Agree - messing about with physical time switches isn't going to be useful/necessary.
Between EV computer and charger app the charge time o'clock can be set. Mustn't forget to hook up the cable!

So I am requiring a charger app that can be wifi-linked to a personal app. That's how I control my main consumption. With the aid of a much maligned smart meter

I would rather like to have kept separate the EV consumption from household electricity consumption but can't see that is easily possible:
after all there is only one supply into the house. I suppose a sub meter could be used but it would have to be manual reads.

 

I dunno that our mild winters will have a big impact, my mate in Canada says it ****s with his Tesla but it's proper cold there, not just a bit parky

 

If you're only doing short runs, coming out to a warm, defrosted car and being able to blast off disregarding the engine's dew point will be a bonus.

Watching the range dissolve before your very eyes on a sleety, windy M1 will be an exciting new definition of anxiety.

Swings & roundabouts - the latter sound fun in an e.

 

Battery will run out before we get to the (sleety windy) M1. It's 100 miles from NR20 3 where we live.

 

I drove it on the A46. Doesn't shine there imo

But nor do I

 

On the way back home after Sawbridgeworth today I checked out the M11 service area (at Birchhanger near Bish Stortford) Filled the Smart up with petrol in minutes.

I found the 2 ecotricity chargers both in use situated a corner of the main car park by the shops. They had 2 charging leads on each of 2 sides (chademo? and type 2) but only one car can be charging at a time (the guys said at chargers that do let two charge simultaneously you only get half the juice). 1.30pm both well off toffs off for weekend in Norfolk... Smart phone app to pay/use might have been zap map? After five minutes I thanked them and went off in the glorious sunshine with the Smart, top down of course.

On the way out passed a Days Inn with a row of Tesla chargers in the car park. Only two were in use.

Collecting my Honda e tomorrow. I doubt we will be leaving Norfolk any time soon in it.

 

That's one of the areas where Tesla is actually way ahead - you plug in and it charges.

Having to find the right card for the right network, hoping everything communicates (assuming there is no queue) and you are not sharing the phase with another vehicle is a potential nightmare.

 

There you have it in a nutshell @Nick Graves

Picked up the e yesterday at least they come fully charged less the dealer's test drive. You don't buy a new fossil car with a full tank! But in order to sell EVs the dealer has to have a charge point on the premises unlike fossil fuels where the infrastructure is well established and not their problem. The sales guy was a real Honda nut so the process was more like a petrolheads meet. His suggestion knowing me to be a dinosaur (no smart phone) was to get NFC (near field comms) plastic cards for all and every EV charge point company. Good idea but as far as I can see with limited investigation not many do that as such, you have to have their app i.e. own a smart phone. There are many different companies so the "11,000 charge point locations in the UK" is not quite what it seems. There are not as many petrol stations (circa 8,000 and falling) but Joe Punter can use any and all of them and take five minutes to recharge the energy store (tank). This was my source.

The other thing is cost.
You pay from 30p to over twice that for each kWh. So for my Honda e to add 60% charge (from 20% to 80%) about 20kWh will cost from £6 to over £12 and add 80 miles range. The experienced EV users I spoke to used that terminology, it's all about range. At the 'over twice that' price you are paying roughly as much as for fossil fuel in my little Smart.

My conclusion is reinforced: taking a trip that depends on using public access recharging is going to have to be *very* carefully planned and researched. Expect to take an hour to recharge (fast charger) 20% to 80% if you have to wait behind someone else (as I would have at Birchanger Services on a busy get away early for the weekend sunny Friday). But imagine the scenario on a cold wet November Friday ... with the proviso that the weekenders might not be so numerous! Small mercies eh.

Meanwhile in other e news I read they are applying to use smart meters to knock off your heat pump and/or home charging of your EV.

Which (heat pump) I already do at peak times and I won't be charging the EV at peak times either.

p.s. putting 10% back in my battery took 2 hours slow charging off a 13A plug.
The sun was shining so most of that was free from my solar PV.

 

Post a pic of MustardE

i read this

Our infra cant cope (cry emoji)

and chuckled. That didn't take long. I do **** all miles so charging off my exercise bike is fine .. my mate reckons a good cyclist can generate 300 watts so a full charge in about 110hrs

Maybe need solar on the garage?

 

Will do as soon as someone reminds me of the pics limit for non paid up dudes. I gave up after fifteen minutes deleting things.
(I suppose I could find out by digging into the membership blurb but CBA )

And it's not mustard yellow more rape seed oil.
Which is all we get these days.