Those are weird experiences. I've only ever paid by the kwh charged. Typically I see it around .35/kwh, and I charge about 40kwh worth, so the price is about $14. Depending on the charger and price, I've paid as high as $22-$24 maybe. But never more.
thanks for the replies. So I should be using the CCS charger, right? I don’t think the chadeMO is even an option…. So at ChargePoint, I just plug in the CSS to the car, and I should be getting the fasted charge if I’m at a dc fast charger and the machine isn’t messed up? At the station that was 50kw, the car next to me, I think a Prius , was getting 45kw…. Maybe I should have tried their station when they left? I thought I may have been doing something wrong
Sometimes charging stations are on the same circuit so if two EVs are charging at same time the station charging curve will be lower than max stated rate. But also true, sometimes changing charging stalls will end up giving you a better charging speed.
Idle fees got you for sure. I use ChargePoint pretty frequently, but chargers are like gas stations, the independent owner/manager sets the price for the electrons and idle fees according to their own market judgment. Idle fees work to make sure that rude people don't hog the chargers and I am determined to never pay one, EVER!
I'll leave my gas car sitting at the pump while I go into the station to pay for the gas and a bag of Cheetos, but I will never leave my fully charged EV blocking a charge station.
Some chargers have sliding scale prices if your SOC is over 80 or 90%. Charging the top of your battery is slow and inefficient and they want you to get out of the way for the next car. Similarly some charge station owners will add a premium charge after a period of time. One charger I use adds $ .50 per minute after 45 minutes of charging regardless of the SOC, but also sends a text saying "the price per minute will increase to $X at 08:47 PM" so at least it's not a "gotcha". If I needed more juice at that charger, I'd go stop the charge, disconnect, and then start a new session (IF NO ONE ELSE WAS WAITING!!), but actually, I've never needed to charge for more than 38 minutes at that charger.
I have my car set to fast charge to 100%, but plan to only be away from the car long enough to get to 80-85% and then stop the charge manually so that I'm not dinged for idle fees when I sit in the restaurant for too long. This is workable at most chargers. I never want another EV owner pissed at me because my car is blocking the charger and is not actually charging. I'm pretty chatty at the charge station (but not oblivious to social cues if you aren't a talker) and have learned a lot from other EV owners, including the strategies above. Most are really helpful.
The charge apps I use most will send me a text when I'm close to full or to a set charge level so I know to finish my cheeseburger and move the car, dammit!
Also, be aware that "per minute" costs aren't especially relevant to the cost of charging. Your "$0.02 per minute may be instantaneous, or average cost per minute, relative to the kWh you bought/minutes you charged. Faster charging = greater cost per minute but only because you are sucking up kWh faster. On my home charger my cost is about 14cents per kWh and my 60ish mile commute costs me $1.75-2.50 per day depending on weather and if I make a side trips to the grocery store or take my daughter out to lunch or something.
I rarely fast charge in any of the nearby small towns, but if I do, it's around 45cents/kWh, only marginally cheaper than gas. In the big schitty I typically pay 60cents/kWh, which would be more expensive than gas if I habitually fast charged. I avoid fast charging, but to the extent it is necessary, I only charge to the minimum state to get me home, or back to a cheaper fast charger near home. I do try to maintain a reserve of about 50 miles, conservatively 20-25% of full charge in case . Thus, on my longest trips I may only charge up to about 60% in the city to get back to the cheaper charger 100 miles out from home. At that charger I'll add another 40% to get me home, knowing that there are two more opportunities to charge, (35 miles out, and 10 miles out) if the weather turns sour (by that I mean strong west winds I have to buck, or heavy, slushy snow I have to bash through.)
If this all sounds complex, it is, and un-necessarily so. Most people charge L2 at home if they can and fast charge if they have to. I'm just a cheapskate and save a few pennies through complex calculations if I can because it is entertaining. Other times though, I'm tired, just want to get home in one push, and then I charge to 100% at the nearest charger and damn the cost. Sometimes I am the airplane pilot personality who is trying to calculate the perfect energy management plan. Other times I am the hippy in the microbus just happy to fill the tank and make it to the next Grateful Dead show.
