Adam Vlach, a freelance writer specializing in business and technology trends, is conducting research on market sentiment around electric vehicles (EVs). He interviewed Tim Power, CEO of DSO Electric Cooperative based in Salina, as part of this research. The interview is below.
ADAM We’ve established the benefits of electric vehicles, and there are many. Like anything, though, I suspect there have been some challenges or learning curves. Tell me about your learning curve.
TIM Sure. I’ve learned a lot by researching EVs and then by actually having and driving one, but the thing is, with these cars, I had to figure things out on my own for the most part. I think dealerships are getting better now, but when I leased my vehicle, I definitely knew more about EVs than their employees did. And the sad thing is, I didn’t know much!
Adam I guess that’s the life of an early adopter. What’s something you had to learn “the hard way,” so to speak?
Tim I learned best practices for charging and maintaining the battery, for one. It’s like other rechargeable batteries (e.g., your smartphone), but with EVs you generally don’t want to run the battery down to zero. At the same time, you don’t want to charge it all the way to 100%, either. Both of those practices will cause the battery to wear out sooner. Ideally, it’s best to keep the charge between 20% and 80%. So, battery maintenance practices were things I had to learn through my own research. They didn’t tell me any of that at the dealership.
Adam Speaking of charging — is it simple to charge up? Tell me more about that.
Tim Well, as I mentioned, I’ve been using Electrify America’s charging network. Just like anything, there’s growing pains. One thing I found out was that public charging stations aren’t the most reliable. You’ll go to a station — most have three or four chargers — but one or two chargers will inevitably be down and unavailable for whatever reason. And then sometimes the chargers that are working are being used by other EV drivers, so you have to wait.
Adam Sounds like some growing pains indeed. I know that, like most things now days, EVs rely heavily on phone apps. What can you tell me about phone apps for EVs?
Tim There are a variety of apps out there to find charging stations, and some of them have a scheduling function. I can see if someone is using the charger I’m heading to, and then I can reserve the next spot. That part is nice, but let’s be honest, most people aren’t going to schedule time to charge their car — they’re just not going to be that planned out on things, at least in most places. The experience is nothing like your typical car where you can fill up wherever, whenever.
When I pull up to an Electrify America charging station (Level 3), I simply start the app, plug in, and the charger recognizes my account and begins charging the car. If I’m charging from 20% to 80%, it takes me about 30 minutes. The pace of the charge slows down the closer you get to your goal. So going from 75% to 80% charged can take as long as going from 60% to 75%!
Adam Are those public charging stations your only option?
Tim No, I can charge at home or at work, but these are Level 2 chargers and they’re not as fast. They require 240 volts, like what you plug your clothes dryer into. You can buy Level 2 chargers from a variety of sources online. It takes about seven hours to go from 20% to 80% charged.
You plug the charger into your car and charge whenever you want. You can also use the charger app or your EV’s software to schedule when you want your car to charge; most chargers and EVs have that capability. If energy rates are better at night, for instance, you can schedule the car to charge then, or during some other non-peak time. That’s what most people do, they plug it in, it charges on its schedule, and then by morning, it’s ready to go.
Adam Wow, that sounds like quite the good first impression, indeed. So how long have you been driving the ID.4 now? Have you encountered any other positives to driving an EV in general, in that time?
Tim This summer will mark two years since I started driving an EV. I’ve certainly noticed reduced fuel costs. Obviously, the charging through Electrify America is free for now, but even when I charge at home or through another network, getting a full charge is still typically cheaper than a tank of gas. There’s also been less required maintenance. There are some things you need to stay on top of like brakes and tires, but I don’t have to worry about oil changes or anything like that anymore.
I did read some consumer reports indicating that the frequency of maintenance required for many EVs is on par with traditional internal combustion engine vehicles, but I haven’t really found that to be the case. The car does get over-the-air software updates and patches to bugs, but I have those updates set to be implemented automatically as soon as they’re made available, so there’s no effort required on that front.
Adam Are Level 2 chargers reliable? Have you ever woken up and it didn’t charge when it was supposed to?
Tim In general, I would say they are reliable, but there have been occasional issues. I have been able to troubleshoot and get through most of them, but on occasion, charging will stop unexpectedly. And, yes, it’s happened when I thought my car was charging overnight, only to find out it stopped charging for some reason in the middle of the night.
I have noticed charging issues mostly during the summer, when the air conditioner or a high voltage load kicks on. I’m guessing those spikes are what’s causing the problem. I believe the car needs to sense super “clean” or non-fluctuating power for it to hold the connection. But it’s just a guess at this point. It’s not a huge issue, as it doesn’t happen a lot, but it is an annoyance.
Adam You really are on the frontier of this, having to figure this out as you go. Out of everything you’ve learned, what are two lessons you feel are most important for a prospective EV owner to know?
Tim Well, first would probably be that your range drastically drops when it’s cold out. The colder it is, the more time your battery spends just trying to warm itself up. There are some tips and tricks for dealing with this, and you can get battery warmers for some EVs. But even still, in the winter, I’ve found I usually get about 60% of the usual range. The colder it gets below freezing, the more dramatic the range loss.
The other thing is my car’s remaining battery life (or miles available) calculator shows a range estimate based on a mix of both city and highway driving, and it seems to be based on the expected mileage of the EV, according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). It’s important to know that, if you’re going to spend most of your time driving on the interstate, you will get less mileage than what that estimate says. Conversely, if you’re spending most of your time driving in town, you’ll get more than the estimate.
If you want to know the true highway range of an EV, especially before you buy an EV, check out www.caranddriver.com. Car and Driver is the only organization that puts EVs through a real world 75 mph test, basically traveling on interstate to see how far the battery will take you while driving 75 mph. As an example, my car (2021 Volkswagen ID.4) achieved a result of 190 miles, compared with an EPA combined range estimate of 250 miles.
Adam Wow, that is good to know. Thanks for sharing. So, driving an EV — what’s the final verdict?
Tim It really depends on your needs. My ID.4 is a great car; I love it — and there’s a lot to like about EVs — but the lesson I’ve learned is that determining the best car for you is very specific to your needs, and an EV with more range or even a plug-in hybrid (powered by both a conventional combustion engine and electric motors) would better fit my needs. If I was driving less than 175 miles total on a trip, then the ID.4 would be perfect, but I often go further and need to charge somewhere along the way. Charging takes time and is a little risky, as the public Level 3 charger might be unavailable for whatever reason. This is the proverbial “range anxiety.”
But overall, it appears EVs are coming, whether we want them to or not, as car manufacturers are scheduling to stop producing regular cars soon. We just need more public chargers and we need those chargers to recharge EVs in 10 minutes or less. I think we are getting there.
Adam This has been great! I know you have a lot more to share, but I hope this gives readers a sense of the real-life experiences of operating an EV and provides some things to consider when buying EV. Thanks for your time.
Adam Vlach, is a freelance writer specializing in business and technology trends for TK Business Magazine and The Topeka Capital-Journal.
Read My EV Experience — Part One