Petro Canada increasing EV charging fees?!

[JeffKeryk]

Speaking about Teslas because that is what I own, these cars are expensive. You would be big bucks ahead with a Civic/Corolla/Accord/Camry.
Hybrid kinda bridges the gap. Of course, you can say this about any expensive car; you don't need it.

Charging at home with solar panels is great; this was always my plan and I did the solar project first. At least in Silicon Valley, charging at work is a nice perk (subsidized or even free) and is really common. And Superchargers are everywhere.

Of course I have other cars. My next car will be another Tesla, but then again I am a good fit for one.
If you wanna use your Tesla for distance driving, you need to understand the process. @ecotourist and @UncleDave have spoken to this.
Personally I rarely drive any car distance; I get on a plane.

These cars are different, make sure it is a fit for your use case.

 

[The Critic]

When you have your trip entered into the Navigation system, a Tesla will automatically start preconditioning the battery 5 or so minutes before you get to the next charging station. You're ready to charge on arrival.

If you are planning to have lunch at a charging stop, you would plug your EV in upon arrival and not wait until you've finished lunch. It makes sense to do it that way anyway.

Correct. But I don’t think other brands have this technology.

 

[Vercingetorix]

Correct. But I don’t think other brands have this technology.

I think all other brands do. VAG for certain does.
Edit: Google says Hyundai does not, yet.

 

[tcp71]

You have the essence of EV ownership. You do almost all of your charging at home. To maximize the life of your battery you usually only charge to 80%.

EVs aren't optimal for long distance traveling but they are acceptable and they're actually better than an ICE for local use or reasonable commutes.

Exactly this. An electric vehicle makes a lot of sense for daily commuting. If we needed a vehicle and the cost of an EV vs ICE were similar, it would be a no-brainer to add an EV to our fleet (for our upcoming fourth driver of the family). The EV would always be useable for at least one person in our household going to school, work, etc...local trips. What burns me is the government mandating ICEs out of existence based on "technology will catch up" theory.

 

[ecotourist]

I think it comes down to total cost of ownership where following play role:
- number of years car lasts before replacement
- car cost
- cost of driving during the the years you own it
- other maintenance and insurance costs
Electric may come out costing more in the end.
Also, I see them charge owners 'car recycling' fees in the future where electric cars may cost much more.

I didn't actually buy my Tesla to save money. We needed a new car as our BMW, though still running well was 20 years old and starting to rust.

We test drove a Tesla and really liked it. I was considering a recent Lexus GS but I was put off by the need for premium fuel and the not-so-great fuel economy. The Tesla has interesting new technology, and yes it probably does cost less to run once you own one, but that wasn't the primary reason.

Replacing the BMW with a new 5 series BMW would have cost even more than the Tesla, and then I'd have had to deal with newer BMW's high cost of ownership. Same with a Mercedes E series. Volvo has nothing much going for it anymore. I was even considering a Cadillac (but their repair record isn't inspiring). You can't get a new Lincoln sedan anymore. VW is hit and miss. And so on.

So I bought a Tesla, and I'd do it again. We like it a lot.

 

[SC Maintenance]

You can watch this video. This guy sat for 37 minutes and went 9% to 77% charge which would be the sweet part of the curve. It was at the old prices so now that would cost $18.50.

I don't care if its free I am not sitting at a gas station for 2/3 an hour. They need to move this thing to the taco place.

 

[Vercingetorix]

What these ev charge companies need to include at their charging stations is a vacuum cleaner. Clean and charge at the same time and charge for both.

 

[pezzy84]

And no road tax....yet.

Partially wrong - most states have steep registration fees for EV's to make up for lack of fuel purchases. Here in Georgia I pay ~$200 annual registration premium for an EV, with my low annual mileage I am paying much more towards roads than had I kept an ICE vehicle. See below - majority of states have special fees for EV's or PHEV's.

States with special EV registration fees.

 

[ecotourist]

Well the Kia charging at the PetroCanada station was just what we all feared. Clunky, unstable, slow and expensive. On a positive note it was a nice station and they had window washing equipment handy.

I have to say that Tesla Superchargers are nothing like that. The first time we plugged in it just worked. And always has since. Your Tesla will precondition your battery (if you Navigate to a Supercharger) so when you arrive it's raring to go.

All I can say is - Should have bought a Tesla.

