Free Charging

[Sandvinsd]

I'm 50/50 when it comes to free charging offerings. We never got given 3 years of free gas when buying an ICE vehicle but the perception seems to be "I've got an EV and charging should be free". It has the potential to clog up car chargers for those people who

A) don't want to pay to install an outlet at home
B) don't want to pay charging at home

Some people don't have the luxury to charge at home whether they be in an apartment or rental etc. so I get that but when I go to the Walmart down the road and see all the chargers full constantly with a majority of brands that are offering free charging I do question whether they're using it to avoid paying at home. With the limitation of chargers it could be driving unnecessary traffic to chargers and making others who legitimately need it wait.

The car companies are weaning customers off the free charging. Nissan had two years free, now is just a $250 credit which won’t go far. They needed to do that to get people in the doors, but now demand is there so they can back off the promotions.

 

[hydbob]

I'm 50/50 when it comes to free charging offerings. We never got given 3 years of free gas when buying an ICE vehicle but the perception seems to be "I've got an EV and charging should be free". It has the potential to clog up car chargers for those people who

A) don't want to pay to install an outlet at home
B) don't want to pay charging at home

Some people don't have the luxury to charge at home whether they be in an apartment or rental etc. so I get that but when I go to the Walmart down the road and see all the chargers full constantly with a majority of brands that are offering free charging I do question whether they're using it to avoid paying at home. With the limitation of chargers it could be driving unnecessary traffic to chargers and making others who legitimately need it wait.

It's just a way to push ev adoption while giving companies more money to build out infrastructure and then turn charging into a profitable revenue stream all off our tax dollars while we bear the brunt of the cost. Next will be government subsidies to enhance the grids so that they can support this new strain on the grid. It's all working as intended.

 

[Tesla2.0]

I'm 50/50 when it comes to free charging offerings. We never got given 3 years of free gas when buying an ICE vehicle but the perception seems to be "I've got an EV and charging should be free". It has the potential to clog up car chargers for those people who

A) don't want to pay to install an outlet at home
B) don't want to pay charging at home

Some people don't have the luxury to charge at home whether they be in an apartment or rental etc. so I get that but when I go to the Walmart down the road and see all the chargers full constantly with a majority of brands that are offering free charging I do question whether they're using it to avoid paying at home. With the limitation of chargers it could be driving unnecessary traffic to chargers and making others who legitimately need it wait.

I like to talk other brands’ EV owners at EA station. There are significant number do want to come to station to capitalize their free 2 years EA despite also installed charger at home. “Why?” “Backup use for emergency only when EA is full.” Or “I’ll use it once I ran out complimentary EA offer.” Etc.

 

[Steveinarizona]

They just opened an EA charger (150, not 350) 5 minutes from my office, so I might use it. But I do plan to plugin nightly at home...

Yes. I plan to use EA only periodically to give me a quick boost and then finish off at home.

As to the idle fees, I actually like them and approve of them. Folks sitting at a charger that has finished is like folks sitting at a gas station pump blocking it from others.

 

[dawktah LucidGT]

Yes. I plan to use EA only periodically to give me a quick boost and then finish off at home.

As to the idle fees, I actually like them and approve of them. Folks sitting at a charger that has finished is like folks sitting at a gas station pump blocking it from others.

I'll never forget, I was waiting for an e85 pump driver came to door with a fountain drink saw me waiting turned around and went back in. Came out after I moved to the other side where there was the only other e85 pump after that driver left.

 

[LCIDdreams]

I'm 50/50 when it comes to free charging offerings. We never got given 3 years of free gas when buying an ICE vehicle but the perception seems to be "I've got an EV and charging should be free". It has the potential to clog up car chargers for those people who

A) don't want to pay to install an outlet at home
B) don't want to pay charging at home

Some people don't have the luxury to charge at home whether they be in an apartment or rental etc. so I get that but when I go to the Walmart down the road and see all the chargers full constantly with a majority of brands that are offering free charging I do question whether they're using it to avoid paying at home. With the limitation of chargers it could be driving unnecessary traffic to chargers and making others who legitimately need it wait.

I would probably prefer that Lucid not have the free charging offer, but just discounted the car price accordingly (it’s not really “free” after all- Lucid’s costs for the EA charging are being covered by vehicle sales). “Put your preorder in before 12/31 and receive an $x early bird discount”

 

[rbbarry]

I would probably prefer that Lucid not have the free charging offer, but just discounted the car price accordingly (it’s not really “free” after all- Lucid’s costs for the EA charging are being covered by vehicle sales). “Put your preorder in before 12/31 and receive an $x early bird discount”

We kind of did, they raised their prices a month ago...

 

[Jeanwoodie]

I’m interested in any experience getting full range charging. Using EA 350 watt chargers and setting battery charging level to “Distance” I get to 505 miles with charger displaying 99% and staying at 99% for as long as I have the nerve to allow. Vehicle still recording around 13 KW input but mileage stays at 505 and charger does not stop charging.
Does anyone have similar experience or had anyone actually done a full charge to 100% of “Distance” setting? If so what was the indicated range and did the charger stop without intervention?

