So the much desired DCFCs slated for the Olympic Peninsula and other areas like South Pierce County are most likely on permanent hold which is a huge disappointment to me. The mention of a fast charger in DuPont put a smile on my face and would have been a perfect place to put one for my commute north and would really be helpful especially now that my LEAF is finally starting to lose some range.
So its a bit strange that yesterday I received an email advising that starting tomorrow, Ecotality will start the $5 per session fees for their fast charge stations. So despite a huge uproar over the injustice of such a thing, they went ahead and did it anyway.
Well, someone (from Ecotality I am fairly sure) said that the current software was unable to bill by time or the amount of charge taken. Which really means the station does not have the ability to provide instant feedback as to the cost of the charge at the end of the session. Well, if that is all that is standing in the way, then bring it on! If need be, I can log into the Blink website the next day and find out what the charges were. I am ok with that. They do tell you how much charge you took so charging by the Kwh is doable. And they also tell you the duration of the charge so charging by time is doable so all the tools to bill by time or charge is available but just not instantaneously. So lets see just how easy it would be!
I went to my Blink link and logged in. After a bit of wandering, I found what I was looking for...
here is copy of transaction I made. Got this info from
https://www.blinknetwork.com/profile/transaction-history.html
Transaction Details
Tahoma Market (I-5 Exit 137)
6006 Pacific Highway East
I-5 Exit 137
Fife, WA 98424 US
2013-04-03 05:27:26 EDT
9 minutes
$0.00/charge
$0.00
002510975
Tahoma Market (I-5 Exit 137)
6006 Pacific Highway East
I-5 Exit 137
Fife, WA 98424 US
6006 Pacific Highway East
I-5 Exit 137
Fife, WA 98424 US
2013-04-03 05:27:26 EDT
9 minutes
$0.00/charge
$0.00
002510975
So got the time down to the second! Now, I have to go to the Dashboard and go thru some convoluted math aerobics but I can also figure out how much Kwh I collected in this session here
https://www.blinknetwork.com/dashboard
Here I will find I reduced my CO2 usage by 2.4 lbs. I saved $1.30 or .5 gallons of gas (Where do they buy their gas from???) and after some of the that above mentioned math; 5.185 Kwh. (there is no way I can find on the site that gives you that information directly...)
So even on the website, getting the pertinent info to charge by Kwh is not an easy task. Why a seemingly critical piece of information was omitted from the transaction "details" screen is beyond me but not the point. The important thing is that all the data is present.
Either way, the announcement brought on the usual outrage online. the "Dusting off the Prius" statements were flying all over Facebook as can be expected but there is another thing to consider; $5 for a vital charge to get somewhere is actually not a bad deal in my mind. But the transaction I posted above is typical for me. So I would be paying a buck a Kwh! Not a good deal. But then again, I was only wanting to make it home (or to work. At 2:30 AM its very possible I could have been heading to work...) so flat rates SUCK!
Then again, you cant equate $5 public charge against $5 of gas and the reason is that that your cost to charge drops to $2 when you get home (at least around here is does and remember this post is about Blink starting the per session fees in the NW right?) but gas aint any cheaper at home, catch my drift?
So supposing we use a real life example of my Yaris and its current 12 cents a mile performance (every once in a while i get to the mid 11's...) I drive 120 miles, its gonna cost me $14.40 in gas more or less.
So in the LEAF; I stop at Tahoma, grab a milkshake and a 30 minute QC; which would probably give me 40-50 miles of range but more likely 40 than 50 since I would not be rolling in on empty (although I usually do...) So, I got 40 miles for $5. Then I go home charge up to full for $2 and now I got 80 miles. So I have the same 120 miles and its $7
Oh, I here grumbling from the Prius corner. So supposing I am driving a 50 mpg Prius and got a bargain at the gas station for $3.60 a gallon. Well, now its 7.2 cents a mile but still adds up to $8.64. Now, you have to argue that stopping for 30 minutes to charge is much more inconvenient than stopping 10 minutes for gas.
Well, lets examine that situation first. I tend to work weird hours which is good because I rarely have a line to wait in while charging at 3 AM. So I pull up, plug in and walk into the store (which is ALWAYS open) get some refreshments, catch up on my email (my boss sends me about a half dozen emails a day along with several texts and phone calls) and correspondences.
