HelpMeEV

This page will feature some of the most common questions I get... and the best answers that can be provided. Many questions, however, have answers that vary based on HOW you're going to use the car. Charging and battery life fit into this category. Also, some questions don't yet HAVE answers because this is new technology and not all manufacturers have provided guidance on some items yet.

Q: How long do electric cars take to charge?
A: This is one of the most asked questions. And it's the most complicated to answer. Chargers come in a large variety of types and speed. For my Tesla, for example, the car CAN be plugged into a standard household lamp or appliance outlet. And it will take a LONG TIME to charge - roughly 4 miles of road range per one hour of clock time. But on the type of plug most owners have an electrician install - a 240V circuit - I get 31 miles of range per hour of clock time. At one of Tesla's branded superchargers, by contrast, I can get the first half of my battery range (about 150 miles) back in 8-15 minutes on older generation chargers, and now around 5 minutes for the same 150 miles of range. That's because this type of battery CAN be charged insanely fast on the low end of the battery, but as you fill the cells up, you need to slow the charge rate down. The remaining half the battery could take anywhere from 20 minutes to 60 minutes... all depending on what charger generation you're using. AND, other companies chargers can also be used to charge my car, but at rates between Tesla speeds and what I get at home.

Q: Where can you charge while on the road?
A: This answer changes over time, but the progress to get charging stations built has been increasing exponentially. In Tesla vehicles, the in-car system tells you right where they are... and even helps warn you that you BETTER stop at one when the car knows where you're going... and that you won't make it. But there are also several smartphone apps now that have the locations mapped out for you... some even including charging locations that are nothing more than people like me... making my plug available for travelers. It's a quickly growing community, and this will get better over time, but in my experience, it's already pretty easy to find a place to charge.

Q: How far can you drive? And does the rated mileage really mean you can go that far?
A: The first part depends on the car and version you have. EVs that are available in the US so far have rated mileage ranges of 90 miles to 375 miles. The second part of the question is where things get interesting. And heated, depending on who you're talking to. In the world of GASOLINE, we never worried about *miles* - we base how much fuel we have on measurements like FULL... 3/4... 1/2... 1/4 or EMPTY. EVs attempt to show ACTUAL drivable range, but the laws of phsics still apply. You always got worse gas mileage (total range) in the gasoline powered car when it was windy... or when you were driving uphill... or in extreme temperatures... you just didn't KNOW IT. In an EV, you'll see that displayed as a loss of range in real-time. Again, for comparison, I'll use numbers from my world in my Tesla Model 3. The car is RATED for 310 miles per full charge. That's with ideal conditions. The largest impact is COLD. In the winter, I get closer to 260 miles on a full charge. Driving on highways is actually worse (more wind resistance and faster speeds) and you get better range in city driving. If you sit in the car for 6 hours at a camp site, playing music and running the heat, of course you'll lose range... even though you haven't driven anywhere. But it's not a huge loss. Again, it's the same as your old car... you just didn't notice it.

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