Finally able to charge at work

[Platinum15Ti]

I inquired about chargers at the workplace a few months back and was told they were installed and ready for use today. I'm pretty excited, because that means I'll be able to make it to and from work without using any gas.

 

I had to sign up for plugshare and enter my CC number, but it's free for 4 hours and $1/hr after the 4 hours runs out. That was enough time to get a full charge and I'm sure it's so you move your car and allow others access to the charging stations.

[storksb]

Congrats on getting workplace EVSE, I enquired about EVSE's for my office and it fell on deaf ears, what was you trick?

 

There are 2 blink chargers at the Hyatt next  door but at 55c per kwh not economical to use them.

[Platinum15Ti]

Most of the other buildings have them, so it was easier than I thought it would be to get a few installed.

[Russael]

My place of employment has no interest in getting charging stations installed.  At one point, there were 2 volts plus my Fusion at our lot and we had bubbled it up to the building directors... and that was the end of it.

[Hybridbear]

It's free for 4 hours and $1/hr after the 4 hours runs out. That was enough time to get a full charge and I'm sure it's so you move your car and allow others access to the charging stations.

This is an excellent pricing structure! 4 hours allows enough time for BEVs like the Focus Electric or Leaf to fully charge from near 0 miles range without being charged. I wish other public EVSEs would implement a similar charging structure. Most of the ones that cost money around here have a ridiculous pricing structure like $1 per session plus $1/hr.

[Platinum15Ti]

This is an excellent pricing structure! 4 hours allows enough time for BEVs like the Focus Electric or Leaf to fully charge from near 0 miles range without being charged. I wish other public EVSEs would implement a similar charging structure. Most of the ones that cost money around here have a ridiculous pricing structure like $1 per session plus $1/hr.

I agree, I was very happy when I saw the pricing. $1 session, plus $1/hr is crazy!

[Fat Fusion]

This is an excellent pricing structure! 4 hours allows enough time for BEVs like the Focus Electric or Leaf to fully charge from near 0 miles range without being charged. I wish other public EVSEs would implement a similar charging structure. Most of the ones that cost money around here have a ridiculous pricing structure like $1 per session plus $1/hr.

 

I charge at work, mostly because I'm tired of gas stations, and pay just under $3 for a full charge.  I also get another half mile of walking in to get to the chargers and back to my desk.  It's a large Silicon Valley campus with Blink Network chargers.

[rbort]

Wait, you pay $3 a charge for 20 miles of EV range so you don't need to deal with gas stations?  If you put $3 of gas in your car you can accelerate very quickly as you say in the other post and get more miles on gas than you would on battery.

 

I never pay to charge, ok, only once did I do it and they charged me 2 bucks for a charge.  Doesn't make sense to me, if they charge I move on and don't even use that charger.  Either go to another place I know is free or just use some gas.  After all it doesn't hurt to use the engine some, we bought this car with the engine too.  If I drive 100% EV all the time the battery is going to wear out sooner.

 

-=>Raja.

[Fat Fusion]

Yeah, pretty much.  The $ is pretty inconsequential when you look at the fantasy land economics of Silicon Valley.

[shaggy314]

Austin Energy has a $25 for 6 months all you can charge, but I like that $1/hour after the first 4. I dissuades campers and Telsa. ;-)

[flyingcheesehead]

This is an excellent pricing structure! 4 hours allows enough time for BEVs like the Focus Electric or Leaf to fully charge from near 0 miles range without being charged. I wish other public EVSEs would implement a similar charging structure. Most of the ones that cost money around here have a ridiculous pricing structure like $1 per session plus $1/hr.

 

I have never found an EVSE that isn't free that makes any sense for the Energi. 

 

Unfortunately, in WI anyone who sells power by the kWh is regulated by the Public Service Commission, so all of the EVSEs that charge do so by the hour - And it's usually $2/hr. With the wimpy 3.3kW charger on the Fusion Energi, well, that price is absolutely ridiculous.

 

 

Unfortunately, right now the cheapest way to go is to burn gas if I can't charge for free. Even home charging costs more than these super-low gas prices. :(

[Russael]

Unfortunately, right now the cheapest way to go is to burn gas if I can't charge for free. Even home charging costs more than these super-low gas prices. :(

 

Don't forget, the more gas you burn, you'll also have your oil changes accelerated since you'd be running the ICE a lot more.  Besides, I like not having to go to the gas station and feed the pump some money.  :)

[Hybridbear]

I have never found an EVSE that isn't free that makes any sense for the Energi. 

Me too. The same with the Focus Electric. It's cheaper to burn gas in the Energi instead of paying to charge the Focus Electric.

