It’s all about charging infrastructure. If you ask people in rural areas, of course they’ll say no. Ask in an urban center with a lot of charging options and the answer may be different. Also, make public charging be a fixed monthly fee, and that will help people set their budget.
The only real charging infrastructure you need for commuting is an empty 120v socket at home. Plugging in at night adds plenty enough to the tank. While it’s more difficult for apartment dwellers, homeowners should be fine.
Road trips are a different situation, but you can rent a car for long trips if there are no fast chargers on your route.
It’s all about willful ignorance. If people complain about a lack of public chargers, they don’t know what they’re talking about. Public charging only matters on long road trips. For the other 350 days a year, you’ll charge at home.
If you live in an apartment, parking in a standard lot, with no way to run power out to your car? I get it. You need to look for another apartment first. It at least you know how actually owning an electric car works.
I was thinking about this, and to defray the cost and make EVs more plausible in suburban US areas, they could make one simple modification.
Instead of the current model where only certain businesses are electing to spend $10-20k per level 2 charger, they should just aim to build almost all new businesses (this would include hotels, apartments, etc.) with basic-bitch 120v 15A outdoor-rated wall outlets in front of every parking spot. The outlets could be on a post, on a wall, built into the concrete curb, whatever is up to code and can be done cheaply.
The cost per spot would be relatively low compared to level 2 or DC fast charging and then people could charge using their own portable level 1 charger and the provided outlet. Level 1 charging at virtually any parking lot, plus being able to overnight charge where you live, covers almost all use cases.
This is anecdotal, but when people talk about EVs, their three biggest concerns are vehicle price, range anxiety, and cost of fuel.
The purchase price will come down as more used vehicles get off leases or if Chinese imports enter the market. Range anxiety is mitigated when there are charging stations at regular intervals.
But fuel cost is variable. Tesla made charging free for the first few years of existence. VW and related models include a moderate amount of Electrify America L3 charging in their pricing. That reduces operating cost anxiety. There’s also an upfront cost for setting up L2 home charging. If that can be reduced or mitigated, it would help.
It’s all about charging infrastructure. If you ask people in rural areas, of course they’ll say no. Ask in an urban center with a lot of charging options and the answer may be different. Also, make public charging be a fixed monthly fee, and that will help people set their budget.
The only real charging infrastructure you need for commuting is an empty 120v socket at home. Plugging in at night adds plenty enough to the tank. While it’s more difficult for apartment dwellers, homeowners should be fine.
Road trips are a different situation, but you can rent a car for long trips if there are no fast chargers on your route.
It’s all about willful ignorance. If people complain about a lack of public chargers, they don’t know what they’re talking about. Public charging only matters on long road trips. For the other 350 days a year, you’ll charge at home.
If you live in an apartment, parking in a standard lot, with no way to run power out to your car? I get it. You need to look for another apartment first. It at least you know how actually owning an electric car works.
Speak up for charging in flat lots.
I was thinking about this, and to defray the cost and make EVs more plausible in suburban US areas, they could make one simple modification.
Instead of the current model where only certain businesses are electing to spend $10-20k per level 2 charger, they should just aim to build almost all new businesses (this would include hotels, apartments, etc.) with basic-bitch 120v 15A outdoor-rated wall outlets in front of every parking spot. The outlets could be on a post, on a wall, built into the concrete curb, whatever is up to code and can be done cheaply.
The cost per spot would be relatively low compared to level 2 or DC fast charging and then people could charge using their own portable level 1 charger and the provided outlet. Level 1 charging at virtually any parking lot, plus being able to overnight charge where you live, covers almost all use cases.
Would that work? No gas station has a pricing plan like that.
This is anecdotal, but when people talk about EVs, their three biggest concerns are vehicle price, range anxiety, and cost of fuel.
The purchase price will come down as more used vehicles get off leases or if Chinese imports enter the market. Range anxiety is mitigated when there are charging stations at regular intervals.
But fuel cost is variable. Tesla made charging free for the first few years of existence. VW and related models include a moderate amount of Electrify America L3 charging in their pricing. That reduces operating cost anxiety. There’s also an upfront cost for setting up L2 home charging. If that can be reduced or mitigated, it would help.