3 Years Free Charging at Electrify America
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As far as I know, EA only makes HVDC charging stations....no L2.
Northgate Mall - North Parking | PlugShare
Front parking lot, tucked in behind Key Bank across the street from Target on north edge of Northgate parking. Just three CCS and one CHAdeMO.
www.plugshare.com
I was just at this location.
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I've seen a few EA L2 chargers, 9 close to me, I wonder if it's included as part of the free charging with the E-Tron GT
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Just how much do you think you will save over the 3 years with this EA promo? I think this is marginal, if anything relative to the price of the vehicle. I just charge at my house at night, I will most definitely not go out of my way to try to get a free charge at EA. It might save you a few bucks on the occasional road trip but it's more of a marketing gimmick than true value for anyone. I expect that in 3 years I will probably save less than $500 in charging fees total, if that. If you told me I could trade the $500 for a guaranteed working no-wait 350kW charger on any road trip I'd gladly take that over some BS free charging gimmick.
BTW, the EA contract specifically states no ride-share use is allowed but then again who would want to Uber with a $100k+ car unless it's to show it off and for the novelty of it.
BTW, the EA contract specifically states no ride-share use is allowed but then again who would want to Uber with a $100k+ car unless it's to show it off and for the novelty of it.
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Depending how much one drives and where they live, it could make somewhat of a dent. I spend about $200 month on charging at home. Granted it's trivial for such an expensive car and the inconvenience of public charging.
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Exactly! The cost of driving to a charging station and waiting for a charge far outweigh the cost of charging at home. I don't know about you, but my time worth way more than $200/month for hunting for a free charge...
EA charging is especially beneficial to cross-country driving and to owners without home charging, e.g. owners in apartments/homes without EV charging capability.
How much you can save, though, depends on the cost of the service. For example, here in Alabama you are charged by the connect time, usually 32 cents per minute. Due to the 800-volt battery, I can charge in about 20 minutes (at 200+ kW rate), so it would be about $6.40.
In Florida, though, it’s 43 cents per kWh, so 54 kWh would cost $23.22. Huge difference, but still less than gas for ICE, especially at current record prices.
I do most of my charging at home for about $0.108 per kWh (off-peak discount of 20% on $0.13 per kWh base rate) for a cost of $5.82 for 54 kWh.
Owners with solar power pay nothing additional for home charging.
On the road, free charging is available at many hotels, either J-1772 or Tesla with one-time cost of Tesla-to-J-1772 adapter. These are slower, but you’re spending the night, so you’re fully charged in the morning for free. Unless, of course, some inconsiderate ICE driver blocks the charger.
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Again, how many cross-country trips are you going to take in the 3 year period? I doubt the savings you will achieve will be significant.
In my area (Dallas/Fort Worth) EA stations are purposefully and strategically located on the perimeters of the metroplex near interstates for those cross-country trips and not ideally near apartments or residential areas. I still stand by my opinion that the free EA program is a marketing gimmick, nothing more. It's meant to alleviate range anxiety for road trips but in reality it does nothing when the service is spotty and if you roll up at a station that doesn't work or has a long wait you're pretty much SOL as far as making your target time if you had one.
In my use case I'd like to drive the car to Austin, San Antonio, Houston, and OKC primarily for sporting events of my children which means I have a set time I have to get there generally so the uncertainty of one charge going bad is what gives me the anxiety not the cost I would incur on such trip. Until this is fixed, taking an EV on a road trip for me is an anxiety inducing event that no amount of free charging can eliminate.
I would also be curious on the take rate of apartment dwellers of the e-tron who have no home charging capabilities. I, for one, would never buy an EV if I didn't have a home charging option.
Also, if you can afford any of these cars, the cost of home charging should not be one of your worries. If it is you probably should not have bought the car in the first place.
In my area (Dallas/Fort Worth) EA stations are purposefully and strategically located on the perimeters of the metroplex near interstates for those cross-country trips and not ideally near apartments or residential areas. I still stand by my opinion that the free EA program is a marketing gimmick, nothing more. It's meant to alleviate range anxiety for road trips but in reality it does nothing when the service is spotty and if you roll up at a station that doesn't work or has a long wait you're pretty much SOL as far as making your target time if you had one.
In my use case I'd like to drive the car to Austin, San Antonio, Houston, and OKC primarily for sporting events of my children which means I have a set time I have to get there generally so the uncertainty of one charge going bad is what gives me the anxiety not the cost I would incur on such trip. Until this is fixed, taking an EV on a road trip for me is an anxiety inducing event that no amount of free charging can eliminate.
I would also be curious on the take rate of apartment dwellers of the e-tron who have no home charging capabilities. I, for one, would never buy an EV if I didn't have a home charging option.
Also, if you can afford any of these cars, the cost of home charging should not be one of your worries. If it is you probably should not have bought the car in the first place.
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