OR
The gas station which always has a line but I only get gas at Costco (I am in awe of the CEO's treatment of its employees so I support!) But we will pretend its a short line. So i sit there. Now i can get some correspondence done but 5 minutes is usually not enough time to do much of anything... Leaving the car to get refreshments is out... I am basically trapped. I get to the pump, fill up and leave. Out in 10 minutes. Now I have to pull over to get my correspondence in anyway. I usually have to write so doing most if it on the road is not an option. So, its "only" 10 minutes but its 10 minutes that can't be really used for anything else but getting gas.
So, back to the charging station. I still have 20 minutes left but by now, I have covered bathroom (which would add 4 minutes to the gas station time) half of lunch, drink and on my 3rd email response. I will admit due to Ecotality's clunky system, I did waste 1.7 minutes getting thru the "yes i want to charge" exercise but that is about it...
So which is more inconvenient?
Either way, I am not advocating a per session fee by any means but if its the only way I can get some chargers in the North end of the county, so be it! I will do whatever I can to avoid Blink until they "try out" other charging methods. I have no doubt, the other methods will be more expensive for most but betting it wont be for me!
https://www.blinknetwork.com/dashboard
Here I will find I reduced my CO2 usage by 2.4 lbs. I saved $1.30 or .5 gallons of gas (Where do they buy their gas from???) and after some of the that above mentioned math; 5.185 Kwh. (there is no way I can find on the site that gives you that information directly...)
So even on the website, getting the pertinent info to charge by Kwh is not an easy task. Why a seemingly critical piece of information was omitted from the transaction "details" screen is beyond me but not the point. The important thing is that all the data is present.
Either way, the announcement brought on the usual outrage online. the "Dusting off the Prius" statements were flying all over Facebook as can be expected but there is another thing to consider; $5 for a vital charge to get somewhere is actually not a bad deal in my mind. But the transaction I posted above is typical for me. So I would be paying a buck a Kwh! Not a good deal. But then again, I was only wanting to make it home (or to work. At 2:30 AM its very possible I could have been heading to work...) so flat rates SUCK!
Then again, you cant equate $5 public charge against $5 of gas and the reason is that that your cost to charge drops to $2 when you get home (at least around here is does and remember this post is about Blink starting the per session fees in the NW right?) but gas aint any cheaper at home, catch my drift?
So supposing we use a real life example of my Yaris and its current 12 cents a mile performance (every once in a while i get to the mid 11's...) I drive 120 miles, its gonna cost me $14.40 in gas more or less.
So in the LEAF; I stop at Tahoma, grab a milkshake and a 30 minute QC; which would probably give me 40-50 miles of range but more likely 40 than 50 since I would not be rolling in on empty (although I usually do...) So, I got 40 miles for $5. Then I go home charge up to full for $2 and now I got 80 miles. So I have the same 120 miles and its $7
Oh, I here grumbling from the Prius corner. So supposing I am driving a 50 mpg Prius and got a bargain at the gas station for $3.60 a gallon. Well, now its 7.2 cents a mile but still adds up to $8.64. Now, you have to argue that stopping for 30 minutes to charge is much more inconvenient than stopping 10 minutes for gas.
Well, lets examine that situation first. I tend to work weird hours which is good because I rarely have a line to wait in while charging at 3 AM. So I pull up, plug in and walk into the store (which is ALWAYS open) get some refreshments, catch up on my email (my boss sends me about a half dozen emails a day along with several texts and phone calls) and correspondences.
OR
The gas station which always has a line but I only get gas at Costco (I am in awe of the CEO's treatment of its employees so I support!) But we will pretend its a short line. So i sit there. Now i can get some correspondence done but 5 minutes is usually not enough time to do much of anything... Leaving the car to get refreshments is out... I am basically trapped. I get to the pump, fill up and leave. Out in 10 minutes. Now I have to pull over to get my correspondence in anyway. I usually have to write so doing most if it on the road is not an option. So, its "only" 10 minutes but its 10 minutes that can't be really used for anything else but getting gas.
So, back to the charging station. I still have 20 minutes left but by now, I have covered bathroom (which would add 4 minutes to the gas station time) half of lunch, drink and on my 3rd email response. I will admit due to Ecotality's clunky system, I did waste 1.7 minutes getting thru the "yes i want to charge" exercise but that is about it...
So which is more inconvenient?
Either way, I am not advocating a per session fee by any means but if its the only way I can get some chargers in the North end of the county, so be it! I will do whatever I can to avoid Blink until they "try out" other charging methods. I have no doubt, the other methods will be more expensive for most but betting it wont be for me!
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