The more I drive electric vehicles (EVs), and the more I see on the road, the more I notice how some owners do not fully understand their vehicle. Common courtesy at DC Public Fast Chargers is also something that, I noticed, still needs a little work.
But the problem often seems to come from people who just have no idea what they are doing, also because they have not taken the time to fully understand their vehicle, because they don’t really care (for countless reasons), or their sales representative did not explain them in the first place.
Remember that, although it is boring to do, it is always recommended to read the manual of your new car before you go on the road. It contains a whole series of useful information that allows you not only to fully understand your new EV, but also make your life easier, and your property experience more fun. A crucial information that you find in your manual is the speed at which your EV can be loaded quickly on a public DC unit. Keep this in mind, because it can not only have a deep impact in the duration of your loading cycle, but also on the lives of other EV owners.
To offer the most accurate and current information, this article uses data from various trusted sources and the manufacturer, as well as the author’s personal experience.
More kilowatt means less time wasted on the charger
I once stopped to a 175-KW DC-fast charger with a Ford F-150 Lightning, just to find a Kia Niro EV that was connected to it. Fortunately the owner was in her car and because there was a 100 kW charger there next to her, I knocked on her window to ask her if it was possible to change from leadership. Her answer? “My seller told me that this is the new and updated Niro EV. He said that I can charge this type of charger!”
Of course I prefer not to discuss the lady, because the action just bothered her during everything she did seemed to have pissed her. But I couldn’t help it, but cooked inside the thought that she had a charger much more powerful that her vehicle could fully benefit from. This was increasingly frustrating, given that my large Ford with a fairly large capacity of 131 kWh versus 64.8 kWh could have used the more powerful charger to get back on the road faster.
Now I know it looks like I’m contradicting myself here. After all, not long ago I wrote a piece that I started to give less how quickly an EV accuses a public charger. And that is still all true, especially because I am charging most of my EV at home. But if I am forced to use the less powerful charger because of someone else’s ignorance about the limitations of his vehicle, then my day is not a very good start.
So, what exactly are I talking about here? Well, to begin with, the maximum DC charging speed of the Kia Niro EV is limited to 85 kW, while the Ford F-1550 lightningplatina that I was driving was good for 150 kW. No matter how much that lady tried to convince herself, it would be physically impossible for that Niro EV to quickly load at a speed of 175 kW.
That unity, kW or kilowatts is a unity of power in the EV world. The higher the KW speed, the faster an EV can charge his battery. This is of course all relative compared to the capacity of the battery. The Ford F-150 Lightning has a higher loading speed to charge its larger battery faster, which has a capacity of more than twice that of the Niro EVs. That is why it is a good habit to use a charger that will help the vehicle to extract as much power as possible if possible during the charging cycle. The more power is used in your EV, the less time you are at the stall.
Uncontrollable factors can affect performance
Of course DC quickly charging is not an exact science. There are factors, usually uncontrollable, that can have a negative influence on the speed with which your vehicle can supplement its battery. These can include cold or very hot weather, the general health status of your EV caused by age and wear, or the charge status of the battery. It is very rare if I connect an EV to a fast charger that it gives me the exact performance that the automaker promises. Or often, what happens is that the car starts to load strongly, but the load rate eventually falls halfway through the charging cycle.
Most EVs show this information in real time on their instrument cluster or infotainment screen, or you can consult it with the app that is linked to the loading service. Many EVs are equipped with a battery pre-conditioning function that heats the battery in advance to an ideal temperature, which is handy during the charging of cold weather. This is automatically done by the car when you approach the charger (synchronized with the car navigation system), or you must activate it manually via the vehicle infotainment system.
If you know what your car can and cannot do, you are a more polite EV owner
In summary, you probably do not always land you on the advertised charge rate of your EV in the real world. But if you know what your vehicle can and cannot do, you will be a much more expert and efficient EV owner, someone who knows how to optimize your loading times. There is a good chance that you will also become a more respectful motorist in the process, at least when it is time to use public chargers.
Note that the same idea of optimizing charging applies to housing, ac and level 2 (slowly) charging. Although the figures for that technology can be lower, for example, try to buy 11 kW a house charger that offers similar performance to extract the full charging potential of your car.
Who knows, maybe your new knowledge of the indictment will help you to inform other owners on the road, with the aim of improving Common Courtesy at public chargers. Public charging is also a very social activity, and although some owners may not want to have conversations with you, you can ultimately meet new friends and learn useful information on the road.
#embarrassing #error #avoid #Chargers