Random EV thoughts.....

My experience of ABRP is that it was slightly pessimistic in good weather and I arrived with more battery than projected

Aside from that, it's generally very accurate

You can set preferences on networks if you'd prefer to use Ionity or Tesla networks, however I'm pretty sure there's no other hubs around that would be as convenient

The Ecars sites you're looking at is actually 2x 200kW units with two plugs each, making 4 charging spaces

If two cars are plugged into the same unit they'll get 100kW max each. I'm pretty sure those units can't intelligently split the load, if one side is pulling 50kW the other side is still limited to 100kW and not the remaining 150kW

As such, budget some extra time for charging than what ABRP gives, since it will always assume you're getting the maximum available power from the charger

It seems as good a location as you're going to get for charging near Knock, no risk of a single busted charger ruining your trip

I wonder what is the reasoning behind EV designs being so loud and scream 'I am driving an EV'

The Ioniq 6 and Nissan Arya have to be one of the ugliest cars every designed along with the new Range Rover Sport and Mercedes GLC/GLE Coupe

I have charged in Charlestown a few times. They are very new 200kW units, so quite reliable. Services are ok on site (SuperMacs, deli, etc). The last day I was there (about 2 weeks ago), there was some construction in the forecourt, but all four chargers were accessible. It's about 3 or 4 minutes off the N5, so would be a good choice for Knock Airport.

If the four ESB chargers were in use and you were tight on time, there is also a 50kW EasyGo unit in Charlestown which is generally always available.

I'd love to. Heading to Heineken cup final in London meeting their brother who lives in Mayo and flying from there. Bargain to fly from Knock actually, saving about 1200 euro between the 4 of us. Never flew from there before.

I was thinking it'll be easier than Dublin airport alright. Might not even take me much longer to travel overall.

As for herself, she drives an EV too and has only ever plugged it in once, very reluctantly, on a work trip to Waterford when we had only 1 car. That includes home charging. It's my job to keep them charged apparently ! Drives an EV, loves how it drives and knows zero about charging.

I had to talk her through it and monitor the charge on the app from 200kms away while she constantly said I'll just leave now will I? No you'll leave when you've enough charge!

That's why I know they'll be moaning if the chargers act up.

I made a couple of quick features on a telegram bot for Ev related stuff just so I don't have to do maths anymore

1. Calculating how long the battery will take to charge. You pass in the current SoC and it calculates how long it will take to charger to a few different levels, basically to see if we need to increase the charging window outside the 3 hours Ev rate. (you could possibly get the SoC from bluelink directly, but I don't want to stress the 12v battery!) Our car charges at roughly 15% per hour
2. Not directly Ev related, but calculating how long to delay the washing machine/dryer/dishwasher to get it on the night rate/Ev rate.

I'm running these on my home assistant instance so I'm happy to share the code if anyone else wants to set them up on theres

Charlestown stop is brilliant for charging, charged there in February and had no issues. On my way home though I stopped off again at around 6pm when Supermacs got really busy and one of the spaces were ICEd. The parking in general at the site is not sufficient.

Somebody's going to be out of pocket. 🤣

Small sample size but it does provide an indicator to understanding why many people continue to resist the transition to EVs. Basically a lot of people simply resist change and will continue with what they are familiar with for as long as they can despite the browbeating by the enlightened. PHEV anyone…

Tells everyone she is driving an EV but wouldn't be the best ambassador for them if asked questions.

Range? Well I once went to Waterford and had to charge for 30 mins in Kilkenny on the way back until got a call it was ok to leave. Think he brings it into work about once a week to charge, I don't know how much I drive though.

Battery size? It's big, it's the entire floor of the car.

She'll tell you it's fast though and takes off like a rocket

Genuinely does like them but has no interest in what they are or how they're put together. No trips to petrol station is a huge factor for her though. And absolutely loves the Etron over the cupra more than I do I think.

my mrs isnt too bad and has stopped at an ionity once herself. She drives more than i do so makes sure the car is charged once a week or whenever needed. She too is a big fan of never needing to frequent a petrol station.

My wife took my car to work one day. Battery was low and she had a fair bit of driving later in the day.

She rang me from work looking help to charge it. As she was on the phone a guy she works with got out of his 330e BMW. Fair play to him, he showed her what to do. I was still on the line and I could hear her say "what do I do now Dave"?

"Go inside and do some work" he says 😂.

She rang me later that day in amazement. "The car is on 75% battery now. I've loads of range for my journey".

I think a lot of people don't realise that the majority of time, your car, be it petrol, diesel or electric just sits there going nowhere.

Sabine Hossenfelder no longer believes EV's are the answer, so she bought a hybrid.

Same line of thinking that has me wondering how building 10,000 km of high voltage power lines criss crossing Australia to connect renewables can be either eco or cost effective, which is the current estimate.

"Condemnation without investigation is the height of ignorance"
Albert Einstein

She has an excuse. She's mathematician - theoretical physicist. They live in another dimension