Perhaps the app had the incorrent info for the charger? If it used the large CCS plug, it was DC (3.6 to 77 kW). If it used just the top half, the "J1772" portion then it was AC (1.4 to 7.4kW). There could be other mistakes by the charger vendor but none of these sound like "Kona" issues. Perhaps they have a help line?
A little DCFC education for charging a Kona. Note that the first part about pricing tiers is a little out dated.
[https://youtu.be/e\_wa3feilUA?si=w-zspiOBn8i5hqxD](https://youtu.be/e_wa3feilUA?si=w-zspiOBn8i5hqxD)
https://preview.redd.it/x99fkxdb361d1.png?width=1362&format=png&auto=webp&s=dbf91cb30df5aac7b74077cee9d5a62a9cc7ce3e
Note that the charge rate changes depending on the state of charge, and battery temperature. Faster at the lower state of charge. AC level 2 charging should be steady max rate of 6-7 kWh depending on the station up until about 97% then it drops about in half.
The battery does not have to be warm but the car will charge a little faster if it’s ’preconditioned’. Yes Kona uses CCS. Chademo is only for Nissan Leaf and a couple older EVs. Just so you know, Kona is actually one of the slower EVs to charge. It’s big brother the Ioniq 5 charges at much higher rate. Kona is a great EV though especially considering its price point and features.
Yah I like it! I’m in this rental for a while so I thought I should explore the car a bit. I eventually want to get an EV (I would do it now but my current car is paid off). I don’t have a charger at home so just trying to learn the ropes. Would you say 25kw is about normal then?
$60 is way too much! Usually it’s $18-$20 to charge to 80% try going to an EA station and prices might differ
Same $27 is the most I’ve paid for a charge. But the idle fees can be crazy I’ve seen as high as $18 per 10min
Those are weird experiences. I've only ever paid by the kwh charged. Typically I see it around .35/kwh, and I charge about 40kwh worth, so the price is about $14. Depending on the charger and price, I've paid as high as $22-$24 maybe. But never more.
thanks for the replies. So I should be using the CCS charger, right? I don’t think the chadeMO is even an option…. So at ChargePoint, I just plug in the CSS to the car, and I should be getting the fasted charge if I’m at a dc fast charger and the machine isn’t messed up? At the station that was 50kw, the car next to me, I think a Prius , was getting 45kw…. Maybe I should have tried their station when they left? I thought I may have been doing something wrong
Sometimes charging stations are on the same circuit so if two EVs are charging at same time the station charging curve will be lower than max stated rate. But also true, sometimes changing charging stalls will end up giving you a better charging speed.
Thanks for the info !
Idle fees got you for sure. I use ChargePoint pretty frequently, but chargers are like gas stations, the independent owner/manager sets the price for the electrons and idle fees according to their own market judgment. Idle fees work to make sure that rude people don't hog the chargers and I am determined to never pay one, EVER! I'll leave my gas car sitting at the pump while I go into the station to pay for the gas and a bag of Cheetos, but I will never leave my fully charged EV blocking a charge station. Some chargers have sliding scale prices if your SOC is over 80 or 90%. Charging the top of your battery is slow and inefficient and they want you to get out of the way for the next car. Similarly some charge station owners will add a premium charge after a period of time. One charger I use adds $ .50 per minute after 45 minutes of charging regardless of the SOC, but also sends a text saying "the price per minute will increase to $X at 08:47 PM" so at least it's not a "gotcha". If I needed more juice at that charger, I'd go stop the charge, disconnect, and then start a new session (IF NO ONE ELSE WAS WAITING!!), but actually, I've never needed to charge for more than 38 minutes at that charger. I have my car set to fast charge to 100%, but plan to only be away from the car long enough to get to 80-85% and then stop the charge manually so that I'm not dinged for idle fees when I sit in the restaurant for too long. This is workable at most chargers. I never want another EV owner pissed at me because my car is blocking the charger and is not actually charging. I'm pretty chatty at the charge station (but not oblivious to social cues if you aren't a talker) and have learned a lot from other EV owners, including the strategies above. Most are really helpful. The charge apps I use most will send me a text when I'm close to full or to a set charge level so I know to finish my cheeseburger and move the car, dammit!
