[NWeiner14]

I just got my ChargePoint card in the mail, and honestly I'm hesitant to even bother activating it. If I'm not mistaken, getting the card was free but you'd have to pay on the website to register/activate the card.

Even if all the registration is in fact free, I'm seeing rates in the neighborhood of $2-$2.50 an hour at places such as midtown Manhattan or the White Plains, NY commuter lot. This makes it uneconomical for a full charge (which in this case will cost about $10 at Level 2) as cost in gasoline to drive for the Volt's EV range (61 km/38 mi) is around $4 (one gallon since it gets 35-40 mpg).

Of course, most of us here drive Volts for the style of it and not to actually save money. But these charge stations are a hassle, and a one-armed bandit. The Volt is a plug-in hybrid, I think that if I can get the thing charged at my destination, great, if not, w/e.

 

[ckk]

I just got my ChargePoint card in the mail, and honestly I'm hesitant to even bother activating it. If I'm not mistaken, getting the card was free but you'd have to pay on the website to register/activate the card.

I got one in the mail, and went to their web site, and fiddled around for a while before eventually getting it activated, without having to put in any money or give any credit card info. So I'm assuming/hoping that if I encounter a free public ChargePoint station, I can swipe my activated card to turn it on, as long as it really is free.....

(unlike the ones at Whole Foods Market where you get a Whole Foods employee from their service desk, to come out and swipe their corporate card for you).

 

[dvester]

I recently stayed at a Quality Inn in Taylor, Az. They had no charge station, but did have a couple of 110 outlets by the entrance. I asked the night clerk if I could plug my Volt in there, he said yes, and I asked if there would be a charge for doing that. He said no charge. A week after departing, they charged my Credit card $80 for the 8 hour use of their outlet. Called them and talked them out of the charge, but they said the next time I stayed there, If I used the outlets, they might be able to get the owner to give me a 'reduced' rate of $40... all this for 10 kwh at 15 cents per kwh... $1.50 total. Bunch of idiots.

 

[doudis2]

I recently stayed at a Quality Inn in Taylor, Az. They had no charge station, but did have a couple of 110 outlets by the entrance. I asked the night clerk if I could plug my Volt in there, he said yes, and I asked if there would be a charge for doing that. He said no charge. A week after departing, they charged my Credit card $80 for the 8 hour use of their outlet. Called them and talked them out of the charge, but they said the next time I stayed there, If I used the outlets, they might be able to get the owner to give me a 'reduced' rate of $40... all this for 10 kwh at 15 cents per kwh... $1.50 total. Bunch of idiots.

Did you explain to them that there would NOT be a next time...EVER!?! +1 on the idiots!

 

[VogtVolt]

What are the Chargepoint people thinking????

My regular night rate charging at home works out to be about $0.25/ hour, for four hours.

The easy way to think about supplying energy to your Volt, is that it has a one gallon battery that should cost less than a gallon of gas to fill/ if not, use gas.

I like that concept - a one gallon battery! Also, you are getting a good rate on your charging at a dollar a gallon comparable! I figure my cost per "gallon" is about $1.50.

I found this on Wikipedia: "The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) officially rated the 2011 model year Volt's combined city/highway fuel economy in all-electric mode at 93 miles per gallon gasoline equivalent (MPG-e) and 94 MPG-e for the 2012 model year. This rating considers a conversion factor of 33.7 kW-hr of electricity being the energy equivalent of a gallon of gasoline." With current premium gas running about $3.65 a gallon, then I figure each kWh should cost no more than about 10.8 cents. This is almost precisely what I am paying the electric company for each kWh from my garage outlet.

Looking at the Chargepoint website, most of the charging stations in Florida cost 49 cents per kWh. A quick calculation finds that the equivalent gallon of gas would cost $16.51 at that rate. Allowing for the MPG difference of 38 mpg using gas vs the 94 mpge, a gallon of gas would have to be $6.74 a gallon to make the charging rate competitive. That's almost double the current cost of gas!

Personally, I will never use a Chargepoint charging station if I have to pay that rate. I think only all electric vehicles will have any incentive that overcomes the exhorbitant cost.

 

[Joule Thief]

I recently stayed at a Quality Inn in Taylor, Az. They had no charge station, but did have a couple of 110 outlets by the entrance. I asked the night clerk if I could plug my Volt in there, he said yes, and I asked if there would be a charge for doing that. He said no charge. A week after departing, they charged my Credit card $80 for the 8 hour use of their outlet. Called them and talked them out of the charge, but they said the next time I stayed there, If I used the outlets, they might be able to get the owner to give me a 'reduced' rate of $40... all this for 10 kwh at 15 cents per kwh... $1.50 total. Bunch of idiots.

If they told you it was free then they should credit back your card the full amount. And $10/hr is outrageous! Even if they decided to charge you after the fact that's gouging. I hope you disputed the charge with you CC company.

 

[baragona]

The electric utilities insist that by law only they can price by the kilowatt hour.

The monthly subscription model would also work if there was cross-licensing between providers the way phone carriers do it.

A PIP owner told me in Austin, TX that have a $25/mo subscription. He says he charges about 400 KWH/month on it. Anyone see these types of subscription rate? What network offers that?

 

[bro1999]

It's not a chargepoint charging station, but there is a charging station in Vienna, VA that is set at $5/hr!! W. T. F.

