EA is Improving

[momo3605]

Am at EA at Walmart Columbia MD. Two chargers were off line. Called them in and within minutes both were up and running.

I don't even know how to call them...And how much time does it take to call in, wait for the queue, and get your concerns answered?

 

[DeaneG]

I don't even know how to call them...And how much time does it take to call in, wait for the queue, and get your concerns answered?

EA's phone number is printed on the front of every charging station. I've never waited more than a minute or two to speak to someone, over a total of 5-10 calls in total.

 

[momo3605]

EA's phone number is printed on the front of every charging station. I've never waited more than a minute or two to speak to someone, over a total of 5-10 calls in total.

hmm ok, maybe one of these days i'll take one for the team and call in all the broken EA chargers around me.

 

[Bobby]

hmm ok, maybe one of these days i'll take one for the team and call in all the broken EA chargers around me.

You can also report broken chargers directly in their app.

 

[DeaneG]

It's important to report bad chargers to EA. Their monitoring infrastructure can't see all possible issues - those with a broken screen or broken handle, or ever power limited stations in some cases.

 

[Cosmo Cruz]

Thanks to those calling in to report broken EA chargers.

Was at my local place last week (which has always been reliable) = only 2 chargers working and 4 people waiting. Left.

Went last night: charger bays full, all chargers working. Two EV owners not functioning: . Watched Volt back out of 150 kW charger bay (the ChargeMo 50kW was empty!) part way, blocking access to two chargers... then a Mustang that was connected to end charger unhooks and does a 14-point "turn" to get into the vacated Volt spot. His charge port is now on the wrong side, so he drags the cable over the (new) car. I move into his vacated spot, hook-up, and pull 206 kW (from a 150 EA charger). I loaded 150 miles in 10 min. ... The guy in the mustang then unhooks and pulls in front of me, and stops with his headlights pointing directly at me?

I don't know about EV owners. Are they all stupid ?

I'm thinking I need to make a placard to post at my local chargers explaining how this works. I think this is something the EV industry has overlooked: everyone assumes they know how to charge an EV.

... obviously not.

 

[pjdcorp]

Thanks to those calling in to report broken EA chargers.

Was at my local place last week (which has always been reliable) = only 2 chargers working and 4 people waiting. Left.

Went last night: charger bays full, all chargers working. Two EV owners not functioning: . Watched Volt back out of 150 kW charger bay (the ChargeMo 50kW was empty!) part way, blocking access to two chargers... then a Mustang that was connected to end charger unhooks and does a 14-point "turn" to get into the vacated Volt spot. His charge port is now on the wrong side, so he drags the cable over the (new) car. I move into his vacated spot, hook-up, and pull 206 kW (from a 150 EA charger). I loaded 150 miles in 10 min. ... The guy in the mustang then unhooks and pulls in front of me, and stops with his headlights pointing directly at me?

I don't know about EV owners. Are they all stupid ?

I'm thinking I need to make a placard to post at my local chargers explaining how this works. I think this is something the EV industry has overlooked: everyone assumes they know how to charge an EV.

... obviously not.

We could fill a whole separate site with all the aggravating, frustrating & yes, even sometimes funny things that happen while trying to charge. As the famous man once said, "This too shall pass".
Hopefully soon.

 

[scal_air]

Honestly, there should be a uniform, well thought out layout to chargers that includes a “next in line” spot. Kinda like two stalls per charger either side by side or 180 degrees .

 

[hydbob]

Honestly, there should be a uniform, well thought out layout to chargers that includes a “next in line” spot. Kinda like two stalls per charger either side by side or 180 degrees .

This is ideally a wonderful idea, but in areas with limited real estate, totally and completely unrealistic

 

[Cosmo Cruz]

Hummm ... thinking I will make up a sign for my local site... see what happens. We can't be the first ones to think of this. Wonder what is happening on the other EV owner sites ? Has someone already made an instruction placard ?

Just spitballing some ideas here:

INSTRUCTIONS FOR CHARGING YOUR EV

1. move out of your spot and let the Lucid in
2. watch what they do

 

[Negan1000]

Thanks to those calling in to report broken EA chargers.

Was at my local place last week (which has always been reliable) = only 2 chargers working and 4 people waiting. Left.

Went last night: charger bays full, all chargers working. Two EV owners not functioning: . Watched Volt back out of 150 kW charger bay (the ChargeMo 50kW was empty!) part way, blocking access to two chargers... then a Mustang that was connected to end charger unhooks and does a 14-point "turn" to get into the vacated Volt spot. His charge port is now on the wrong side, so he drags the cable over the (new) car. I move into his vacated spot, hook-up, and pull 206 kW (from a 150 EA charger). I loaded 150 miles in 10 min. ... The guy in the mustang then unhooks and pulls in front of me, and stops with his headlights pointing directly at me?

I don't know about EV owners. Are they all stupid ?

I'm thinking I need to make a placard to post at my local chargers explaining how this works. I think this is something the EV industry has overlooked: everyone assumes they know how to charge an EV.

... obviously not.

