DCFC. How important to current EV owners?

[timbop]

No, not at all. It all depends on the usage pattern. In my case, 95% of the time I will charge at home, so having potential inconveniences during the other 5% isn't so bad. I also live in NJ, and the east coast generally has pretty good coverage. It sounds like you plan to do frequent long trips in areas with spotty to nonexistent coverage. You're being stranded while driving through there isn't going to make anyone put in DCFC chargers; what will do that is more people living there buying BEV's.

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[dbsb3233]

No, not at all. It all depends on the usage pattern. In my case, 95% of the time I will charge at home, so having potential inconveniences during the other 5% isn't so bad.

And that's going to be the general pattern for 95%+ of BEV buyers (with current BEV capabilities). He's clearly a rare exception, doing all of his charging at retail charging stations. The vast majority will do most of their charging at home (or work/school, etc), as the responses to this thread are reinforcing.

That means retail chargers will never grow anywhere close to being as large as the gas station network, because there will never be that much demand. 100% of refueling of ICE vehicles takes place at gas stations. While maybe only 5% of refueling of BEVs takes place at retail chargers.

Working in the opposite direction, though, is the fact it takes way longer to do a charge than a gas refuel. One gas pump can serve upwards of 10-20 customers an hour, while a charger serves maybe 2. So it takes multiples to match even one gas pump.

 

[timbop]

That means retail chargers will never grow anywhere close to being as large as the gas station network, because there will never be that much demand. 100% of refueling of ICE vehicles takes place at gas stations. While maybe only 5% of refueling of BEVs takes place at retail chargers.

Working in the opposite direction, though, is the fact it takes way longer to do a charge than a gas refuel. One gas pump can serve upwards of 10-20 customers an hour, while a charger serves maybe 2. So it takes multiples to match even one gas pump.

100% agree. The result of that fact also leads to unsubsidized-by-the-manufacturer DCFC charging being much more expensive than retail electricity rates, and even more than gas costs with an ICE - at least for the next few years. As BEV's take over the market eventually that 5% of BEV charging case may amount to a significant enough usage of DCFC to drop the prices some, but that won't be for a while. The initial investment costs of the infrastructure are just too high relative to the revenues from charging. Ultimately I don't think the solution is to saturate the market with charging stations, but rather longer range and faster charge rates. Of course, current charging deserts like the Dakotas, Wyoming, and Montana will have to be filled in somewhat.

 

[Kamuelaflyer]

Just out of curiosity @Mach-MI , were you on the rapidly vanishing (maybe gone by now) "free" supercharging program? If so that made a big difference as well in comparisons.

While Mach-mi might be somewhat different than the norm on this forum, I do not think it's a terribly rare use profile even if it might be in the minority of users. With the Tesla being an only vehicle in the household, it has to fulfill every need, as would any replacement.

 

[timbop]

yikes. better thee than me

 

[ClaudeMach-E]

Same, I rarely use a DCFC, but I would not own a car without one. I would even require it on a plug-in hybrid. my$.02... it would be hard to sell it used w/o it. Every Nubbie thinks they will use iDCFC all the time.

To my knowledge only the Outlander PHEV has Chademo DCFC, all the others I looked at had only the J1772

 

[ajmartineau]

A good reason not to buy a PHEV (Other than the bmw I3rex). Also wouldn’t buy one with less than 50 miles of range.
I guess that’s why the MME will be replacing my last ICE. Now my 1st world problem is keeping 3 BEVs charged.

 

[dbsb3233]

..
Or they're moving out.

 

[ChasingCoral]

I have observed a lot of discussion and concern regarding DC fast charging and it got me wondering how many current EV owners are worried about the DC charging capabilities and infrastructure. I admit I was worried about charging capabilities before I bought my EV but now that I have owned one for 18 months....DCFC isnt really a concern for me any longer. I am glad my car has the capability but I rarely use it. It is nice to have and I wouldn't buy an EV without the capability but otherwise it is a non issue to me. Am I in the minority here? For those of you that currently drive an EV.....how often do you fast charge and how important is charging speed and curve rates etc?

I put 40,000 miles on my EV in 18 months and I maybe used DCFC about 4 or 5 times. How about you guys? How often do you really fast charge your EV?

My use of DCFCs is similar, maybe 6 times in 2 years and ~30K miles.

 

[William]

This is my first year with a BEV. I'm retired so don't need a daily commute. I have taken 4 400 mile trips and have used DCFC (L3)on all of them (EA, GL, EG, CP). I use L1 at both winter and summer residences, just plug it in and set it to charge to 90% all the time except 100% prior to my 4 longer trips. I generally try to charge to 80% after 200 miles to allow for plan B if the charger in plan A doesn't work(It always has). I average about 68 mph and get about 3.3 m/KWh. I'm 83 and used to an ICE. Range anxiety was an issue until I took a couple of long trips and found that with a little planning it was fun to travel and I no longer fear for running out of KWhs.

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