I went to a conference in Michigan at Grand Valley State University. I flew, but they did have at leat 2 EV charging areas on campus! (And they were free!)
How cool is that??
I rarely have to use a Quick Charge these days. I just keep it charged up at night. I have not yet put in a Level 2 charger in my home (3 hours to fully charge). My husband has bought the wire and a subpanel to add in the garage. I will have him guest blog as he starts that process!
When I did have to stop at a level 3 quick charger, I learned I can monitor the progress on the Charge Point app - even if it's not a designated Charge Point charging station (but is their equipment.)
The reason there is no $ next to Total Amount is because it is FREE for everyone to charge at Bommarito Nissan! Charges to 80% in 30 minutes, just like all Level 3 chargers.
On the days when it was 100 F, my husband did try to quick charge at a level 3 charger and it was too hot. The car had been driven a lot, so the batteries were hot, and the cable itself got too hot. (The device is smart enough to shut down.) What was cool was that I got a text message that said something to the effect of "You charge is taking very little charge. Call this 800# for help." This would be super handy if you left your car unattended to charge. When the car is plugged in, you can keep the a/c on. The a/c kept up well with the high temps and cooled down pretty quick.
Minor Complaints: Headlights are not as strong as the Prius. They are OK.
BONUS: The intermittent wipers have a VERY slow setting that are PERFECT! (Most cars I have to do it manually to avoid sqeuaking wipes if it is barely raining.)
I love my Prius, I do. But after driving the Leaf all the time, driving my Prius makes it feel clunky and heavy, like driving a truck! How funny is that? The handling and acceleration on the Leaf are just so smooth!
The car looks great. Has a lot of crumbs in it now - we eat breakfast on the fly. I am not stressed out about charging/range. I have been averaging 4.0 miles per KWh. If the car has 100% charge, I get 100 mile range. (I have never gone below 8% though.) I have never forgot to plug it in at night. (Even if I did, there are a lot of Level 3 chargers around. You would probably get 40 miles in ten minutes of charging.)
I will be showing off the car as a family car, car seats and all, on September 21st at the St. Louis Science Center, with other EV vehicles. Stay tuned for more info!
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