with the electric car and the short answer is “nope”. That’s why I let it get to 30 percent and then thought “oh fork”, when I saw that it would take 14 hours to charge fully a few weeks ago. I’m not worried about range. I’m more concerned with charge time. I know that if I use the car to go to the shops I’m fine. I know that if I drive to the village on the plateau at 600m in altitude I should charge every time.
Consistent behaviour
The car’s battery is consistent. I know that it takes 23+ percent to drive from A to B, and that it takes four to five hours to charge. That’s why, if I use the car, I give myself plenty of time to charge the car to 100 percent. This consistency allows us to anticipate the car’s charging needs, and, therefore not get caught out.
Conservative Or Aggressive Driving
Today I set the drive assist to get me to 120 kilometres per hour, to keep me within my lane, but also to keep the radar tracking the cars ahead of me and adjust the speed accordingly. I did push the car to 120 for a bit, and then resumed driving on the right lane at a more reasonable speed. By driving more aggressively I depleted 20 percent or so, rather than 12. That’s why the charge time went from four and a half hours to six hours. The time that I save by driving at 120 km/h is wasted by a longer charge time when I reach my destination.
Setting a Timer
I have started to set a timer when I put the car to charge. I set it to the time the car says it has until it is fully charged and then I leave it to charge. I have found that the time it says it will take to charge is half an hour or an hour longer than it actually takes, which is nice. I don’t have to hang around for as long, as a result.
And Finally
With a petrol/diesel car you wait until you’re at 25 percent before you refuel and it takes a few minutes. With an electric car, if you can’t charge overnight, it makes sense to charge when you can. If I had a power socket at home I would charge once a week or less, especially if I am driving to the shops and back.
If I had not been asked for a favour that required the 20+ percent drive I would have gone for a week or two without charging. The car’s range is good, especially on the flat.