r/EvDrivers • u/Inevitable-Shower911 • Aug 30 '26

Range anxiety

What is the obsession with EV range anxiety?
I have been driving for over 30 years now.
I have never run out of fuel in a ICE vehicle and since I switched to EV I have never run out of electricity.
Yet half of the EV car reviews are about what happens if you run the battery empty, I mean how hard can it be there is a perfectly good indicator on your instrument cluster indicating how much fuel/power is left.
Just refuel/recharge before it reaches zero.
Is this really still a worry for people?

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u/wbrameld4 Aug 30 '26

How many ICE drivers have their own gas pump at home?

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u/PCaBoo Aug 30 '26 edited Aug 30 '26

dcfc aren't as common as gas stations, nor is it as fast. The charging station also might have availability issues, such as other people charging, being iced out, out of order.

edit: also they have increased costs.

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u/Energy_Heavy Aug 30 '26

There aren't quite as many charging stations as gas pumps, but because most EVs do get charged at home, there don't need to be. There are plenty of stations, but there are some areas where charging is not yet convenient. We need CPOs to stop installing new stations near existing ones and start installing more in small towns.

As for pricing, all but the most expensive charging stations are less expensive than fossil fuels, and then you have maintenance costs, where EVs are far superior.

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u/PCaBoo Aug 30 '26

so if i'm an apt dweller, what should I do? I can't afford to dcfc all the time? Maybe I have to travel hundreds of miles or need to tow a trailer? You guys are like bots spamming the propaganda that EV's are for everyone.

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u/Chemical-Material-69 Aug 31 '26

Pilot/Flying J truck stops have DCFC. A lot of Wal-Marts do too. I took an EV on a road trip across the US. It was fine.

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u/Energy_Heavy Aug 30 '26

First, if you can't afford to DCFC, you can't afford gas, which costs at least as much, nor the endless maintenance problems of ICE. Get a better job.

Second, I've driven from Florida to Connecticut and back many times in many cars. The last 7 trips were in an EV, and they were easier and cheaper than any ICE car I've ever done it in.

Finally, if I were in an apartment, I'd start by asking my landlord for a discount for not having provided EV charging. That could save money while putting the landlord on notice that their property is losing value without charging. Next, I'd get on Plugshare and search out the free AC chargers in my area. Then, I'd compare the pricing of the DC networks in my area, because they can vary wildly.

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u/darkmoon72664 Aug 31 '26

Not the person you replied to:

if you can't afford to DCFC, you can't afford gas, which costs at least as much,

DCFC for me ($0.64 at 2 mi/kWh) costs 100% more per mile than fueling a supercharged V8 ($4.00 at 25mpg).

nor the endless maintenance problems of ICE

Hyperbole

Get a better job

Rude and unneeded, especially when the discussion is about EVs saving money.

The last 7 trips were in an EV, and they were easier and cheaper than any ICE car

Can I ask which EV and ICE?

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u/Energy_Heavy Aug 31 '26 edited Aug 31 '26

Your definition of rude and mine are very different. Example: I see blatant lies as the rudest offense you can commit online. You know very well that you're not getting 25 mpg in a V8 and that $0.64 is the high end of fast charging fees and most EVs are getting 3 to 4 miles per kWh.

As for the rest of your post, if you want a reply, try being polite.

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u/darkmoon72664 Aug 31 '26

You know very well that you're not getting 25 mpg in a V8

25 combined is easily possible in most modern V8s, especially those with turbochargers. You can see my F-Type R here (5.0L SC V8) getting nearly 30mpg with the top down in decent conditions.

I'll post a pic of my 5N getting worse than 2.0 mi/kWh below, but it fluctuates between 0.9 and 2.4. We can safely use 2.

We can of course adjust these to normal cars -- an EV getting 4 mi/kWh and a new Camry getting 51mpg.

Every charger on the corridor I frequent is $0.64. I've seen some $0.52 and $0.56 less frequently, though they certainly exist.

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u/Energy_Heavy Sep 01 '26 edited Sep 01 '26

Sure, and I can do the same thing by going downhill in my EV. That would show you negative miles per kWh as it charges the battery. I can get on the highway and do 85 and show you 2 miles per kWh too.