 

[dawktah LucidGT]

I’m interested in any experience getting full range charging. Using EA 350 watt chargers and setting battery charging level to “Distance” I get to 505 miles with charger displaying 99% and staying at 99% for as long as I have the nerve to allow. Vehicle still recording around 13 KW input but mileage stays at 505 and charger does not stop charging.
Does anyone have similar experience or had anyone actually done a full charge to 100% of “Distance” setting? If so what was the indicated range and did the charger stop without intervention?

I received 100% at EA in Bishop, CA. I was minutes from getting a idle charge. Went shopping in that little grocery store after eating brunch at Denny's. Didn't pay attention to miles.

 

[Jeanwoodie]

Thanks,
Were you set at distance or the 80% range ie about 404 miles. If at the 80% range, charger will shut down showing 100% ie 100% of the 80%.
My concern, of which I’ve alerted Lucid Service; is if I set “Distance” and then leave for lunch or whatever and if the charger keeps pumping in energy without shutting down, does this have the potential for a thermal overload event?

 

[DeaneG]

...My concern, of which I’ve alerted Lucid Service; is if I set “Distance” and then leave for lunch or whatever and if the charger keeps pumping in energy without shutting down, does this have the potential for a thermal overload event?

The car controls the charging. The charger can only add energy to the car if the car allows it, and the car's battery management system will terminate the charge at the right time.

 

[DeaneG]

FWIW it's kind of bad form to charge to 100% at a public DC fast charger, as the last ten percent will take far longer than the first 90 percent. Others could be quickly charging and continuing on their way during that time. For the fastest trip, generally you want to charge only enough to make the next stop with 15-20% remaining. Of course, if you need all that charge to make the next stop, go for it. Chevy Bolts are notorious both slow charging and wanting to get to 100% at fast chargers.

 

[HC_79]

I would probably prefer that Lucid not have the free charging offer, but just discounted the car price accordingly (it’s not really “free” after all- Lucid’s costs for the EA charging are being covered by vehicle sales). “Put your preorder in before 12/31 and receive an $x early bird discount”

Lucid should be asking for a refund from EA. The network is crap and half the chargers don't work or deliver the speeds they're supposed to. I've posted in other threads but the EA location near home in now 3 or 4 weeks with 50% of the chargers offline.

 

[borski]

I'm 50/50 when it comes to free charging offerings. We never got given 3 years of free gas when buying an ICE vehicle but the perception seems to be "I've got an EV and charging should be free". It has the potential to clog up car chargers for those people who

A) don't want to pay to install an outlet at home
B) don't want to pay charging at home

Some people don't have the luxury to charge at home whether they be in an apartment or rental etc. so I get that but when I go to the Walmart down the road and see all the chargers full constantly with a majority of brands that are offering free charging I do question whether they're using it to avoid paying at home. With the limitation of chargers it could be driving unnecessary traffic to chargers and making others who legitimately need it wait.

Actually, Mazda did have a deal for a while which gave you six months of free gas, through a debit card or something. I think Lexus did this too. But this was a very long time ago, when gas was much much cheaper.

 

[dawktah LucidGT]

I’m interested in any experience getting full range charging. Using EA 350 watt chargers and setting battery charging level to “Distance” I get to 505 miles with charger displaying 99% and staying at 99% for as long as I have the nerve to allow. Vehicle still recording around 13 KW input but mileage stays at 505 and charger does not stop charging.
Does anyone have similar experience or had anyone actually done a full charge to 100% of “Distance” setting? If so what was the indicated range and did the charger stop without intervention?

FWIW it's kind of bad form to charge to 100% at a public DC fast charger, as the last ten percent will take far longer than the first 90 percent. Others could be quickly charging and continuing on their way during that time. For the fastest trip, generally you want to charge only enough to make the next stop with 15-20% remaining. Of course, if you need all that charge to make the next stop, go for it. Chevy Bolts are notorious both slow charging and wanting to get to 100% at fast chargers.

@DeaneG is correct unless you are driving on the highway doing a road trip car should be on daily regardless of charging method. I charged a couple of hours ago set to daily and car terminated the charge at 80%. I'm away from home in Chicago, hotel doesn't have a J-1772.

 

[hmp10]

. . . when I go to the Walmart down the road and see all the chargers full constantly with a majority of brands that are offering free charging I do question whether they're using it to avoid paying at home.

On our trips, every EA charger at which we have stopped is close to an interstate interchange. Is it not possible that these are mostly cars that are charging on road trips? And/or cars of owners who live in apartments or condos that do not facilitate at-home charging?

My brother lives in a large condo complex in Atlanta that has only two Level 2 chargers, and a sixth resident recently bought an EV, meaning he frequently cannot plug in when he needs a charge. Consequently he has to use a Tesla Supercharger more often than he would like, as he knows that DC fast charging is harder on the battery than Level 2 charging, which he would much prefer -- even if Tesla supercharging were free, which it isn't for his car.

 

[Jeanwoodie]

My original concern was a possible defect in the system which allowed energy input to the batteries Infinitum leading to battery overheat.
I’m a bit smarter now realizing that 98 or 99% gets 505 to 508 miles in less than an hour on a 350KWH charger while 100% at least another 30 minutes for 510 miles. This happened at 2AM in Green River while we were napping and woke up two hours later with EA charger shutdown at 100% and mileage 510.