[docelectric2020]

Originally Posted by SKC-auto

Please share more of these stories. I imagine you used the Vellore charger on your return trip. So with a break of 33mins (most people take a break of 30 mins even on their ICE cars in this route) you could complete the trip with 2-3₹/km, for a car like petrol Creta it will be 8-10₹/km, diesel Creta ~6-7₹/km.

Yesterday I saw Tesla Bjorn video where he completes 1000km trip in 9hrs 20mins(not a leisure trip), almost equal to any ICE car.

Hi.
Yes your are right, Yesterday I did use the vellore charger at the MG showroom which was a TATA Exicom charger.

For my usual trip to bangalroe, I dont have to charge at vellore as charging once in Krishnagiri would be more than sufficient.

Here is what I did on my previous trip to Bangalore in March.

1. Start from Chennai with 100% charge (cost Rs.250)
2. Drive with cruise control at 80km/hr (I get a range of 300kms at this speed)
3. Reach Krishnagiri zeon charger which is 254kms with 20% battery left.
4. Charge up to 90% (It was free till last month)
5. I now have enough charge to reach Koramangala with 60% charge remaining.
6. Return to Charge again at Krishnagiri zeon charger from 30% to 90%
7. Cruise at 80kmph and reach Chennai with 15% charge remaining.

This entire trip cost me Rs.250 for 660kms when the fast charging was free.

Yesterday's trip using the Zeon and TATA chargers cost me about Rs.1000 for the 660kms which comes to Rs.0.6 per km.
I wasn't charged at the TATA charger due to a glitch in the app.

If I was billed for it, then the cost would have been Rs.1700 for the entire 660kms trip which comes to Rs.2.5 per km

Unusually, I used both these chargers yesterday because I was simply bored cruising at 80kmph, so I kept pushing it between 100 to 110kmph with hard accelerations.

[mohanphadnis]

Originally Posted by SKC-auto

Yesterday I saw Tesla Bjorn video where he completes 1000km trip in 9hrs 20mins(not a leisure trip), almost equal to any ICE car.

That guy does 1000kms in every car he gets his hands on. He actually puts a breakup in the end about how much time was spent charging in the end.

Anyway if you have Ionity chargers(Which he generally uses) pushing 350kw/800V and a car that can actually accept it, we are looking at charging rate of around 30km/minute. That is still slower than filling on a petrol pump, but you should have enough juice in about 10 minutes of charge to reach the next destination.
The whole 1000km in an EV bit is getting old with new 800V vehicles, because they charge so fast. Charging time for 1000kms on these would be ~35 minutes. You need to wait way longer than this time to take care of yourself on the road.

[SKC-auto]

Originally Posted by mohanphadnis

The whole 1000km in an EV bit is getting old with new 800V vehicles, because they charge so fast. Charging time for 1000kms on these would be ~35 minutes. You need to wait way longer than this time to take care of yourself on the road.

I feel 350kw (or 250kw) is too fast for a leisure road trip, after driving for 300kms(5hrs driving), your car is ready before you start digging into your Masala Dosa .

[Equus]

Originally Posted by ADI7YAK

The only couple complaints I have with Tata Power's chargers is that they have,
1 : Only one point per location (except a very few units of 50kW CCS2+CCS2) Ideally should have at least four CCS2 guns at each location.
2 : 25kW chargers at almost all locations. Presumably because Nexon EV can only take upto 25kW. I wish to see at least 50kW units.

Does this mean you cant charge above 25kW in your Kona at these Tata Power's chargers? How do they limit it? The upcoming XC40 Recharge has 78kWh!

[blackwasp]

Spotted this at my local HP pump in Vashi, Navi Mumbai. Looks like the installation is done, but official inauguration is pending. Good to see fuel pumps come up with such initiatives. While not always practical in terms of turn around times, it can be a boon in an emergency.

[docelectric2020]

Originally Posted by Equus

Does this mean you cant charge above 25kW in your Kona at these Tata Power's chargers? How do they limit it? The upcoming XC40 Recharge has 78kWh!

Yes. With most TATA chargers, the max output of 25 kw - 30kw.
The chargers are capable of only this peak output power.
Most chargers max out at 50kw.

One correction though, The volvo xc40 charges at a higher rate

The recharging peak rate of Indian EV vehicles are as follows

Tata Nexon EV - 25kw
Hyundai Kona EV - 75kw
MG ZS EV - 78kw
Jaguar I-pace - 100kw
Mercedes EQC - 110kw
Volvo XC40 Recharge - 150kw

[ADI7YAK]

Originally Posted by Equus

Does this mean you cant charge above 25kW in your Kona at these Tata Power's chargers? How do they limit it?

Correct. The charger can only push upto 25kW of power. Kona however can accept around 70kW, albeit for a very short period of time after which it comes down to 50kW. This is commonly known as "charging curve" in EV world. Different cars have different charging curves. Charging rate towards the top of the battery pack, say 80%-100% is slowed down by software to preserve health of the battery pack.

