EV public chargers

littleredhen

Just bought my first EV and wow what a minefield the public chargers set up is - I will mostly be charging from home but I seem to have spent an inordinate amount of time planning my first journey of any distance.

Zapmap for the route and where the chargers are then downloading the apps to get the best prices/rates for the actual chargers never mind getting my head around rapid chargers, fast chargers and slow chargers and the fees for overstaying etc - who knew there could be so many apps/info out there to absorb - am I missing something? is there a simpler way to get the info you need

MattMattMattUK

I think you are hugely overcomplicating things, though it does somewhat depend on the car, the battery capacity and the distances.

In a Tesla for example you get access to the Supercharger network which is widespread on major routes and considerably cheaper than other public charging networks. Different cars have different charging rates, some manufacturers have done (usually short term) deals with different charging networks for discounted rates.

Things like the Octopus Electroverse scheme is good as it works with multiple chargers, offers a small discount and if you are ok an Octopus EV tariff you get an additional discount off the rates.

If you feel the need to plan a lot of the journeys then use ABRP,, it also has a navigation app.https://abetterrouteplanner.com/

What car do you have, what kind of distances are you driving, do the locations have destination charging etc?

prettyandfluffy

I'm also a relative newcomer to EVs so here are some tips from my experience. First, practice charging "in the wild" at a quiet time - they're all slightly different so try it when you won't get flustered. Download an app showing EV charging points, the one suggested by @MattMattMattUK is the best I've seen so thank you for that. For long journeys, charge your car to 100% beforehand.

For journey planning I have 2 approaches depending on the length of the journey: either a few short stops e.g. at motorway services for a quick charge whilst I have a coffee break; or one longer stop e.g.for lunch. Some of the cheapest charging points are at supermarkets (e.g. Aldi, Tesco) so you can plug in before going off to use to buy a sandwich. By the time you've done that and eaten it, you will probably find you have enough charge to continue. For the Podpoint chargers found at some Tesco stores you will need your own charging cable.

Keep an eye on the battery % remaining and estimated range whilst you're travelling, I aim to get to to my destination with at least 15% remaining which gives me some leeway in case of deviations etc. It isn't difficult to, just different. Enjoy your new car!

Famau

I agree with prettyandfluffy. It's a different mindset, and does take a little time to adjust to. But once you've worked it out then sorted! I'd certainly agree too with MattMatt about getting and electroverse card. Costs nothing but provides access to most public chargers. Bon voyage….

flaneurs_lobster

Just bought my first EV and wow what a minefield the public chargers set up is - I will mostly be charging from home but I seem to have spent an inordinate amount of time planning my first journey of any distance.

Seems odd to me that someone would spend (presumably) tens of thousands on a car and only then start thinking about how you take it further than the local Tesco.

Ectophile

When it comes to apps, I have the PodPoint one for charging at Tesco, and can't be bothered with any others. All rapid and ultra rapid chargers will take a contactless credit card, and many will take the Electroverse card too.

AC charging at 7 to 22kW isn't worth bothering unless it's a destination charger at a place you were going to anyway. Such as a hotel.

I have to say that on the odd occasions when I go on a long trip, I tend to hunt down big charging stations with multiple rapid chargers, and if they cost a few pence more, I live with it. The more chargers there are, the less chance you'll be either queueing or looking at a broken charger that won't work.

Aside: So many new chargers are being installed now that things quickly get out of date. I was getting very confused last night when planning a trip for later today. The ZapMap web site said that there were 8 ultra rapid chargers at a location, while the ZapMap app said 2 rapid chargers. Once I remembered to turn on "Ultra" in the filters, the Electroverse app said 8 ultra rapid. I think MFG must have ripped out 2 old chargers and installed 8 shiny new ones to replace them. They are so new, they don't appear on Google maps.

QrizB

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82170437#Comment_82170437

You'll be pleased to know the OP started thinking about this at least a month ago.

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6684711/best-app-for-finding-best-ev-charger-when-travelling

flaneurs_lobster

When EV folk speak of "apps" are they talking about apps that let you use/pay a particular subset of chargers or do you mean apps that locate charging points?

Presumably the 'Acme' pay app will help you find 'Acme' chargers but not those of their rivals?

flaneurs_lobster

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82170475#Comment_82170475

Well that makes far more sense, did sound odd to buy an EV and only then worry about where to plug it in.

LukeB_92

One thing that simplifies it a lot is how rapid charging works in practice.

A rapid charger will not charge your car any faster than the maximum rate the car itself can accept, so a higher-powered charger does not automatically mean a quicker stop. The charging speed also tails off a lot as the battery fills, especially above about 80%, so on a long journey two shorter stops - arriving fairly low and leaving at around 80% - are often quicker overall than one long stop spent trying to get to 100%. It also helps with overstay or idle fees, which can start once charging has finished even if you are still plugged in.

It is also worth having a second charging location in mind a few miles further on as a fallback, rather than planning around a single charger being free and working. With that, plus starting long journeys on a full charge from home as already suggested, most trips only need one planned stop and one fallback, rather than an app for every network.

MattMattMattUK

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82170476#Comment_82170476

Yes, to an extent. ABRP and ZapMap list (nearly) every public EV charger, certainly those on the main networks and almost all smaller ones as well. Others such as the Shell, BP, or other proprietary networks will only show you their chargers, but they are primarily designed to allow them to gather data on you in return for a small discount, not benefit the consumer.

More modern EVs will usually show all on their navigation systems, as does Google Maps (if set to the car being an EV) and can navigate based on charge levels, needing to navigate to charging on longer routes etc. and one can set preference for different charging networks.

Tesla is probably the simplest for example, I just put in the destination, the desired charge level when I arrive (if I know there is a charger there or not), I can also tell it to plan the whole thing as a round trip if I want to be able to get home from that location and it just figures out which chargers to use, taking account of charging from a lower state of charge to get better charging rates. It will by default choose Superchargers, but can use others if needed although that would be rare as there are Supercharges on almost all routes and they are considerably cheaper than any other public charging network.