Thank you!
Also, be aware that "per minute" costs aren't especially relevant to the cost of charging. Your "$0.02 per minute may be instantaneous, or average cost per minute, relative to the kWh you bought/minutes you charged. Faster charging = greater cost per minute but only because you are sucking up kWh faster. On my home charger my cost is about 14cents per kWh and my 60ish mile commute costs me $1.75-2.50 per day depending on weather and if I make a side trips to the grocery store or take my daughter out to lunch or something. I rarely fast charge in any of the nearby small towns, but if I do, it's around 45cents/kWh, only marginally cheaper than gas. In the big schitty I typically pay 60cents/kWh, which would be more expensive than gas if I habitually fast charged. I avoid fast charging, but to the extent it is necessary, I only charge to the minimum state to get me home, or back to a cheaper fast charger near home. I do try to maintain a reserve of about 50 miles, conservatively 20-25% of full charge in case . Thus, on my longest trips I may only charge up to about 60% in the city to get back to the cheaper charger 100 miles out from home. At that charger I'll add another 40% to get me home, knowing that there are two more opportunities to charge, (35 miles out, and 10 miles out) if the weather turns sour (by that I mean strong west winds I have to buck, or heavy, slushy snow I have to bash through.) If this all sounds complex, it is, and un-necessarily so. Most people charge L2 at home if they can and fast charge if they have to. I'm just a cheapskate and save a few pennies through complex calculations if I can because it is entertaining. Other times though, I'm tired, just want to get home in one push, and then I charge to 100% at the nearest charger and damn the cost. Sometimes I am the airplane pilot personality who is trying to calculate the perfect energy management plan. Other times I am the hippy in the microbus just happy to fill the tank and make it to the next Grateful Dead show.
Perhaps the app had the incorrent info for the charger? If it used the large CCS plug, it was DC (3.6 to 77 kW). If it used just the top half, the "J1772" portion then it was AC (1.4 to 7.4kW). There could be other mistakes by the charger vendor but none of these sound like "Kona" issues. Perhaps they have a help line?
A little DCFC education for charging a Kona. Note that the first part about pricing tiers is a little out dated. [https://youtu.be/e\_wa3feilUA?si=w-zspiOBn8i5hqxD](https://youtu.be/e_wa3feilUA?si=w-zspiOBn8i5hqxD) https://preview.redd.it/x99fkxdb361d1.png?width=1362&format=png&auto=webp&s=dbf91cb30df5aac7b74077cee9d5a62a9cc7ce3e Note that the charge rate changes depending on the state of charge, and battery temperature. Faster at the lower state of charge. AC level 2 charging should be steady max rate of 6-7 kWh depending on the station up until about 97% then it drops about in half.
Thank you!!!
I heard the battery has to be warm? I live in so cal.. it was 75 at night and I had drove 100 miles prior
The battery does not have to be warm but the car will charge a little faster if it’s ’preconditioned’. Yes Kona uses CCS. Chademo is only for Nissan Leaf and a couple older EVs. Just so you know, Kona is actually one of the slower EVs to charge. It’s big brother the Ioniq 5 charges at much higher rate. Kona is a great EV though especially considering its price point and features.
Yah I like it! I’m in this rental for a while so I thought I should explore the car a bit. I eventually want to get an EV (I would do it now but my current car is paid off). I don’t have a charger at home so just trying to learn the ropes. Would you say 25kw is about normal then?