What I wish I knew about Electric Vehicles before buying one

I did the work on this people! I had a running cost-benefit analysis, that I updated as new electric cars became available, so I’d know the right time to take the plunge. I watched videos and read tons of articles and reviews, learning about each feature and how they compared. I researched home chargers for my daily use and poured over maps to ensure that I’d have what I needed for trips. For the average daily commute, EV’s are quite predictable and it’s been a dream, but I’m on the road three weekends a month. That’s gotta work too, and fast charge speeds are more complex than most people realize. Here’s what I missed.

Not mine, but hot!

Maximum Fast Charge Rate

What completely blindsided me, is that each vehicle has a maximum charge rate, and the fastest advertised speeds at any EV charging station are only attainable with the most expensive models, rarely from American manufacturers. The Ford F-150 Lighting sits in the middle of the road with a 150 kW charging rate (although myself and others have reported as high as 160 kW). I had a bit of frustration with this discovery, and even more when I learned that many chargers won’t ever each their advertised charge rate. However, I feel much more sympathy for some of the more inexpensive EVs like the early Chevy Bolts and Nissan Leaf’s that maxed out in the mid-50s. That would not work with my lifestyle, and I would have had to sell at a loss promptly! So, hey I guess it’s not so bad then after all. Oh, and if you are curious, the Cybertruck and the Lightning get about the same charge rate.

Charge Rate Curve

Batteries are precious things that need to be treated properly to ensure safety and longevity. Your vehicle knows this and ramps up and down the charge rate based how full the battery is. The sweet spot is between 15% and 80%, my F-150 Lightning drops to around 40 kW at the very moment that it reaches 80% charge, and they all drop to rates comparable with some home chargers past 90%. At that point it makes little sense to use a fast charger at all as it’s taking more time to put the miles on than it will to burn them off.

I had learned this from watching intently as my OneWheel charged over the years, but I had been overly optimistic and not considered the full ramifications of the charge rate curve in a full blown, electric vehicle road trip. If I want the fastest charge, I need to stay in the sweet spot, and that means significantly fewer miles between charges, cutting my effective range by 35% (some of which would have been kept in reserve anyway). I can still get to where I need to go, however I need to do more frequent, quicker stops than I had originally thought to be efficient with my time.

Maximum Fast Charge Level

A typical fast charge will stop at 90%, and it took me over a year to figure out that you can change this in your vehicle settings, because I never really wanted to due to the abysmal charge rate. In order to keep chargers available, people need to be using the network most efficiently, and that means encouraging people to move on when things slow down. The vehicle manufacturers do this by setting the default to 90%, while your fellow EV drivers will do it with dirty looks and occasional confrontations. I recently rolled up on the sight of two of four fast chargers crawling at 11 kW with the owners trying to get to 100% and it was a tense situation for sure with those waiting for a turn!

Ironically, if you are home charging to 100%, the effective daily range for EVs is farther than when you might need it on a trip. However if you want to help protect the life of your battery, you shouldn’t spend a lot of time sitting around at 100% anyway, so I’ve taken the step to limit my level at home too, and only reach 100% the night before a long drive. For my friends out there on leases, you don’t need to worry about what your battery life will be like in ten years, so charge it like you stole it! I’m trying to keep this one rolling until retirement.

Mine, and hotter!

How does this change trip planning?

The Lightning was true to it’s advertised range of 230 miles on day one. Adding the Go Fast Camper, loading it down a bit, and over a year of use have given it about a 30 mile haircut. But with what I’ve learned about how fast charging actually works I only plan about 150 miles between stops now. The thing is, I’d probably stop anyway for one thing or another. If you plan it right, it won’t take much longer, but if you get it wrong: it can get out of control and drag your day on much longer than you’d like. It’s good that I also use the Go Fast Camper, and hotel charging to my advantage, so I can start a lot of days at 100% before touching a fast charger.

If you are considering moving to an electric vehicle, make sure you account for this in your planning: assume an 80% recharge capacity when you are away from home, and make sure you buy the one with the effective range that you need to make the best use of your charge time.