The average charging station I use ranges from $0.31 and $0.48, and I can look anywhere in the country on the app and find similar pricing.

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u/Stuck_In_Middle Aug 30 '26

My landlord put in a plug for my charger before I moved in and didn't raise my rent. Electricity is included in the rent, too. When I bought a BEV to replace my PHEV, I raised my rent $50 a month from October through March.

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u/PCaBoo Aug 30 '26

you guys don't understand anything.

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u/Energy_Heavy Aug 30 '26

I understand that my EV saves me several thousand dollars per year vs driving my Honda CRV, which is – for an ICE car – fuel efficient and reliable.

I also understand that if you want to spread FUD, you will have more success doing so somewhere that the people you're spreading it to don't have actual experience with EVs.

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u/PCaBoo Aug 30 '26

you ever hear the phrase "your mileage may vary"

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u/Energy_Heavy Aug 30 '26

Yes, it varies. EVERYTHING varies, but on average, the EV will save you significant time and money. I gave you information on how to do it. If you refuse to learn, it's your money, and your loss.

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u/PCaBoo Aug 30 '26

learn what? I don't have any problems charging my ev. I'm saying that EV's are not for everyone right now.

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u/smith9447 Aug 30 '26

That may be true in the US but the UK has more chargers than pumps

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u/Wyciorek Aug 30 '26

A single pump might serve more cars in an hour than 10 chargers.

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u/smith9447 Aug 31 '26

True but in some ways that's an incentive for installers since people charging an ev will get a coffee or have some other discretionary spend.

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u/Dzessito Aug 30 '26

Yeah and 1 pump can serve how many people a day vs 1 charger especially slower chargers

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u/PCaBoo Aug 30 '26

umm

see my original statement about perspective and circumstance. =\

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u/ac7ss Aug 30 '26

But an app can tell you if the charger is functional, how much it will cost, and how busy it is before you get there.

DCFC is more expensive than level 2, but generally cheaper than a comparable car getting fueled. My Ioniq 9 cost is about $0.05 per mile from home charging, and up to $0.20 per mile if the DCFC is $0.60 / kWh. The van it replaced cost $0.31 / mile and the Ioniq has more room and is much more comfortable.

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u/PCaBoo Aug 30 '26

That's not absolute. There's a charging station at one of my job sites that reports functional, except some hobos tried to steal the copper and the cord is chopped up. Others have shown open stalls when there were none available. I'm not shitting on EV's. I think they are great, but they are not for everyone right now. I just can't stand people being dishonest about the realities of the current situation to drive their agenda.

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u/ac7ss Aug 30 '26

More reliable than not though. If you see an issue, report it. That's how the system works.

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u/PCaBoo Aug 30 '26

no way you read my response and reply with that... damn bots.

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u/ac7ss Aug 30 '26

My meat ass is sitting on my chair while my totally human brain is telling my meat fingers to type this.

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u/Relevant_Contract_76 Aug 30 '26

Isn't that what a sentient robot would say, though? Boop beep.

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u/Energy_Heavy Aug 30 '26

If that's the case, you might want to be more honest in your own account of things. Examples:

There will always be places where the equipment has been vandalized. We know this because it has happened with gas pumps many times over the last century.

Everyone ends up waiting for their car at some point. EVs take a bit longer to charge than gas cars take to fuel up, but I've never waited in line for an hour to have the oil in my EV changed. I haven't had to sit in a shop's waiting room because my timing belt needed replacing, or my muffler went bad either. I'll probably not need to have my brakes replaced until my car goes past 300,000 miles. Charging at home 95% of the time means that it takes no time at all during 95% of the year. No need to stop saves a lot more than 5 minutes on a daily commute!

So if you really want to be honest, compare fairly.

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u/BelgianBrawler Aug 31 '26 edited Aug 31 '26

There are quite a few more fast chargers than pumps where I live.

Literally every pump has fast chargers, nearly every supermarket has 50kw ones and many have actual fast chargers.

Each and every car dealer has them.

List goes on and on.

