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posted by n1 on Wednesday June 21 2017, @12:37PM   Printer-friendly
from the thousands-of-hamsters-in-wheels dept.

When I wrote about Tesla's rapid expansion of its supercharger network, I was equally surprised by the extent of its less publicly touted network of "destination chargers"—slower, "Level 2" chargers that it is distributing to hotels, malls, restaurants and other locations so folks can charge while they shop/eat/sleep, and thus relieve some pressure from the faster superchargers which folks use for longer distance road tripping.

It got me thinking about another network of charging infrastructure which folks often don't talk about: The Level 2 chargers which most of us electric vehicle drivers install in our homes and—sometimes—places of business. These chargers don't just enable our own electrified driving, but they also provide some peace of mind to any friends and relatives who may consider driving electric, and who can now be sure of a charge if they come for a visit.

In fact, I've noticed several private charging station owners—especially businesses—in my region are publicly listing their charging stations on the various apps that are available for locating charging spots. Interestingly, this isn't just limited to restaurants or shops offering charging as a perk for your business: We have real estate companies and industrial operations simply offering up their charge points as a free service to the electric vehicle community. (Often, they'll stipulate—quite reasonably—that their own vehicles get first dibs.)

Is a network of free- or metered Tier 2 charging stations the solution to EV range anxiety?


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  • (Score: 3, Interesting) by Grishnakh on Wednesday June 21 2017, @05:16PM (1 child)

    by Grishnakh (2831) on Wednesday June 21 2017, @05:16PM (#529122)

    Actually, actual studies show that Li-ion batteries have variable numbers of cycles, and that "1000 cycle" number really comes from full-discharge-full-recharge cycles, which you should never do if you can help it. Tesla sets theirs so they only discharge to 20%, and recharge to 80%, as this greatly increases the lifetime of Li-ion cells. Basically, every time you completely discharge a Li-ion battery, you're damaging it and significantly reducing its lifespan.

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  • (Score: 2) by Whoever on Thursday June 22 2017, @01:57AM

    by Whoever (4524) on Thursday June 22 2017, @01:57AM (#529316) Journal

    Tesla sets theirs so they only discharge to 20%, and recharge to 80%, as this greatly increases the lifetime of Li-ion cells

    I think you will find that Tesla only advises customers to do this. The cars are capable of using all of the battery capacity (unless some of the capacity is software locked, like the "60" models which were built with a 75kWh battery).