[flyingcheesehead]

Don't forget, the more gas you burn, you'll also have your oil changes accelerated since you'd be running the ICE a lot more.  Besides, I like not having to go to the gas station and feed the pump some money.   :)

 

True - I'm still driving electric whenever I can, but I won't pay to charge except at home. Even the oil changes and such don't cost what it costs to pay to charge at a public EVSE!

[Russael]

I agree... I won't pay to charge except charging at home.  :)

[stevedebi]

Same here. I have a couple of cards (Chargepoint, for example), but I don't use them. Too expensive with gas as cheap as it is now.

[cwstnsko]

In my Focus Electric, I carry all the cards for the networks that are prevalent in the Seattle area, but they are strictly for emergency charging, or special planned trips that are outside my normal driving habits.  I normally only charge at home, and my power rates are comparable to about $1 per gallon gas.

 

Driving the Energi In Winnipeg, I have yet to find a public EVSE that charges a fee, or even has a provision to allow for the use of a card of any sort.  The only station I chose not to use because of the cost was in a private parking lot that charged a fee for parking in the lot, there was no additional fee for charging.  For the most part in Winnipeg, you not only get free charging, but driving a plug-in is like have a personal reserved parking spot right next to the entrance at work, several local parks, the zoo, IKEA etc.

[openair]

I've the opposite story. 18 months ago, before I bought my energi, I asked my boss if I would be able to plug it in here at work. I was told "yes, I don't see it being a problem." I told him some details like 7 hours a day. 120v. 8kws. I'd pay for the electricity. I was told no problem and I didn't need to worry about paying. Few months later I bought my energi. For the next year or so, even though i had permission to charge whenever, I mostly only charged at work when I did not have time to get a full charge after work before leaving for the fiancée's for the weekend or the like.

 

In December I bought a house near the fiancée's apartment. I again asked my boss before buying my house if I could start charging 7 hours a day at work. "Yep. No problem. You'll need to bring an extension cord though." I said great, Np! And went ahead with the purchase of my new to me house.

 

Before christmas I asked the two people parking in the two spots where I would be able to run an extension cord if I could trade one of them. They both said no problem. I asked my boss if my plan to run an extension cord was good after new years. He said it was a great trip hazard free plan and I bought a 100 foot extension cord.

 

I then charged on and off for about two weeks. Most days having to ask someone new to move their car as we had hired a lot of new people and 4 different new people were OK with this. Then we hired a new break press operator and he one day refused to move his car. So I told my boss I'm having to ask someone new everyday, sometimes the same person two days in a row and sometimes they refuse.

 

My boss then sent an email to the other supervisors telling them to inform their employees that those two spots were to be reserved for plug ins. Someone or multiple people took offence to this and forwarded the email to the owner. The owner now says that I can no longer plug in my car. My boss had never run it by him and the owner feels that people complaining about is making me plugging in too much of a hassle.

 

So now 18 months of planning have fallen apart because of some complaints. I now wish I had bought a full hybrid or that RV trailer and a smaller house or any of the other possibilities I had considered for this move and resulting commute.

 

I don't drink coffee. My work supplies coffee. I poured myself my first cup today and announced to the lunch room this cup of coffee (or the 3 or 4 most of you drink in a day) costs the company about as much as plugging in my car. Should I complain to the owner it is not fair I don't drink the free coffee?

[Hybridbear]

Driving the Energi In Winnipeg, I have yet to find a public EVSE that charges a fee, or even has a provision to allow for the use of a card of any sort.  The only station I chose not to use because of the cost was in a private parking lot that charged a fee for parking in the lot, there was no additional fee for charging.  For the most part in Winnipeg, you not only get free charging, but driving a plug-in is like have a personal reserved parking spot right next to the entrance at work, several local parks, the zoo, IKEA etc.

I charged our Energi at Assiniboine Park in Winnipeg when we were up there last summer. It looks like there are more EVSEs on Plugshare now. I'll have to check out some when we go to Winnipeg this spring.

 

I've the opposite story. 18 months ago, before I bought my energi, I asked my boss if I would be able to plug it in here at work. I was told "yes, I don't see it being a problem." I told him some details like 7 hours a day. 120v. 8kws. I'd pay for the electricity. I was told no problem and I didn't need to worry about paying. Few months later I bought my energi. For the next year or so, even though i had permission to charge whenever, I mostly only charged at work when I did not have time to get a full charge after work before leaving for the fiancée's for the weekend or the like.

 

In December I bought a house near the fiancée's apartment. I again asked my boss before buying my house if I could start charging 7 hours a day at work. "Yep. No problem. You'll need to bring an extension cord though." I said great, Np! And went ahead with the purchase of my new to me house.

