Great perspective! I wasn't aware that the size of the battery in the Tesla contributed to the fast charging times. Luckily I was able to install a 240 line for a level 2 charger in my driveway with a little help from my dad. The biggest expense was the portable level 2 charger $275 and then for the wire which was another $100 or so. The rest of the costs were less than $75. So we managed to get in under $500 for the whole thing.
100% agree with you. I’ve had my bolt for 2.5 yrs. 30k miles. Level 1 charging at home almost always charged by the next day commute is about 40 miles. Always charge to 80%. If on call or diving back and forth to hospital multiple times in a day I will also charge at work while there throughout the day. Other than road trips probably use the dc fast charger 3 or 4 times over 2.5 yrs. I will say charging at 12 amps and at work when needed, especially in the Winter makes all the difference. I hadn’t don’t the math regarding the level 2 charger and 40k miles. That’s interesting! I agree with you on the bolt efficiency. I can drive it like a dirt bike if I want and still get 90-100 mpge at worst. And can get 200 mpge if I hypermile it. For the me, the whole point of electric is efficiency. When you start looking at luxury cars and trucks these are going to realistically get about 50-60 mpge over time for most. And while better than ICE versions still not that efficient. I think the bolt will go down as one of the best EVs ever!
It's funny you mention this now since I made two recent videos on the topic of Level 1 charging and I fully agree. One was based on a Level 1 charger I spied at our local airport in Muskegon, Michigan. I mean, what a great use case. Who cares how long it takes to charge when you're gone for multiple days. https://youtu.be/wrjZc1XYuGU
Then I had to use Level 1 charging when visiting relatives over the holidays in Phoenix. Again, we were hanging out for multiple days without driving, so the car happily charged away while we were doing family stuff. https://youtu.be/OI8V8VHX4sM
Karl, I just subscribed to your YouTube channel. I love your videos! They're great! I've never seen a public level one charger, but the use case at the airport is perfect. The cost to install a bunch of level one chargers at the airport would be relatively low. Furthermore, the energy cost would be low as even while plugged in, many would stop charging because they're full. Eventually, it will make sense just to bake the power cost into the parking cost because we'll all be charging! I'd never seen those courtesy hangers. Where did you get them? I want one!
Great perspective! I wasn't aware that the size of the battery in the Tesla contributed to the fast charging times. Luckily I was able to install a 240 line for a level 2 charger in my driveway with a little help from my dad. The biggest expense was the portable level 2 charger $275 and then for the wire which was another $100 or so. The rest of the costs were less than $75. So we managed to get in under $500 for the whole thing.
Wow! We'd love to learn more about how you pulled that off!!! That is wonderful!!!
100% agree with you. I’ve had my bolt for 2.5 yrs. 30k miles. Level 1 charging at home almost always charged by the next day commute is about 40 miles. Always charge to 80%. If on call or diving back and forth to hospital multiple times in a day I will also charge at work while there throughout the day. Other than road trips probably use the dc fast charger 3 or 4 times over 2.5 yrs. I will say charging at 12 amps and at work when needed, especially in the Winter makes all the difference. I hadn’t don’t the math regarding the level 2 charger and 40k miles. That’s interesting! I agree with you on the bolt efficiency. I can drive it like a dirt bike if I want and still get 90-100 mpge at worst. And can get 200 mpge if I hypermile it. For the me, the whole point of electric is efficiency. When you start looking at luxury cars and trucks these are going to realistically get about 50-60 mpge over time for most. And while better than ICE versions still not that efficient. I think the bolt will go down as one of the best EVs ever!
Totally agree! We love our Bolt and were not surprised to see Chevy reverse the decision to stop making them.
It's funny you mention this now since I made two recent videos on the topic of Level 1 charging and I fully agree. One was based on a Level 1 charger I spied at our local airport in Muskegon, Michigan. I mean, what a great use case. Who cares how long it takes to charge when you're gone for multiple days. https://youtu.be/wrjZc1XYuGU
Then I had to use Level 1 charging when visiting relatives over the holidays in Phoenix. Again, we were hanging out for multiple days without driving, so the car happily charged away while we were doing family stuff. https://youtu.be/OI8V8VHX4sM
Never underestimate Level 1 charging!
Karl, I just subscribed to your YouTube channel. I love your videos! They're great! I've never seen a public level one charger, but the use case at the airport is perfect. The cost to install a bunch of level one chargers at the airport would be relatively low. Furthermore, the energy cost would be low as even while plugged in, many would stop charging because they're full. Eventually, it will make sense just to bake the power cost into the parking cost because we'll all be charging! I'd never seen those courtesy hangers. Where did you get them? I want one!
Hi Devin,
Great insights as always! I'm loving your videos as well.
I first got the EV charging hang tags on an Etsy store and they still have them: https://www.etsy.com/shop/TakeChargeandGo?ref=simple-shop-header-name&listing_id=291549389
I now work for Michigan electric utility Consumers Energy in EV education and outreach, so I had our team develop our own.
Send me an email at my work address with a mailing address and I'll get some in the mail to you: karl.bloss@cmsenergy.com
BTW, my company car is a 2019 Bolt EV. So I can relate to Bolt issues. :-)
Karl, you're so kind! Thank you so much!