I wanted to post this as a example of how those on this forum (myself included), who I perceive to be early adopters, have a vision of using electric vehicles that is much different than that of, say, the average driver. My wife recently experienced driving from Amherst NS back to Fredericton NB this weekend. The trip is approximately 200 km and it took her over 4 hours. This was on a weekend where it was quite cold at -9C, very very windy and the average consumption on the Kona EV showed approximately 290 Watt hours per 100 km. A normal winter trip would require a short stop in the Moncton area to charge, and this day, all four dispensers in the greater metro area were fully in use. As a result, she had to wait for nearly a half an hour, at which point she could hook up to a 50 kW charger. Charging on a vehicle that doesn't have preconditioning, she saw 25 KW of power being dispensed until it eventually bumped up to 40 kW as the batttery warmed. She sat on the charger for nearly 50 minutes to get to a sufficient charge to make it back home because between Moncton and Fredericton there's only one or two charger dispensers, if you're lucky to find it available. This all said, mass adoption of EVs really requires both an understanding by the manufacturers that the average person don't want or need to be a Tech-head to know how to drive an EV, while at the same time having the proper charging infrastructure in place to permit people to travel in real-life (Canadian) conditions. My wife put up with the Kona for about 1.5 years, but is at the stage now where we're looking for a gas vehicle so that she can drive reliably in the winter or for longer distances if we don't use our Tesla MYLR. It's disheartening to say but with the sad state of affairs we are in in Canada, I question the future of electric vehicles in this country without the investment from both the auto manufacturers to build vehicles that are easily understood and usable by the average driver, in sufficient quantities, as well as those that are building the infrastructure that needs to be in place to allow and support future adoption. Years of low vehicle supply (maybe other than Tesla), new EV trucks and large battery cars stuck using limited, dated 50 kW infrastructure, and seeing no investment in the required Level 2 and DC infrastructure needed to make mass adoption possible, leave me pessimistic about this country ever reaching any climate change goals made two decades ago, much less reaching them by 2035. Perhaps it's different elsewhere, but on the East coast of Canada, things are pretty poor.
Thank you! I always prefer personal experience over hypotheticals: Using "Plugshare.com", this is how I would handle that trip in a Tesla with NACS, CCS-1, and J1772 charging: For that long stretch, I would leave the last charger with enough range to return. The goal being to watch the remaining range and when there is enough to return either take a chance the next charger will be operational or return. I notice there is a J1772 charger along the way so if there is a cold weather range challenge, I would "booster charge" there to maximize the range. It would also be my "safe return" charger. Today, there are adapters for CCS-1 cars that can also plug into many Tesla SuperChargers, not all but certainly the newer ones. Not shown, RV parks that often have NEMA 14-50 style chargers at the camp sites. Any port in a storm, I've used them in the early days of Tesla ownership when SuperChargers were sparse. Please understand I fully understand her decision and have no criticism. Rather, I wanted to share the trip planner I use, PlugShare, and the advantages of having adapters for every plug one might use including RV park, NEMA 14-50. She demonstrated excellent judgment. Bob Wilson
Thanks Bob, I get your point, and certainly plugshare is useful. She's been to all the DC plugs that exist along the highway, so in this case it wouldn't have helped. She left with 91% not 100% since she normally needed to charge and understood it was better to arrive at the charger with a bit lower SOC due to the slower charge rate approaching 80%. I did want to correct my consumption units... 290 wh/km in Tesla or 29 kw/100 km in Kona....
Well, first you are not wrong. Charging is not there yet. Second in that weather, well, in most weather, leaving with 100 percent is the right answer. You are not going to peak charge anyway, might was well start with the range. The real question is how much long trips are really a priority for you? Long trips are still, in the best of times, the weakness of EVs If long trips are a large part of your life, I can see how that is a problem, especially up north. If it is more or an occasional nuisance, I could not see going back to ICE For most people a couple times a year of a slower trips would be the cost, and the everyday ease would be the payoff
My own personal experience, WRT long trips and cannonball runs I have driven from the Boston area to: Kansas[1983] Virginia[1988 1991] Akron[1989] Atlanta[1996 1998] Ottowa[2000] Wisconsin[2004] Central PA[3 occasions] Erie PA [2015] I cannonballed kansas one way, atlanta one time one way Ottawa one way I of course did not have an EV for these, and all of them I was either towing something or driving for an event that I would not be taking my EV. But having done Lawrence KS to Boston in 25 hours, I can say I know what it means I would say, over 4 times highway range, it is an issue, but not, IMHO insurmountable, but it does add time, and that is undeniable. I mean the Ottawa run I would have to stop twice. In a new Hyundai, what 40 minutes KAnsas, yeah, 1550 miles. 6 stops, so it is adding something like 2 hours, but really only an hour+ over the vehicle I actually drove
Looks like things are set to improve in that particular region: EV Fast Charging by Nova Scotia Power| Nova Scotia Power 30 stalls @ 15 locations, CCS and NACS capable by end of 2025
