Quote:
Originally Posted by 1overcosc
Charging by time is interesting.. I wonder if that will evolve to be the standard for electric car charging.
Given that a 300km charge can be made in 40 minutes, $20/hour for level 3 charging works out to about $4.45 per 100km. More expensive than what it would cost to charge at home but not ridiculously so. And still pretty cheap compared to gas.
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So, if I am driving a Prius C with a fuel consumption of 4.5 l/100km, there is no incentive to change to an electric car as long as gas stays somewhere near $1.00. The premium I would pay for an electric car would never be repaid. (Assuming that a lot of the charging was done at the $20/h charging cost.)
It would be an incentive for electric car manufacturers to reduce the charge time, since that would be something that people will be looking for to minimize the 'during-trip' charging cost. If the car makers reduce the charge time required, will the stations be upgraded to provide the hicher current, or will the stations throttle the current flow to maximize profit?
Really, the charge should be based on a combination of the charge delivered & the time in the bay. It is just like taxis which charge both for time (say, at a stop, or while you make up your mind on a destination) and distance travelled (for the wear-n-tear on the vehicle).