wow. $28 for 140 miles of driving sadly is more expensive than gas. EA is not my favorite group in the world especially considering the reason they were created.
What is a realistic expectation for dc fast charging?
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For long-distance trips, I am using A Better Route Planner, warmly recommended. Tells you when to stop where to charge how much, considers elevation, weather, wind... Only issue is that with default settings it is terribly pessimistic about the I-Pace's consumption in my experience.
In cold weather you really want to head of with 100% SoC and battery preconditioned. That way the first charge will be fast, and every stop after that as well because of fast charging the battery will be nice and warm anyway. With a warm enough battery you should see 95-105kW up to 40%, gradually dropping to 70kW at 60%, 50kW at 80%, 35 at 90, 15 near 100%.
Very odd, all the negatives about Electrify America. They are the equivalent of Ionity in Europe, I understand, and Ionity is certainly the go-to provider in my experience. For €200 per year the rates are roughly the same as at home, they are very reliable and if not, you can call and get real support 24/7.
If you do not get what you expected, please pick up the phone and call support to report the issue. Support teams can simply reset the charger remotely, you may be doing yourself a favour as well as all coming after you.
In cold weather you really want to head of with 100% SoC and battery preconditioned. That way the first charge will be fast, and every stop after that as well because of fast charging the battery will be nice and warm anyway. With a warm enough battery you should see 95-105kW up to 40%, gradually dropping to 70kW at 60%, 50kW at 80%, 35 at 90, 15 near 100%.
Very odd, all the negatives about Electrify America. They are the equivalent of Ionity in Europe, I understand, and Ionity is certainly the go-to provider in my experience. For €200 per year the rates are roughly the same as at home, they are very reliable and if not, you can call and get real support 24/7.
If you do not get what you expected, please pick up the phone and call support to report the issue. Support teams can simply reset the charger remotely, you may be doing yourself a favour as well as all coming after you.
Yes, it's expensive to fast charge. ~50% of that cost is the cost of goods (the electricity), the rest is overhead (installation and upkeep of the charger) and profit for EA. Bear in mind most gas stations sell gas at little to no profit, but instead charge you inflated prices for bottles of water/soda, candy, burgers or other "convenience" items. How many times have you bought a $2 bottle of water? Ever compared the cost to filling up a reuseable bottle at home?
I don't drive an EV to be economical, so paying for EA's services on the odd occasion I need to recharge while on the road is not an issue. If cost is the biggest issue to you maybe a PHEV Prius would be a better option than a $90k I-Pace.
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730 Posts
For many it is not really the cost (we are driving expensive cars), but the principle. No one wants to feel like they are getting ripped off.
But we are not getting ripped off. The prices are clearly displayed, and we have to make the choice of using a commercial service or not. That is the US way of life, if I lived in a society where EV's were being pushed by governmental forces, yes, I'd feel that commercial operations were taking advantage. Folks in the UK have a possible beef with charging costs; those in Canada cannot complain about their prices; but those of us in the US need to accept that commercialism rules amd prices reflect what consumers will pay (unless we want government intervention in our lives 🙂).
So the tech service called me back today, after I wrote them an email stating a DC charge maxing at 25 kW in not possible, something has to be done. He's the chief atelier just to say. Ah ah, ah 25kW is it AC right? WTF NO. Ah ah so I think on a mains plug it needs 24 hours. GRRR WTF. Ah ah ya ya on a DC charge it takes 4 hours? Yes that's yes that's yes yes yes.
It was very polite, but the american way: oh we are so sorry so sorry we take note so sorry.
So i cut the bullsh*t and wished him a pleasant day. These <insert an insult here> should drive an EV sometimes, just to have a vague clue of what they are selling.
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39 Posts
In the 2019 IPACE I get around 80kW at the outset (at low charge) but it quickly tapers off to around 50kW once the battery approaches 40% and then around 90% SoC it slows down again.
Here is my charging curve from 20 to 80% on a recent trip. Very good IMO. This is Florida so not cold. Cold has a huge impact on charging and simply driving does not warm up the huge mass of a traction battery very much when cold air is flowing over its bottom. That is why more modern EVs pre-heat the battery en route to a DC charger.
![Rectangle Font Slope Parallel Screenshot]()
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39 Posts
Lovely - he brings data!
My experience with EA has been extremely uneven. As I look back on my charging history, I have sometimes gone from 15% to 90% in just under an hour. Just last weekend, I had 80 miles left and wanted to add 40 miles to get home. I stopped at an EA 350KW charger and saw less than 12KW in 20 minutes (36KW/hr).
I agree with the post suggesting that you try switching chargers, as that has sometimes led to improved rates. That said, I have visited EA locations where three out of four chargers were not working.
I agree with the post suggesting that you try switching chargers, as that has sometimes led to improved rates. That said, I have visited EA locations where three out of four chargers were not working.
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1,097 Posts
I’m my first an only long distance trip with the I pace I left with just enough charge to make it to next charger. I had range anxiety the whole way and got to the charger with 10% to spare. I would also recommend starting at 100% and charging a little more than you need to for peace of mind. That’s what I did on the return trip and it was much smoother.
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Well some of us absolutely want regulations and standards, because most capitalistic forces by nature lead to minimal standards and consumer loss. It’s one of those false narratives in US that government and all regulations are bad and that companies and capitalism will always lead to the right answer. In fact we do not have raw capitalism, we have a carefully crafted set of rules to constraint the worst excesses of capitalism. Whether we have too much or too little is up for debate (but this forum is not the place). The current start of charging in US is a perfect example of what you can expect from companies until regulations and standards of uptime put in place in order to access the funds from the infrastructure bill kick in.
I felt encouraged when I saw the requirements for maintenance and functionality written into conditions for funding. To me this is what is needed to fix this broken cycle. Because right now the consumer has no power, EA can offer all the lip service in the world, they simply won’t improve uptime without prodding.
Agreed whole heartedly. I was just pointing out that in the absence of regulations it's the "wild west" out there regarding price and service. And, complaining about the prices gets you nowhere without a proposed solution.
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I have a feeling the right answer is a balance between regulation and the Wild West.
For instance, matrix head lights have been shown to be better but we’re not allowed in the US until recently, some say because of over regulation.
For what happens in the wild Wild West, look no further than FTX and crypto.
For instance, matrix head lights have been shown to be better but we’re not allowed in the US until recently, some say because of over regulation.
For what happens in the wild Wild West, look no further than FTX and crypto.
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