Hey guys, I used a public charger called SemaConnect at my work and I thought it would automatically stop charging my credit card after my battery was fully charged but even after my battery was fully charged after 2.5 hours, SemaConnect still charged my credit card for the whole 12 hours while I was at work and it only stopped charging my credit card when I physically disconnected port from my car. Is this the standard for every public EV charger even from big companies like ChargePoint, Blink, and EVgo?
Here's my non-answer ... I don't know but I could understand the logic if true. You're tying up the charger for 12 hours. You're denying the charger supplier revenue it could be making if you moved on after the car was charged. After you're car is charged the charger becomes a high priced parking meter. J
That doesn't sound right. Each of the SemaConnect chargers I have used are free, so I have no idea... but I do know that in the app under "My Account", it has both a "Call Support" and a "Report Problem" button - I'd definitely do both if I were you. (side thought - It's possible that the landlord/operator has set it to keep charging your credit card even though it finished charging your car in order to encourage people to move their cars when they are done... but it would be *wrong* for a place to do that without letting you know in advance.)
I never used public charger (there is none within 50 miles radius of where I live), so I have no answer for your question. However, my question to you is, how much do they charge for 2.5 hours of charging, presumably on L2 to fill the PRIME battery? If it cost more than ~half of cost for a gallon of gas in your local, it may not be worth paying for the charge. Cheaper to run on gas, fully HV mode.
Yeah, it sounds like it. It’s VIP parking. Right in front of the main entrance. Yeah, I heard. But at my work, SemaConnect charges me $1.35/hour. I’m contacting them now. I was just under the assumption that all public EV chargers stop charging the car/credit card when it notices that the car is fully charged. Yes, they charge me $1.35/hour. SoCal Costco gas is $3.60/gallon. It might be cheaper go with gas, but I was hoping to use the battery to put less miles on my motor.
Wow, that's expensive. If they even stopped charging your card when the battery was full, say at ~2.5 hours, that still cost you $3.375. For that you get ~25 miles of EV drive. With gas, Prime gets ~54 miles/gal which cost you $3.60. You are paying almost twice as much to drive EV. Is it worth???
Definitely not. Honestly, I don’t have a charging station/outlet at my home and I bought the Prime recently so I wanted to see how cool it was to charge it. But after seeing the price breakdown, it’s not worth it. Thanks for letting me know.
I have used a lot of public charging stations here in Southern California from Los Angeles all the way to Orange County to Riverside. Pricing is all over the map, it can vary from $10 an hour to free! In all the cases I've seen, the pricing is on the charging station. You may have to search around for awhile to figure it out, but it's always been there for me. The property owner determines the pricing, which averages $0.30 a kWh in most of the places that I've seen. One new factor that I've noticed, is that the charge rate will drop dramatically within about 5 minutes. This is very troubling, and is not indicated. I usually use ChargePoint, and I've called them many times regarding this problem which seems to exist almost everywhere I've gone. My Prime charges at a rate of approximately 3.23 kWh, according to the chargepoint Chargers; after 5 minutes or so, many of the chargers drop that rate to 2.0 or thereabouts. You won't know this unless you "flash" your card to verify the charge rate. Not only do you have to wait longer to get your car charged, but if they charge you by the hour, you end up paying a lot more. Also some locations add a parking surcharge after a certain time or a certain number of hours. It's definitely the Wild Wild West out here! Posted via the PriusChat mobile app. AChoiredTaste.com
Seriously, right? EVs are a hot buy in the LA area so it seems these EV charger companies are doing whatever they want with the price. Oh well, as Salamander_King said, it’s cheaper to use gas. I’m glad I didn’t get an all electric car like a Tesla.
Do you park on street? How about a long extension cord to charge at home. I am not sure what is your electricity rate is, but I am sure cheaper than the public charger. Or even better, look for a free charging station nearby.
