I love my EV! But, a few weeks ago I posted a story about a little misadventure I had with it soon after I bought it.  I hesitated to post the story because I didn’t want to confuse people.  The debacle was 100%  my own fault and I didn’t want to lead people to think that life with an EV is undesirable, unworkable or problematic. 

But I seem to have failed at that, as several of my friends mentioned to me that stories like mine are part of the reason they don’t want to have an EV. They think that life with an EV is one serious inconvenience after another.

But it’s not.

In fact it’s not anything like that at all.

So, to clear up any confusion my previous story may have caused, I’d like to answer some FAQ’s about owning an EV.

Does an EV handle the road well?
Yes! Seriously, just go test drive an EV for fun- you’ll love it!

Are you constantly worried about range?
NO! An EV doesn’t have a gas tank, so there’s no gas tank needle to show how much or how little gas you have left.  Instead, EV’s have a range estimator that basically tells you the same thing- how much farther you can go before needing to refuel.  Using the AC, driving fast, hilly terrain… All these things use your car’s fuel faster, whether it’s gas or electric.  But we aren’t used to seeing that fuel store drop as incrementally as it does on the EV’s range display, even though the same thing is happening in our gas cars.

Worrying about running out of charge is called range anxiety- and it is real at first.  But once we got used to how the car works, it faded away, and only comes back during cold weather.

How do you charge since there doesn’t seem to be many public chargers around?

Most people charge their EV at their house, after having a level 2 charger installed.  These allow your car to charge faster than it would by just plugging it into a regular wall socket (also known as a trickle charge).  In the event that you need to find a charger in public, things are getting easier by the minute as more and more convenience stores are installing fast charge stations that will take you from zero to nearly full charge in as little as 20 minutes.  There are several apps available to help drivers find public charging stations nearby.  There aren’t always a bunch of them where you wish they were, but since most people are charging at home most of the time, finding a place to charge is generally not a problem.

Do EV’s have any power?
This question is only asked by people who have never driven one.

How far can you get with a fully charged battery?
My Chevy Bolt gets about 300 miles per charge.  Sometimes a bit more, sometimes less- depending on weather, driving speed, terrain, AC/heat, and the usual things that effect cars. Newer, more high-end EV’s do even better.

Isn’t that too little?
No.  How often do you drive somewhere that’s over 100 miles away?  If you’re like the average driver, not very often.  If you’re like me, who drives quite a bit for gigs, etc…the answer is still – not very often.  Even if you did  have a 100 mile commute each day, you could still make it there and back home on a full charge.  Remember- most charging is done at home, often at night.

According to Google AI, the average person does 70% of their driving within a 10 mile radius of their house.  The average person drives about 20 miles each way to work.  These number are well within range of the standard EV.  Many drivers will only need to charge a few times per week or less.

What do you do when you need to go on a longer trip?
This does take a bit more planning and more travel time but it can be done.  We still use our gas car for longer trips (like last month’s road trip), but we’ve taken the EV to Philadelphia, Baltimore, Allentown/Bethlehem and every shore point of interest on the New Jersey, Maryland and Delaware coast.

Does using heat and AC effect range? 
Yes- just like it does in a gas car, although the effects may be more pronounced.

Does energy leak from the battery while the car isn’t in use?
Nope. You can let the car sit in the driveway for days or even weeks, then hop in and drive off with the same charge you had before.

As humans, when we’ve done something the same way for a long time, we’re often fearful of adapting to something new.  Many people seem to feel that way about EV’s, and it’s understandable because gas cars have been our only option for our entire lives.  But EV’s are  EZ- it just takes a little adjustment- like when we switched from dialing phone numbers on the rotary phone to just saying “Hey Siri- call….”

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