Originally Posted by Equus

The upcoming XC40 Recharge has 78kWh!

XC40 Recharge would take good 2+ hours at these 25kW stations but would take much lesser time on 50kW units and even lesser at 100-150kW units.

[livelyyoungman]

Originally Posted by TusharK

Tata Power has signed an agreement with Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) to set up EV charging stations at HPCL retail outlets in multiple cities and major highways across the country.

Nice move and much needed as well. This will help in transition to EV more easy, practical and effective as well. The next car for most of us would be EV and all we need is the need of EV infra to be setup across.

[Equus]

Originally Posted by blackwasp

Spotted this at my local HP pump in Vashi, Navi Mumbai. Looks like the installation is done, but official inauguration is pending. Good to see fuel pumps come up with such initiatives. While not always practical in terms of turn around times, it can be a boon in an emergency.

Attachment 2180842

Awesome -thanks for sharing! Imagine if each gas station can have even one single charging point? Over time as demand grows, they can replace the fuel ones with chargers without needing extra space! This is a tsunami in the waiting - I am convinced our transition to EVs will be faster than most countries. Maruti/Toyota will need to jump on this soon & add EV option to their entire small car range. All city cars (& taxis) should be mandated to be EV - most dont cross 150-200 kms per day anyways.

My only worry is if there is a safety hazard with both in such close vicinity.

[blackwasp]

Originally Posted by Equus

All city cars (& taxis) should be mandated to be EV - most dont cross 150-200 kms per day anyways.

The biggest problem with EV is the space and time the charging needs. Its easy for home owners to charge once in a while or even overnight in their homes, but what about fleet owners?

Many cabs run 24x7 in 2 shifts. In such cases, the driver will never wait 4-5 hrs in his 12 hr shift just to charge the vehicle. Further, the lack of parking issue is still there.

[LeoRBK]

Originally Posted by blackwasp

The biggest problem with EV is the space and time the charging needs. Its easy for home owners to charge once in a while or even overnight in their homes, but what about fleet owners?

Many cabs run 24x7 in 2 shifts. In such cases, the driver will never wait 4-5 hrs in his 12 hr shift just to charge the vehicle. Further, the lack of parking issue is still there.

A charge top up once every few rides should be achievable under an hour over DC rapid chargers in excess of 50kW. You need to make sure to discharge battery to 20% and then recharge to 80% on the rapids.

All the news I came across in the forum indicates that rapids are being built in dedicated forecourts in cities. In future, they should be complimented with driver refreshment facilities.

Once every few weeks every car battery needs cell balancing to be carried out, means you charge to 100% and then let the trickle system balance voltage across battery cells. Hopefully this can be achieved by using slow public chargers over night/granny charger if they have access to private driveway.

[Pulse500]

More than traditional fuel pumps, I expect more fast charging stations coming up near high voltage transmission lines along highways, with facilities for multi-cuisine dining, entertainment, gaming, shopping, maybe even hotel like rooms for short term use etc so that the EV users doesnt get bored or waste time when the vehicle is being charged.

Fast chargers draw a huge amount of current from electrical lines. Even if an average 20KW is drawn per charger or per car, and 20 such cars being charged simultaneously, the charging station needs atleast 400KW facility (even if you assume 100% efficiency of transformers, power electronics, cables etc). i.e. must be fed by atleast 11KV+ power transmission line to keep thickness of conductors and power losses reasonable.

And such large facilities may also use rooftop and open areas for solar power generation. Solar power generation needs huge space, e.g. average 26sqft for every KWh unit generated per day (not all days are sunny, and we also dont get same high intensity of light at all day hours)

We might also see more shopping malls, offices and hotels offering EV charging facilities. Even the traditional small hotels and restaurants might offer you a 15Amp metered sockets for overnight or emergency slow charging.

I am hoping to install a dedicated meter in my housing society.

[Annibaddh]

Originally Posted by GTO

Enough to get you on the road again. But really, the best place to charge your EV is at your home / office.

Wonder when McDonald's will get into this game. They've global infra of drive-throughs (perhaps the single largest) with sufficient parking space and habitual customers who stop by routinely. Building a priced EV charging infra will also have an increased revenue potential even for their restaurants business and increase returns on real-estate for them overall.

This is a complex problem and I can't foresee "Charging at home/office only" be a sustainable path for EVs to become mainstream. Recharging on the move / highways will have to be solved even if real world range jumps beyond 400 kms.

[Gabbar010487]

IMO along with fuel pumps they should install charging stations in dhabas and other roadside eateries on National Highways. This way owners can charge their vehicles while having food or tea breaks.

[mugen_pinaki27]

Excellent move indeed. But we would be needing fast chargers like a Level 2 or 3 DC fast charging to really make people adopt EV on a mass level. Petrol pumps would prefer catering to users who take up less time and space and only the aforementioned charging systems can make sure of that. Hopeful of some positive news