EV Owners Not Happy With Home Charging, Either

[milepost1]

I believe the decrease is real simply because the reason stated is obvious and the real garbage part is taking the headline in a vacuum as most places will present it. People aren't unhappy with home charging, they are unhappy with increased energy costs. But that isn't exciting or click-bait worthy, so you say that EV owners aren't happy with home charging and get attention.

I absolutely believe that there are those with EVs that see increased electric bills and have concerns, I am not saying nobody is maybe a bit more discouraged, but it isn't the act of home charging that is their issue. Also I bet if those people went back to paying for gas they would quickly remember why a bit of electric cost is worth it. The time/value of not driving to a gas station alone covers it for me.

This just feels like those articles that blamed millennials for killing some restaurant or whatever, and leaving out the part where other age demographics were also not going there as much because they increased their prices and lowered quality. But that isn't as grabby of a headline.

I think most ICE drivers are unhappy with filling up at gas station due to rising cost of gas. I saw on the news that probably more than 1/2 of ice drivers were unhappy about filling up due to rising energy cost. Some reason quoted "gas is just to expensive", "it is costing over $100 to fill up","I can't afford these prices"

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[Vulnox]

I think most ICE drivers are unhappy with filling up at gas station due to rising cost of gas. I saw on the news that probably more than 1/2 of ice drivers were unhappy about filling up due to rising energy cost. Some reason quoted "gas is just to expensive", "it is costing over $100 to fill up","I can't afford these prices"

Oh yeah, as shown in my profile our other vehicle is an F-150. While it's the hybrid so it does a bit better than most half tons, and even many mid-size SUVs, it still has a 30 gallon tank. If I let it get low enough it's $100 easy. Although our actual electric bill is much lower now since we have solar, before solar our electric bill for an entire month would be $125-150, and that included charging an EV. Only maybe $20 of that was ever the EV. So our bill on electric would certainly be lower, but there are few ICE vehicles out there where our energy bill for the vehicle itself would be lower than that $20 in electricity. Would need something getting about 100 MPG reliably.

 

[Bmr4MachE]

People complaining about charge speeds at home are just showing they did zero research into it before making a very large purchase. I consider those opinions worthless.

 

[Jppumper]

Since I upgraded to a Grizzl E charger I have had no problems. For the price of the car, one would think that Ford would include a decent charger.

 

[miguelcastro67]

https://www.kbb.com/car-news/study-ev-owners-not-happy-with-home-charging-either/

I don’t necessarily agree with the study since overall I am just fine with my home charging. YMMV.

As an I

 

[FordFamily]

At home I use a 2013 Leviton L2 3.8 kWH 16A. Originally purchased for an early 2013 C-Max. Nice car but as a first year it had multiple problems with literally every system. Now I have the August 2022 MME.

I am able to calculate the increased cost of charging an EV at home. <$9/month.

I have a timed usage meter, Portland, Oregon. $0.041 per KWH off-peak (10 p.m. to 6:00 a.m.) In 2019 usage off-peak went up from ~300 kwh to average 500kWH/month. That is when I leased the Nissan Leaf. Recently with the Mustang Mach-e there is no change. I typically charge 2 -3 nights/week to keep the battery at 85%.

Oregon sources of electricity in 2020: 40% Hydro, 27% coal (phasing out), 21% natural gas, 7% wind, 3.5% nuclear. (My local supplier Portland General Electric may produce slightly different ratios)

Just for comparison, on-peak is $0.124/kwh. Really inexpensive here!

I guestimate gasoline costs for an ICE (2005 Escape Hybrid, yup, 207,000 miles) were it the primary vehicle (1-1.5K/month) currently would be $80-120/month.

 

[Woeo]

I'm really unsure why charging speed would matter if you are filling up your car overnight.

"Dang it, my car finished charging at 4 a.m. instead of 3 a.m.!!!"

Sometimes one needs to leave at 3. Don’t destroy the good work you do by making other rash comments.

 

[RagingDork]

I agree PG&E sucks but what does that have to do with my juicebox?

 

[SolarAB]

I'm unhappy with home charging because my Mustang refuses to charge at 40 amps. I had to drop my Grizzl-e to 32 amps to make it work. Ford says it's not their problem. My friend can charge his Bolt at my garage using the 40 amp setting with no issues. This changed for the Mustang after one of their software updates, after about a year of ownership.

 

[Guss-E 2021]

I like having the outlet, which maxes at 50A circuit. In case of equipment failure, I'm swapping to a mobile charger or replacement unit within just a few seconds.
Sure, you can open the junction box and replace a hardwired connection yourself, but its a lot more effort and risk of doing it correctly. My EVSE is an appliance, not a permanent fixture.

Totally valid point.

In that case, make sure if you have to run wire that they run wire to support 60amps for "the future", if the cost differential is tiiny.

This is just the conversation I was looking for . I just installed a Homeflex but have it plugged into a NEMA 14-50 on a 50 amp. Like @bshaw, I wanted the quick option to use the FMC in the event the Homeflex fails.

But I agree with Rick on future proofing and may upgrade to a 60 amp even if I don't utilize it right away.

 

[4sallypat]

I think most ICE drivers are unhappy with filling up at gas station due to rising cost of gas. I saw on the news that probably more than 1/2 of ice drivers were unhappy about filling up due to rising energy cost. Some reason quoted "gas is just to expensive", "it is costing over $100 to fill up","I can't afford these prices"

8 months later, 8000 miles on the odo, my Ford EV has saved me over $1600 in fuel costs.

So Calif fuel prices are the highest in the country - $5 - $6/gallon.

Compared to what I have been paying at home and on the road, EV is still way cheaper ($90/month).

 

[jsteach]

I'm unhappy with home charging because my Mustang refuses to charge at 40 amps. I had to drop my Grizzl-e to 32 amps to make it work. Ford says it's not their problem. My friend can charge his Bolt at my garage using the 40 amp setting with no issues. This changed for the Mustang after one of their software updates, after about a year of ownership.

I had the same issue, took a week or so to figure it out. Set you charger to the higher amps and pull up a chair and watch it charge!! It rook five to 10 minutes for the charge port to overheat and blue flashing lights turned to red , only lasting a few seconds. With photo in hand returned to dealer. The replaced the charge port a week later. ASK Mach-Lee to check for codes.

 

[Blinkin]

I had the same issue, took a week or so to figure it out. Set you charger to the higher amps and pull up a chair and watch it charge!! It rook five to 10 minutes for the charge port to overheat and blue flashing lights turned to red , only lasting a few seconds. With photo in hand returned to dealer. The replaced the charge port a week later. ASK Mach-Lee to check for codes.

We're going through this too, with our 2021 Premium AWD ER. I made a service appointment for it. 32 Amp isn't a bad workaround for the time being - even with a long commute, we're still fully recharging overnight.

 

[SolarAB]

I had the same issue, took a week or so to figure it out. Set you charger to the higher amps and pull up a chair and watch it charge!! It rook five to 10 minutes for the charge port to overheat and blue flashing lights turned to red , only lasting a few seconds. With photo in hand returned to dealer. The replaced the charge port a week later. ASK Mach-Lee to check for codes.

My dealer refuses to fix the issue, saying they can't duplicate the problem. Of course, they don't have a 40 amp charger.

 

[JamesStew71]

Wow look at Grizzl-E at the top of the pack right underneath Tesla!

I purchased the grizzle-e, we have used it for a year almost. Had the dip switches set at 32 . charges from 11pm to 4 am 1/2 times a week depending on wifes adventures.

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