Mr. Salamander_King, if you're replying to me, I have an L2 charger at home, but I also charge in the field. I charge daily as much as 3 or 4 times; my rates at home are MUCH cheaper than public charging rates. I do this with my Prime to study my current infrastructure, maximize my electric usage, and play the Entune Game. I charge between clients, or other stops, while I make calls or read. Having lived/worked through the gas lines way back when, I have that "resident anxiety" about fuel availability. This compounded by news reports of natural disasters where people have no power or fuel for extended periods keep me tied to a plug-in hybrid, the Prime. I chose the Prime over the Chevy Volt due to Toyota's exceptional reliability, particularly with the Prius. My history with GM will not let me consider their products. At this time, no current BEV will provide for my single car automotive needs, driving 22,000 to 25,000 miles per year. Posted via the PriusChat mobile app. AChoiredTaste.com
No, I was replying to OP. He said, he has no charge station or outlet to charge at home. Sorry for the confusion. But, I totally agree with you on this one. I am on the same boat as you are. Maybe for a second commuter only car, I may consider affordable BEV, such as Leaf, but not Bolt or Tesla.
The etiquette is to move your EV/PHEV the lesser of when the car has been fully charged, or the time limit is determined by the property owner, alas the associated $ of using the charger. It's just common courtesy.
I can see that billing happening on a unit that charges hourly to charge. My smart has about the same charging rate as the prime (one of the slowest rates among BEVs,) so I avoid hourly stations at all costs. I try to use stations which bill by how much energy is added. At 3.xx it takes my smart 6.5-8 hours to charge from sub 20% to full. iPad ?
At least on Chargepoint stations, the owner of the station determines the cost: per KWH, per hour, free, whatever. If per hour, all the ones I have have ever seen do not "stop the meter" when charging completes. If you leave it connected for 8 hours, you get charged for 8 hours, regardless of how may KWH of charge you got. In fact, the owner may set a sliding charge, like $1/hr for the first 3 hours, $5/hr thereafter. The owner can also set a per KWH charge + an hourly charge after charging completes. BTW, if the fee is hourly, it is usually billed by the minute. Other charging station networks do things differently. For example, I think that with Blink, the fee is determined by Blink based on the subscription level of the user.
Public charging varies so I recommend using PlugShare to survey what is available: PlugShare - Find Electric Vehicle Charging Locations Near You Nashville has a lot of public chargers including "TriStar Centennial Medical Center." Their policy is "$0.85 per hour for the first four hours then $5 per hour thereafter." With our BMW i3-REx that charges at ~7.7kW, an hour of electricity would get ~$0.50 ($0.066/kWh) while paying $0.85. But if we plugged in our Prius Prime, 3.3kW, we would get ~$0.22 of electricity but paid $0.85. Don't forget the charge rate tapers down approaching 90%. In Alabama, we are not allowed to resell electricity but we can charge for the parking spot. So downtown we have a 40kW, fast DC charger that runs for 30 minutes at a time. Parking during the business day costs $0.25 per half hour. With our BMW i3-REx, 18.4 kWh, we put in up to $1.84 electricity but never pay more than $0.25. Sad to say, the Prius Prime lacks fast DC charging. Going back to charging in Nashville, I top off the battery so I can reach I-65 without running the gas engine. I refill the 2 gallon gas tank. Reaching I-65, I run the engine away from people and drive to Huntsville. Before going home, I stop at the fast DC charger to bring the SOC over 95%. Bob Wilson
The interpretation of this screwball bureaucratic policy is as follows: Operating a charging station that bills by the KWH makes you an electric utility (a business that sells electricity). If you want to do that, you must go through the process of becoming an electric utility. If you charge by the hour, that is essentially renting a parking space; the fact that you may also happen get electricity to charge your car while renting the parking space is irrelevant. Many states have rewritten their statutes to specifically exclude electric car charging stations from this bizarre interpretation, but apparently Alabama is not one of them.
I wonder what liquor control boards would think of a business that claimed that they did not need a liquor license since did not sell beer; they rented you a seat (by the hour), and the seat came with beer. But that is essentially the same scenario as the "charge car by KWH = you are an electric utility" states.
Some venues (for weddings and other events) that have an open bar option charge by the hour for unlimited liquor for the guests. That said, I am very much against regulations that prevent charging station operators from being able to charge by the KWH if they want to!