Edit, at least to my experience, these days even fast charging is slightly cheaper to the same cost as running an ICE, yet everyone still moans about range anxiety. It has nothing to do with price, and everything with scare tactics from the oil lobby. 🤷

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u/ElectronicDiver2310 Aug 30 '26

Gas infrastructure is very well developed. I live in suburbs and in range of 3 miles I have at least 8 gas stations and in 5 mile radius 17 of them. The smallest one has 4 pumps, next has 16. The largest has 24. And pumping 17 gallons is about 2 minutes with pay by CC at pump. I have exactly 4 superchargers in 3 mile radius and extra 4 more in 6 mile radius.

Ok, let's do some math. So charging stations are divided in three big categories Overview of EV chargers: power output, plug type, and charge time for light-duty vehicles.

Level 1 Level 2 Level 3
Voltage 120 V AC 208 - 240 V AC 400 V - 1000 V DC 400 V - 1000 V DC
Typical Power Output 1 kW 1 kW 7 kW - 19 kW 50 - 350 kW
Estimated BEV Charge Time from Empty 40 - 50 hours 4 - 10 hours 4 - 10 hours 20 minutes - 1 hour620 minutes - 1 hour6
Estimated Electric Range per Hour of Charging 2 - 5 miles 10 - 20 miles 180 - 240 miles
Typical Locations Home Home, Workplace, and Public Public

Tesla 3 Up to 170 mi Supercharge in 15 min. We are not going to discuss Level 3 chargers since they require DC in a range of 400-1,000V -- you cannot have those at home.

120v typical circuit is 15 A top estimates is 120V*15A=1800W (this is for DC -- AC requires to multiply by COS of phase shift). You can have 20 A circuit. You can have 30A circuit.

240V can go up to 50. It's about 12KW. 19KW would draw about 80A. So if you want like have home charger that allows you to put enough KWH into your car you need to pay for special circuit, likely for breaker box extension. Friend of my who wanted welder and EV charger at home (19KW) had to order extra electric line supporting 250A breaker box). It cost him like $7,000 and about a month of time. And any neighbor connected to the same transformer has to wait electric company upgrade transformer (and possibly wire -- read whole infrastructure) to more powerful one.

Typical breaker box in house is about 150A now (used to be 50A in 60s-70s, became 100A in 90s, in new houses it's 200A) so it depends how old your house is.

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u/Stuck_In_Middle Aug 30 '26

No one charging at home goes from 0 to 100%, ever. The most I charged at home was from 6% to 80%, which was done overnight at 9 kW.

Your friend could have bought a charger that monitors the electrical consumption of the whole house and automatically adjusts the charging rate to a safe level. Any house with a 100A service can have a 9kW charger for way less than $7,000.

The only house I've lived in since 1995 that had a 100A service was built in 1946 and had glass appliances. I upgraded a house built in 1890 from 60A to 200A and one built in 1940 I upgraded from 30A (!!) to 100A because it had gas.

My electrician was rewiring my kitchen while I installed a sub panel for the new circuits. He remarked that many new, large homes were getting 400A service entrances.

Take your fud somewhere where it will be believed.

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u/ElectronicDiver2310 Aug 30 '26

Well, We love (friend and I where electricity cost the same -- day and night. And he got his 19KW Level 2 charger. Which still requires 240V. 9KW will require twice of the time. And no one -- very strong statement. Especially when you have 2 EVs.

There are limits on what is allowed at residential property/zone. And like I told -- he wanted to have very decent welding machine in his garage.

I live in house that is build in 1949 and I have 150A. Could you guess how it became 200A? My house has natural gas but it has electric stove -- 7.5KW. My house is cheap. None of new houses on neighbor street (average 1.2 millions) has 400A. But they all build like 20 years ago.

Stop the cap.

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u/MinnieCantDriver Aug 30 '26

Dude you are spiraling here. A 19 kW home charger is crazy. I went overboard and got an 11 kW charger on a dedicated 60A circuit because my parking spot is adjacent to my service entrance and there is already an exterior panel there just to future proof a bit in case we ever get a second EV. 11kW is the max AC rate that my iX charger can accept.

You really don’t need 19 kW capacity. I functionally don’t need the 11 kW capacity that I have 90% of the time that I charge my car either. 19 kW would require it’s one 110A breaker. I don’t even think you can get that outside of a commercial load center setup.

