How do you plug in to a public charging station and know cost

Seems like you just enjoy stirring the pot PA !

What possible bragging right are you referring to ?
I bought the PiP to save $$ and yeah I do feel good not buying gas.

Did the math just tonight - 15 weeks - 3565 miles on 8 gallons of gas, 88% EV
I calculated I'm saving close to $700 a year over a standard Prius3 and net of incentives I paid pretty darn close to Prius3 prices.

 

I think that my EV driving is about 3x-4x cheaper than gas driving in my 2010 Prius.

But even if the cost was the same...I'd rather spend my fuel money on domestic electricity than importing oil. The government (tax payers) provided us PIP owners with a rebate and, in turn we are helping to keep gas prices lower and keep fuel dollars in the US.

The US imports about 10M barrels of oil every day at ~$100. That is $1B per day. IMO, it is better that that money goes to utility shareholders in the US (which would be in pensions, 401Ks, etc.)

Mike

 

Before you start waving that American flag. Did you forget that Toyota is a Japanese company? You should have gotten a Volt. The Volt runs like a true EV, at least most of the time.

Did you use rebates when you bought that PPi? If you did, then you stole money from the tax pool even though it was legal. Other tax payers shouldn't have to contribute to your buying decision.

 

ChargePoint clearly states the pricing on the station itself. Just wait for the $$ to scroll by. The owner will set it at a per-hour or per-session or per-kWh rate.

There's a phone app that states that information too, as well as if the station is in use or not.

 

Just discovered this myself in your town John. I searched forever to find the charging stations at the Mall of America yesterday only to find out they charge (money). I'm sure if I'd done my research better I could have figured this out ahead of time. But I only found out when I tapped my Chargepointe card to the reader and it said that I'm only verified to use free stations.

 

Most in the area cost money.
There are a few free ones though.
Last I heard the one at Lunds in Minneapolis (right off Hennepin) were free. As is the one at the Minneapolis Hennepin County Library and I believe at the Goodwill's that are equipped with them.

Edit: the Library actually is Minneapolis Central Library

 

I should have stopped by to ogle your Tesla when I was in the area!

 

I would have been happy to take you to lunch. Let me know next time you are in the area.

 

Awesome! Might be in a few weeks again. I will PM you when I know the exact date. Thanks!

 

If I'm already somewhere with a Blink station, I charge up, as long as I'm going to be there for at least an hour. I've found that I get over 90% charge in 64 minutes. (Blink allows a 5 minute "grace period" at the end of the hour)
Even if I only break even with running the car in HV mode, it still prolongs the amount of time between trips to the gas station, and as others have pointed out, it keeps the energy money here in the U.S., instead of sending it overseas.
For whoever pointed out that Toyota is a Japanese company, I will point out that they build more cars in the U.S. than GM, Ford and Chrysler combined.

 

I have discovered that when a Chargepoint station has a $/hr charge, that they bill by the minute. So if you are connected 1 hour 6 minutes at a $1/hr station, your bill is $1.10

 

looks like Kohl's is putting some in the parking lots -- NO charge to use

 

Let me preface this by saying I usually take our company bus to work, but occasionally I need to drive into work.

Signed up for a blink card because we have blink chargers at work, but I wondered whether or not it makes sense (money-wise) to do so compared to only charging at home and just running in HV mode the rest of the day. At home, the most it would cost to charge for 3 hours is $0.90 (peak) or as little as $0.36 (off peak - most likely).

Assume I can get a full charge in 1.5 hours ($1.50) and it gives me 13-15 miles additional on my tank and my commute is 45 miles each way. Doesn't seem like much of a monetary (if any) savings vs HV mode by doing this - just the joy of getting more mpg(e).

 

Assuming you get 50-60 mpg on gas and you get 10-15 miles on a full charge, how does the cost compare?

It will take 4-5 full charges of 3 kw-hrs to equal a gallon (roughly). Each charge will be about 3 kw-hrs, so it is 12-15 kw-hrs to match 1 gallon of gas (I know the BTUs don't work out this way, but that is because there is lots of waste heat in the ICE).
If it costs you $1.50 per charge and you need 4-5 charges to match a gallon of gas, then you are paying $6.00 - $7.50 to go as far as you go on $3.50 - $4.00 of gas. Certainly not worth it, IMO. If a full charge was just $1, then still a loss, but maybe I'd do it.

The bottom line is that the Prius is just too efficient at using gas to pay these huge fees to use a public charger.

Mike

 

If you have a (free) Blink membership, the rate is $1/hour, with a 15 minute grace period at the end of the hour. That's pretty much a full charge for $1. Add in the fact that charging extends the amount of time between trips to the gas station, and it makes even more sense. I'll pay a little extra for the convenience of "refueling" at my destination, vs. making a side trip to a gas station.

Some of the chargers are free. Both Kohl's stores in my area have free level 2 charging, and there is another free charger (level 1 and level 2) in my area, conveniently located along the route home from my kid's school.

 

Word of advice on Blink chargers: they continue to charge you $1 per hour, even after your car is completely charged up.

 

Yup. Their justification is that it is incentive for you to move your car and free up the charger for the next EV.