Also, do I need the chargepoint account to charge at stations marked as 'free'? (Target in Automall in SF bay area) I dont think it makes much sense to go out of way to charge at $2 per hour (especially for a PiP). From economic sense, $1 for full charge is equivalent of gas consumption (12 miles range assuming $4/gallon and 50 mpg). I am guessing thats what one would pay at home in SF bay area. However, if you want to maximize the EV usage assuming it is friendly to environment, probably bit of higher price for charging is not bad
plugshare.com You can phone ChargePoint and they'll unlock a free station for you- but it's easy and free to get their card which makes the free stations a no-brainer. FWIW- I get about 11.3 mi out of a full charge on the roads/speeds I travel.
I agree with plugshare being the better source. Chargepoint will set up an account and send you a free card the first time you call from a free station. As far as gas vs electricity price efficiency, only the free stations are cheaper really. Especially with our cars limiting the charge at about 2.305 kwh at the source, and 1.9 at the battery. The cheapest pay stations I have seen charge $1 per hour, thats $0.43 per kilowatt and about the same driving cost as $6.25 per gallon.
actually more like $6.25 per gallon driving cost in the PiP at $1/ hour level 2. I think I forgot the 15% thing somehwere.
plugshare also has an iOS app which is great. however, i've noticed some of the info regarding whether charge point stations are free or paid can be wrong. for that, CP app is needed (though app itself is a disaster).
Best? Don't know since I have no PiP, but My Nissan Leaf Forum • View topic - Public charge station lists might help. I've seen people mentioning a lot of incorrect data in Plugshare (e.g. CHAdeMO charger at home? Yeah, right. That's a 480 volt DC fast charger (which the PiP can't use anyway).)
plugshare makes it very easy to fix mistakes. if people are complaining instead of fixing them, they have no one but themselves to blame. i specifically looked at the stations around me and made sure the data was correct. hell, i even submitted a new location.
I try to charge here every Saturday. I go to Target 1st and then walk over to the nearby Costco in order to get the full charge. You don't need a Chargepoint card. My wife said a CC with a chip also works. Indeed she was right, look for the Blink network logo. They charge $1 on your card and then remove it after a couple if days. However, out of the 10 CC and debit cards between us only my wife's Chase debit card had the chip. My Chase debit card going to the same account doesn't. I'm the blue PiP. It'd be nice to speak to a fellow Priuschat member.
I went ahead and ordered a card, I am not sure if any of my CC has the chip. Sure, it will be good to chat if our timing coincide.
Since it seems to work with NFC payment methods, does this mean it will work with Google Wallet (i.e., Galaxy Nexus)? I don't have a card, and probably won't use a public charger as there aren't many in my area, but you never know.
i would recommend using a few apps. recargo plugshare Eric; that alternative fuels data center. tried it and it "was" woefully out of date. now this was a year ago. have not been there lately so it might be better now
No one likes the Blink app? One thing I hated at 1st, but now appreciate ... the EVSE's charging $2/hr. Too many abusers on the low-cost or free ones.
Hill, this makes no sense for a PiP. At $2/hr, you're paying $2 for less than a fifth of a gallon of gas. Gas prices would have to be $10+/gal to make this worthwhile. Also, from an earlier post, they charge you money even after you stop drawing juice, which is pretty ridiculous.
What do you think ... the EVSE Installer is supposed to provide you a camping space? Some people squat in a charging stall long enough that they might as well be camping there. Crazy as it sounds - EVSE's are not installed out of the goodness of the owners' heart ... he's trying to make a profit. PHEV's that finish charging in a couple hours but park there for 6 or more hours cheat the owner out of profit they could otherwise get - if they just let you camp there all day as unfortunately some continue to do at the free stations. Plugins that hog free stations ... just leaving them there all day long ... just because they can ... are starting to cause a huge rift between electric cars and plugins. This kind of selfishness really drive a wedge between a community that ought to get along. It really sucks when PHEV's true purpose in plugging in is so they can save a buck or 2 ... rather than any 1 of the way more valid reasons for owning a PHEV. SGH-I717R ? 2
parking restrictions should be enforced by the parking authority, not the charge station installer. if i'm in a garage where it costs $10/hour to park, that's how much i should be paying to the garage operator, not the charging network. last time i checked, the gas pump shuts off as soon as it stops pouring gasoline into my car, not until i pull the hose out of the car.
It's presumptuous to assume the parking lot owner is not 1 in the same asthe EVSE owner. As such he can do whatever he wants with his spots. He can charge you a penny for 1 spot 100 dollars for another and free for another right? And if we don't like it what do we do we move on. As for the gas station thing ... You can be sure if you parked in front of a gas station pump all day long the owner would have you towed. It's not the same thing as with an EVSE - but still in essence you just robbed him of his ability to make a profit at that gas pump for the rest of the day. Even if he doesn't tow you away - what do you think he thinks of you SGH-I717R ? 2