The other day I saw someone blocking a charger while using the charger from the next spot. He pulled in without thinking about where his charger port is relative to the charger or was too lazy to back into the correct spot. This tends to happen at chargers stations that are space limited like banks. ,

 

[DeaneG]

A short article on EA's progress in 2023 and path forward:

Infographic Shows What Electrify America Did In 2023 - CleanTechnica

Sign up for daily news updates from CleanTechnica on email. Or follow us on Google News! Electrify America is a bit of a two-edged sword. For non-Tesla EVs, the company’s chargers have enabled many people to be able to consider an EV at all, and road that were highly impractical ... [continued]

cleantechnica.com

 

[hydbob]

A short article on EA's progress in 2023 and path forward:

Infographic Shows What Electrify America Did In 2023 - CleanTechnica

Sign up for daily news updates from CleanTechnica on email. Or follow us on Google News! Electrify America is a bit of a two-edged sword. For non-Tesla EVs, the company’s chargers have enabled many people to be able to consider an EV at all, and road that were highly impractical ... [continued]

cleantechnica.com

I don't believe them.

 

[Lucken]

I don't believe them.

But but but, why would they lie?

 

[Daniel2022AT]

I have been having good results at a newer EA location in Michigan City, IN. Pulling 245 KW from my Touring starting at 18% SOC. Added 40 kWH in 14 minutes. That’s 170 KW average. All of this at 15F temp. 45 min preconditioning. Not bad.

 

[victoryroad]

EA is improving, but that is not necessarily saying much. It does not have enough locations along Interstates or any at all in many secondary cities and remote recreational areas. As I mentioned in another post there are zero EA locations in WV so my drive East will have to detour south rather than proceeding due east to VA adding another hundred miles or so to the trip. (Thank you ABRP for routing that will bring me closer to EA charging stations.) I doubt if EA has the network effect or scale to be profitable, but at 48 cents a kWh, it will coin money if it achieves scale and reliability. However, such a high charging cost significantly reduces the efficiency advantage of EV's over ICE vehicles. The fact is that those of us with the range of Airs can drive cross country or into remote areas with more confidence than the other EV owners or potential owners who are limited in their range. The relative dearth of fast charging stations, except perhaps in CA, will continue to inhibit the adoption of EVs. Moreover, if the price of gasoline goes down further, which given our productive capacity it may well do, EVs start to look as expensive as they did a few years ago.

 

[momo3605]

I have been having good results at a newer EA location in Michigan City, IN. Pulling 245 KW from my Touring starting at 18% SOC. Added 40 kWH in 14 minutes. That’s 170 KW average. All of this at 15F temp. 45 min preconditioning. Not bad.

Dang 45 minutes of preconditioning?? I get that it was very cold outside, but any idea how much time these cars take the precondition in more normal conditions? Usually I have about 10 minutes to precondition on my way to my nearest EA station but I get pretty low speeds from the start. Like maybe in the ~120kw range at 40%

 

[Negan1000]

Dang 45 minutes of preconditioning?? I get that it was very cold outside, but any idea how much time these cars take the precondition in more normal conditions? Usually I have about 10 minutes to precondition on my way to my nearest EA station but I get pretty low speeds from the start. Like maybe in the ~120kw range at 40%

I get much higher charging with preconditioning. Lucid starts preconditioning around 50 minutes on my trips in 50 temp. It would be great to be able to start preconditioning from the app for local charging.

 

[scal_air]

EA is improving, but that is not necessarily saying much. It does not have enough locations along Interstates or any at all in many secondary cities and remote recreational areas. As I mentioned in another post there are zero EA locations in WV so my drive East will have to detour south rather than proceeding due east to VA adding another hundred miles or so to the trip. (Thank you ABRP for routing that will bring me closer to EA charging stations.) I doubt if EA has the network effect or scale to be profitable, but at 48 cents a kWh, it will coin money if it achieves scale and reliability. However, such a high charging cost significantly reduces the efficiency advantage of EV's over ICE vehicles. The fact is that those of us with the range of Airs can drive cross country or into remote areas with more confidence than the other EV owners or potential owners who are limited in their range. The relative dearth of fast charging stations, except perhaps in CA, will continue to inhibit the adoption of EVs. Moreover, if the price of gasoline goes down further, which given our productive capacity it may well do, EVs start to look as expensive as they did a few years ago.

Yeah it really is a bit circular. EA wants to place charging stations in areas that already have a good volume of EVs - and WV isn't one of them. But without the availability of stations, it discourages the purchase of EVs. However, charging stations are not exactly analogous to gas stations so we will never have the same density of EV chargers. Most people charge at home at a considerably lower electrical cost so charging stations are mostly for longer trips. However even at $0.48 per kWh, the cost to "fill" even for 10 to 100% capacity is around $45. A Mercedes S Class has a 22 gallon tank. How low does premium gas have to go down to make it comparable?

 

[Daniel2022AT]

Dang 45 minutes of preconditioning?? I get that it was very cold outside, but any idea how much time these cars take the precondition in more normal conditions? Usually I have about 10 minutes to precondition on my way to my nearest EA station but I get pretty low speeds from the start. Like maybe in the ~120kw range at 40%

The vehicle preconditions 45 minutes before a charging stop automatically.