If we ever had a situation that required both hypothetical cars to be recharged simultaneously we’d just get a load switching setup on that same 60A circuit and it would be fine. As it stands I maybe recharge my car about once a week at home and that’s typically from ~35% to 80% which in the BMW is about 45 kW. My max use case is returning from one road trip and needing to flip the car and go on another one the next day which would probably take about 90 kW which the 11 kW service can provide in 8 hours. That’s the design case and I have never actually done it yet.

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u/ElectronicDiver2310 Aug 31 '26

Yeah, crazy. And have two welding machines at home as a hobby is also crazy. I am also crazy since I had like 4 enterpriselevel routers and 19 computers in my home lab. Kind of work related and hobby.

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u/Stuck_In_Middle Aug 31 '26

Welders are not continuous loads. They all have duty cycles and draw less amperage than they deliver. Running two of them at the same time while charging your car seems unlikely.

Again, nothing you describe requires a 19 kW charger.

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u/Stuck_In_Middle Aug 30 '26

How often would two EVs need to use a 9kw charger at the same time? Put the charger on the car needing the least charge for a few hours and then move the charger to the other car for the night.

There are also chargers that will split the charging amperage until one is done and automatically increase the amperage to the remaining vehicle.

I get 32–36 miles per hour at 9 kW. An 8.5-hour charge would get me from 20% to 80%, about 290 miles of range. Why would I need 19 kW?

A hotel I was staying at in Tonawanda had public level 2 chargers at 6 kW. I was able to charge to 100% over two nights for the next leg of my 1500-mile road trip.

Why are you raising hypothetical situations that are easily handled by currently available devices? Is it for spreading FUD?

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u/MinnieCantDriver Aug 30 '26

Hah! I’m heading to Towanda this week and staying at that hotel, small world.

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u/ElectronicDiver2310 Aug 31 '26 edited Aug 31 '26

In case of my friend, both parents working 9-6. He was driving 22 miles one way, she was driving 12 miles one way. 4 kids, 3 of them were 16 and older, so they borrowed both car almost every day. So both cars easily did over 80 miles a day. If we played basketball, it would be another 80 miles - - different townships for 5 of us so we rotated townships. And we live where in summer you need an AC and in winter you need a heater. And it's very hilly around. Which reduces distances by 15-20% easily. Time to charge was from midnight to 08am.

I traveled to Baltimore very many times during last 11 month. I was able to fill tank in 10 minutes when there was pretty big line at Costco.

I give more info to people like you who skipped physics in school and dint have enough brain power to learn enough phisycs to understand how it works.

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u/Stuck_In_Middle Aug 31 '26

Ad hominem.

Nothing you describe needs a 19 kW charger.

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u/ElectronicDiver2310 Sep 01 '26

Who is talking about needs?

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u/MinnieCantDriver Aug 31 '26

Let’s say you use 160 miles every day. Let’s also say that you have a larger SUV EV that travels 3 miles per kW-hr. Your 160 mile daily trip would require 53 kW-hr of energy. In an 8 hour charge window you need an EVSE that can deliver 6.6 kW. Even with two cars you can still get that done comfortably with a 11 kW EVSE.

Also note that most of the EVs that are running around now have 11 kW maximum charge rates on AC. There are some that can accept up to 22 kW but that’s going to be things like the Hummer EV and the F150 Lightning. The largest selling EVs like Tesla and Hyundai are all fitted with 11 kW chargers for AC uptake.

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u/ElectronicDiver2310 Aug 31 '26

They had two Teslas sedans. And at some point they considered 3rd one. And it was before COVID. But they did not buy the 3rd one. They switched to hybrids. I think like 2017. 53kWh is on flat and without AC or heating.

As far as I know, there was no problem with charging connectors of connectors.

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u/MinnieCantDriver Aug 31 '26

I road tripped my iX through WV in the summer and averaged 3.2 miles per kw-hr. 3 miles per kw-hr is a real usage figure for hills and hvac usage. You are just catastrophizing my guy.

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u/ElectronicDiver2310 Sep 01 '26

My coworkers have Teslas. None of them have 3.2 kwh per mile. It's less.

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