 

[jljeeper]

Public charging is a joke

I only charge for fun every so often. Kind of like a novelty. I don't take paid charging seriously because it's a joke. I have never seen anything that approaches reasonable and I'm willing to pay double what the local power rates are. When the local power rate is 7 cents per kWh and the public chargers are charging $2.50 an hour. Then you pull out the calculator and find out its cheaper to drive an old 1960 impala on gas than to use public electricity in my 2013 Volt. Yeah it's a joke. I spent extra on this car because I knew it would save me some money for every mile I drive. Public chargers defeat the whole purpose I bought my car. It's way cheaper to let the Volt switch to gas. Now if I had a leaf I would be at the mercy of these outrageous prices. More than gasoline? No I'm not kidding.

 

[0to60n8]

It's not a chargepoint charging station, but there is a charging station in Vienna, VA that is set at $5/hr!! W. T. F.

Where is it?

 

[RobbertPatrison]

A PIP owner told me in Austin, TX that have a $25/mo subscription. He says he charges about 400 KWH/month on it. Anyone see these types of subscription rate? What network offers that?

400KWH/month would mean that the PIP drives 1200 fully electric miles per month. That is hard to believe since the PiP does only 6 electric miles on a charge. He would have to charge full over 4 times per day to draw 400KWH/month...

More realistically, the PIP would charge once a day. In that case, he pays $25 to save $12.5 worth of gas...

Public charging hardly ever makes sense for a plug-in hybrid.

 

[Dakster]

Unfortunately, there just are not a lot of public charging stations around me to worry about. My wife has a private charging station where she works that is free - assuming it is available.

The one public charging station I found at a hospital was "taken" by another person plugging in - at least it was a EV plugged in and not a gasser.

I doubt I will ever pay to charge - maybe up to .50/hr just to say I did. I wish Hotels would have outlets so that when I do my cross country drives I could at least get the next 40 miles on Electric and not fuel. What I really like about a full battery is the extra range you get when added to the fuel tank. Not that our Volts are as bad as the new BMW.

 

[daled]

I charged up once for $2.00 an hour just to learn how they worked so I could have an opinion on it. My opinion, they are horrible for Volt owners! At $8.00/gallon equivalent, these stations in no way promote the spread of public charging stations.

 

[RobbertPatrison]

I charged up once for $2.00 an hour just to learn how they worked so I could have an opinion on it. My opinion, they are horrible for Volt owners! At $8.00/gallon equivalent, these stations in no way promote the spread of public charging stations.

Indeed, public charging makes no sense for Volt owners if the rate is >= $1/hour. That's OK, we don't need public charging as we have options, unlike the Leaf owners.

 

[bro1999]

I pretty much only use free public charging stations. The 3 gyms in the area I frequent all have free CP stations, so I feel fortunate.

I logged into my chargepoint account, and according to my usage history, I've soaked up 139 kWh of juice from CP stations so far this year.

 

[Elemental]

I use them whenever possible, even if it is overpriced. First, reduced wear and tear on the engine and fluids. Thats worth something.

But, most so people see them being used. If everytime someone sees one theres a car attached to it people will see the value in it. If they see them empty, they will view them as a waste of time, money and a parking space.

St louis has a GREAT station at 620 Lucas. $1 per hour, max $5 and its close to everything downtown. Go see a show, or nightlife or whatever its cheaper, and often closer then the $15-20 event parking. PLUS, you're charged up when you leave. Bonus!

 

[hyperlexis]

They are running an amazing scam -- they entice business owners to install these things, charge over $10k for a charger, not counting installation, then on top of it, they want a cut of any fees charged. Plus they want a monthly 'maintenance fee'. Then, they steer the businesses into charging users for the service. Around here I have seen .49/kw, or $2/hr on chargepoint units. Totally outrageous. Virtually no one uses the high priced ones. There are very, very few free chargepoint units around here. I'm going to one today.... It would have been far better to have had the electric companies install their own public chargers, on public streets, at least initially. Either offered for free or charging the cost of the actual power. The clean air benefits of EVs are well worth offering public chargers without gouging people for using them or by offering them for free. Hence, the current private, for-profit public charger scheme can actually hinder EV adoption. My city really dropped the ball on this one. Only LA and Seattle, etc., seem to have done a thoughtful job.

 

[hyperlexis]

Well I guess you could always plug it in but not activate it -- that way people will see an EV with a plug in it without you being gouged by chargepoint.

Plus, properties hosting these overpriced units should be told that they are overpricing their chargers and to please consider their customers' or potential customers needs better.

 

[analog_pal]

That's why most of them here in NYC go unused, $2.50-$2.95/hr is way too high, there are a few that charge $0.49/kWh. And most Chargepoint stations are installed in Manhattan parking garages, so you pay to park and charge, your final tab could be $30-$40 or more. And they wonder why no one is using them.

 

[RobbertPatrison]

That's why most of them here in NYC go unused, $2.50-$2.95/hr is way too high, there are a few that charge $0.49/kWh. And most Chargepoint stations are installed in Manhattan parking garages, so you pay to park and charge, your final tab could be $30-$40 or more. And they wonder why no one is using them.

It seems that public charging will never be viable without subsidy. They need to add a surcharge to pay for the install investments and maintenance of the charge station. That is quickly many times what people pay at home ($0.49/kWh vs $0.12/kWh) and more than it would take to drive on gasoline. Since Volt owners have a choice we lets capitalism go its merry way by not using them. Only pure EVs can be extorted into paying those rates.