 

[Cujet]

Of course, many of these stations are on the major highways. And, highway speeds reduce range. So don't count on getting the promised range via time spent.

 

[ecotourist]

Of course, many of these stations are on the major highways. And, highway speeds reduce range. So don't count on getting the promised range via time spent.

That's correct.

When you have your day's trip laid out in Nav, Tesla gives you a constantly updated prediction of the remaining charge at your next Supercharger. If you start driving a bit fast the predicted charge drops. When you slow down it increases again.

I found 100 km/hour (62 MPH) was a good speed for range maximization. When you get up to 120 km/hour (75 MPH) you can really see your range dropping.

The same thing presumably happens with an ICE as well. You just don't know about it in real time.

 

[Cujet]

That's correct.

When you have your day's trip laid out in Nav, Tesla gives you a constantly updated prediction of the remaining charge at your next Supercharger. If you start driving a bit fast the predicted charge drops. When you slow down it increases again.

I found 100 km/hour (62 MPH) was a good speed for range maximization. When you get up to 120 km/hour (75 MPH) you can really see your range dropping.

The same thing presumably happens with an ICE as well. You just don't know about it in real time.

Driving North on I95 in FL, speeds are universally over 80 and often 85+. Just about every Tesla I see is in the right lane, going slow.

 

[Carmudgeon]

Never mind...

 

[Snagglefoot]

I’ll just add recent confirmation the cost for charging at a PetroCanada is still $0.50 per minute CDN or about $0.35 per minute USD equivalent. There is a charger at least every 250 km ( 150 m) along the Transcanada highway east west across the country. I checked out the chargers at a PetroCanada just west of Calgary on Saturday, July 1, at noon and there were no EVs there. However, there is also a fleet of Tesla Superchargers along the same highway, so I doubt a Tesla owner would bother to stop at a PetroCanads, perhaps because they would have to have the adaptor. That may change in time. PetroCanada claims the majority of people using the chargers take 20 to 30 minutes of charging time. Anyway, here are a couple of screen shots from PetroCanada. Enjoy.

 

[CanAmAndMore]

That guy was there for 1.5 hours to get from 9% to just 80% charged.
What is a persons time worth?
And how much longer to get up to a full charge, like I would want to have before a road trip.
I cannot imagine what it's like at -45 in the winter.

 

[The Critic]

That guy was there for 1.5 hours to get from 9% to just 80% charged.
What is a persons time worth?
And how much longer to get up to a full charge, like I would want to have before a road trip.
I cannot imagine what it's like at -45 in the winter.

That's not how it works. The goal is to charge just enough to reach the next station. It is very rare that you will need to charge to 80% in order to make it to the next charger.

 

[CanAmAndMore]

That's not how it works. The goal is to charge just enough to reach the next station. It is very rare that you will need to charge to 80% in order to make it to the next charger.

In northern BC you sure do, and I would also pack a honda generator in the back along with a gas can.
Drive from my place to Atlin in an electric someday, let me know when you get there.

 

[Dave_T]

That's not how it works. The goal is to charge just enough to reach the next station. It is very rare that you will need to charge to 80% in order to make it to the next charger.

That seems idiotic at best... why not charge more now to keep going further? That would be the same as me getting 2-3 gals of gas, drive 50 miles, get 2-3 more gals and repeat.

 

[Dave_T]

That guy was there for 1.5 hours to get from 9% to just 80% charged.
What is a persons time worth?
And how much longer to get up to a full charge, like I would want to have before a road trip.
I cannot imagine what it's like at -45 in the winter.

Don't overlook that his effort is saving our planet .00000000000000000000000000000001%. Clearly EVs will never be practical for many of us. I don't mind seeing various fuel source vehicles on the road as we all have different values/purpose in daily life, but the 'technology' has taken 100+ yrs to get to a barely decent usable point and might take another 100 yrs to improve much more!

 

[demarpaint]

Don't overlook that his effort is saving our planet .00000000000000000000000000000001%. Clearly EVs will never be practical for many of us. I don't mind seeing various fuel source cars on the road as we all have different values/purpose in daily life, but the 'technology' has taken 100+ yrs to get to a barely decent usable point and might take another 100 yrs to improve much more!

Good points. The problem is the powers that be want all electric, heat, hot water cooking cars, etc. I had a good laugh the other day when they singled out brick oven pizza. Do these tools stay up late at night dreaming of what they can screw up next? LOL