My First EV, Part V: My First Long Trip

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Six months after shopping for my first EV (see My First EV — Part I), the time has come for the primary lengthy journey — Cupertino to Huntington Seaside, about 420 miles every means. We determined to go on Freeway 101 slightly than 5, about 20 miles longer, however a prettier drive. We took two days to get to the vacation spot, with one in a single day cease in Santa Maria and in the future to get again house.

We drove 931 miles, together with just a few journeys to the seaside. We charged on the highway six occasions at quick charging stations, paying a mean of $0.47/kWh. We charged in a single day on the Hampton Inn in Santa Maria at a Degree 2 sluggish station, and in a single day at our host in Huntington Seaside, which had a Degree 2 charger in his storage and was form sufficient to allow us to use it.

We spent 3½ hours charging on the highway and about 16 hours driving. The entire quick charging stations had been in procuring facilities, welcome stops for toilet breaks, espresso, or mild procuring.

We purchased 138 kWh of electrical energy, spending $64 for it. This might have purchased us about 11 gallons of gasoline, resulting in an equal 84.6 mpg — rather less if I factored within the free charging at our host.

5 out of six occasions, we charged at Electrify America. 4 stations had 4 chargers every, and one had 11. A number of charging slots had been all the time accessible. With handy bank card fee, I might give it 5 stars and all the time search for it on the highway.

As soon as we charged at a ChargePoint station. There have been additionally 4 chargers, however it’s important to use your smartphone, which I don’t respect. 4 stars.

In Ventura, we tried charging at PowerFlex. It had many charging stations, and after spending about half an hour there and on the telephone, I gave up. Zero stars. I’ll by no means ever use PowerFlex once more.

Earlier than leaving house, I made a listing of the entire quick charging stations on the route, however it was not mandatory. The Bolt GPS has a handy Cost Stations tab, which lists them by distance. Too dangerous you can not kind out Degree 2 chargers, which offer you solely about 25 miles/hour, in comparison with greater than 100 miles/hour at a quick charger. Degree 2 chargers on a protracted journey are ineffective.

Charging in a single day on the lodge was just a little little bit of a shock. It had 4 charging stations. I requested on the reception if I may depart the automotive plugged in in a single day and so they stated “certain.” Within the morning, I came upon the cost was $28, or about $1.41/kWh. They charged for the idle time greater than for electrical energy. … This was not disclosed on the charger or on the entrance desk. There was not a straightforward option to keep away from it, although, since I didn’t wish to get up at 3:00 AM to unplug the automotive, however it could be simple to keep away from with higher planning.

I drove on a regular basis with the cruise management set at 65 mph. The Bolt averaged 4.1 miles/kWh, or about $0.12/mile. The A/C was on for many of the journey — it had about 4% influence on the vitality consumption.

Drive Slower To Get There Quicker?

It appears contradictory, however in an EV, it may be true. These readers mathematically inclined know that E=mV2. “E” is vitality, “m” is the load of the automotive (mass), “V” is the pace. There’s not a lot you are able to do concerning the weight. The empty Bolt weighs 3,700 lb, about 4,000 lb loaded. Saving 40 lb would add only one% to your vary, however attempt to depart the kitchen sink at house if you happen to can.

Oh, however “V” is a killer, because it comes into play squared. To make it less complicated, at 85 mph, your vitality consumption is twice that at 60 mph. For a brief journey, the quicker you drive, the earlier you get there. However issues are completely different if it’s important to cost.

On the return house, I drove 420 miles in in the future. If the journey would have been on a flat highway, with no visitors, at 60 mph I might have pushed for 7 hours. At 85 mpg, I might drive solely 5 hours — if I may preserve the pace fixed. I’m not factoring within the time spent with the freeway patrol, which may range relying on the temper of the officer who stopped you.

At 60 mph, the Bolt goes about 4.2 miles/kWh. This isn’t solely my empirical commentary, however after my 900-mile journey on cruise management set at 65 mph, the dashboard displayed a mean of 4.1 miles/kWh. To seek out the best pace, I want the reverse quantity, 1/4.2 = 0.24 kWh/mile. To seek out the vitality spent per hour, I multiply 60 mph by 0.24 kWh/mile and I get 14.4 kWh/hour.

Assuming the electrical motor’s effectivity shouldn’t be influenced by pace, I exploit Einstein’s system to learn how a lot vitality is spent per hour at varied speeds:

At 50 mph: (502 / 602 ) x 14.4 = 10 kWh/hour
At 85 mph: (852 / 602) x 14.4 = 28.9 kWh/hour

On a quick charger, the Bolt can take about 35 kWh per hour. All of the quick chargers I used weren’t on the freeway, however in procuring facilities close by. It took a 5-minute detour to get to at least one, a couple of minutes to plug and pay, and one other 5 to get again on the highway. So, that’s about quarter-hour overhead on every cost.

Should you cost from 20% as much as 80%, every cost may give you about 40 kWh. I’ll assume 35 kWh because you won’t have the ability to time it completely.

The outcomes for a 420-mile journey are within the subsequent desk.

Final Hour Vary Nervousness

Our final cost was in King Metropolis, at a ChargePoint station 110 miles from house. I charged for less than quarter-hour, till the odometer confirmed 170 miles of vary. Anxious to get house and with 60 miles to spare, I believed I may drive quick. I name “margin” the distinction between the automotive’s listed vary and the gap to the vacation spot. Feeling protected with the 60-mile margin, I pushed it. Seventy mph, 80, 85 — I used to be simply maintaining with the visitors.

The margin began to drop like a punctured balloon. Sixty went all the way down to 50, then to 30. When it obtained all the way down to 10, I spotted I needed to cost or decelerate. My spouse stated “cost,” however I didn’t need one other cease. “Let’s attempt slowing down,” I stated. I dropped the pace to 60 and my margin began to creep up. I obtained house with 22 miles to spare and plugged it in. The following morning, I might have one other 260 miles to go. Perhaps 300 if I drove round city. I’ve photo voltaic, so charging at house is free.

Conclusions

Disclaimer: I’m not advocating driving sluggish, besides when it makes logical sense. Driving quick is commonly helpful, and generally even nice. I as soon as pushed my motorbike to 100 mph briefly, simply to see the way it feels. It looks like flying low. However I’m not advocating driving quick both. Do it at your personal threat.

A number of occasions in my life, I drove nearly 1,000 miles in in the future, clearly utilizing an ICE. It was not a nice expertise — exhausting and vulnerable to tickets. I might not have interaction to greater than 500 miles per day with the Bolt. Perhaps a Tesla can cost quicker and go farther. Nonetheless, driving sluggish was a brand new and refreshing expertise. The Tremendous Cruise helped. After the 10-hour journey (with stops), I arrived house slightly recent and prepared for dinner.

Is it price it to drive 420 miles at 85 mph to be able to save quarter-hour? Contemplating the additional price, the wear and tear and tear on the automotive and tires, and the opportunity of Freeway Patrol encounters, I believe the reply is clearly no.

Is it price it to drive at 50 mph and spend an additional hour on the highway to be able to save $10? I don’t suppose so. Curiously sufficient, the Bolt appears to be optimized across the pace restrict.

By Mihai Beffa, CEO of SequentMicrosystems.com. Additionally see half II, III, and IV.

Featured photograph: Electrify America will get * * * * *