 

Before christmas I asked the two people parking in the two spots where I would be able to run an extension cord if I could trade one of them. They both said no problem. I asked my boss if my plan to run an extension cord was good after new years. He said it was a great trip hazard free plan and I bought a 100 foot extension cord.

 

I then charged on and off for about two weeks. Most days having to ask someone new to move their car as we had hired a lot of new people and 4 different new people were OK with this. Then we hired a new break press operator and he one day refused to move his car. So I told my boss I'm having to ask someone new everyday, sometimes the same person two days in a row and sometimes they refuse.

 

My boss then sent an email to the other supervisors telling them to inform their employees that those two spots were to be reserved for plug ins. Someone or multiple people took offence to this and forwarded the email to the owner. The owner now says that I can no longer plug in my car. My boss had never run it by him and the owner feels that people complaining about is making me plugging in too much of a hassle.

 

So now 18 months of planning have fallen apart because of some complaints. I now wish I had bought a full hybrid or that RV trailer and a smaller house or any of the other possibilities I had considered for this move and resulting commute.

 

I don't drink coffee. My work supplies coffee. I poured myself my first cup today and announced to the lunch room this cup of coffee (or the 3 or 4 most of you drink in a day) costs the company about as much as plugging in my car. Should I complain to the owner it is not fair I don't drink the free coffee?

I'm sorry that you lost the option to charge at work... I'm not quite sure why it's such a big deal that you say you wish you had bought a different car or a different house. Not being able to charge at work means you'll use an extra 1/2 gallon of gas per day. Even at the high Canadian fuel prices, this should only be about $2-$2.50 per day extra, maybe $40 per month.

[openair]

I'm sorry that you lost the option to charge at work... I'm not quite sure why it's such a big deal that you say you wish you had bought a different car or a different house. Not being able to charge at work means you'll use an extra 1/2 gallon of gas per day. Even at the high Canadian fuel prices, this should only be about $2-$2.50 per day extra, maybe $40 per month.

Using your $2 to $2.5, it's $43 to $75 a month when I work 7 days a week. On top of the extra cost of the vehicle and weaker fuel economy compared to a full hybrid. Total ownership cost would have been cheaper with a full hybrid. The extra cost of the vehicle over a full hybrid would have paid this extra gas cost for a number of years.

[Hybridbear]

Using your $2 to $2.5, it's $43 to $75 a month when I work 7 days a week. On top of the extra cost of the vehicle and weaker fuel economy compared to a full hybrid. Total ownership cost would have been cheaper with a full hybrid. The extra cost of the vehicle over a full hybrid would have paid this extra gas cost for a number of years.

You work 7 days a week?

 

We've owned both the FFH & FFE and there's no difference in fuel economy that we can see.

 

Part of the 47 MPG fiasco was that Ford used an EPA loophole to use the FFH test results for the C-Max Hybrid window sticker, since the FFH was expected to sell better. For the Energi vehicles they used the C-Max Energi test results for the Fusion Energi window sticker since the C-Max Energi was expected to sell better (the 2013 Fusion Energi originally cost $40k+). Ford never changed that procedure, even when reevaluating the MPG results. Thus, to see the comparable difference in MPG of Energi versus hybrid you need to compare C-Max Hybrid versus C-Max Energi.

C-Max Hybrid

42/37/40

C-Max Energi & Fusion Energi

40/36/38

Fusion Hybrid

44/41/42

Source: http://insideevs.com...s-c-max-fusion/

The Energi powertrain reduces highway MPG in the C-Max by 1 MPG. I'd expect similar results in the Fusion Energi if tested separately, something like 42/40/41. We have always seen better highway MPG in our Energi than we ever got with the FFH because of the larger battery pack. While the impact is small when doing 600+ miles per day with only one charge, it can be felt. We cannot perceive a difference in highway fuel economy. And we've never driven the Energi with a depleted HVB in the city.

Edited February 1, 2016 at 07:16 PM by Hybridbear

[openair]

Yes, I often work 7 days a week the first 6 or so months of the year. I work manufacturing. Orders reduce going into Christmas so that stock is low for tax purposes. Than things really ramp up in the new year. I've had half a day off so far this year. I worked some 75 hours last week.

 

The Canadian dollar being so low will likely push that to 8 or 9 months this year.

 

Alright, ignoring the advertised 5mpg difference in your numbers there, the difference in cost of the vehicle alone would have still bought a lot of gas.

 

My boss told me today though that he is still trying to convince his boss.

Edited February 1, 2016 at 10:34 PM by openair