How to plan an electric car trip, how to prepare for an electrician trip - tips for non-professionals
Content
The EV Forum raised a question that we had previously met in emails: how to plan an EV trip. We decided that it was worth collecting this information into one text. Together, your experience and ours should be successful. The tools may also be helpful to you.
Planning an electric car trip
Table of contents
- Planning an electric car trip
- Knowledge: Don't trust WLTP, look for orange pins along the way
- Mobile Apps: PlugShare, ABRP, GreenWay
- Route planning
- Planning a route Warsaw -> Krakow
- Charging at destination
– What shit! Someone will say. - I put on a jacket and go where I want without planning!
This is true. The number of gas stations in Poland and Europe is so great that you don't really need to plan your trip: jump on the fastest route recommended by Google Maps and you're done. From the experience of the Autoblog editors, electric vehicles can be a little more complicated. That is why we decided that we are both of you, and we owe them such a guide.
When you drive an electrician, you will find that below we describe the truisms that in an internal combustion car would correspond to "changing the oil once a year", "replacing the air filter every two years", "checking the battery before winter". ... But someone has to describe it.
If you own or plan to buy a Tesla, 80 percent of the content here does not apply to you.
Knowledge: Don't trust WLTP, look for orange pins along the way
Start with a full charge. Not up to 80, not up to 90 percent. Take advantage of the fact that you are in a familiar place. Don't worry about the fact that batteries prefer to work in a narrower compartment, it's not your problem - your comfort is the most important thing when traveling. We assure you that nothing will happen to the battery.
General rule: WLTP ranges lie... Trust Nyeland, trust the EV when we calculate the real ranges, or you calculate them yourself. On the highway at highway speed: "I'm trying to stick to 120 km / h," the maximum range is about 60 percent of WLTP. In fact, this is probably the only time the WLTP value will come in handy when planning a trip.
More important information: selection of only fast charging stations on PlugShare, marked with orange pins... Trust me, you want to stand for 20-30-40 minutes, not four hours. Don't forget about the adapter or the cable (a complete Juice Booster or alternative is enough). Because when you get there, you may find that there is an outlet that you cannot plug into.
There is one more important thing that the Reader reminded us of and that rarely interests you in an internal combustion car: correct or even higher tire pressure. You can test it at the machine level, you can test it at the compressor. There should be no less air in the tires than recommended by the manufacturer. If you're driving further where you might have issues with chargers, feel free to pump up more. We ourselves bet that +10 percent is a safe pressure.
Finally, remember that you increase the range as you slow down. Don't be an obstacle (unless you have to), but don't overlook the fact that it's worth following the rules. If you go slower, you can go faster..
When shopping for an electrician, it makes sense to have multiple mobile apps. Below are the universal ones for the whole of Poland:
- charging station card: PlugShare (Android, iOS)
- Travel planner: A Better Route Planner (Android, iOS),
- Charging station networks: GreenWay Polska (Android, iOS), Orlen Charge (Android, iOS).
It is worth registering on the GreenWay network. We present to you the Orlen network as a possible Plan B, available almost throughout Poland, but we do not recommend using it. The devices are unreliable, the hotline cannot help. And chargers like to block 200 PLN regardless of whether the process has started at all.
Route planning
Our guiding principle is as follows: trying to discharge the battery as much as possiblethat energy replenishment begins with high powers, while not forgetting to have another charging station within reach. So the first stop is around 20-25 percent battery, and if necessary we look for an alternative around the pessimistic 5-10 percent. If there are no such devices, we rely on the existing infrastructure without combining. Unless we know the car and we don't know how much we can drag it.
With Tesla, it's very easy. You simply enter your destination and wait for the car to do the rest. Because Tesla is not only cars, but also a network of fast charging stations and superchargers. Together with the car you buy access to it:
With models from other brands, you can set a route for them in the navigation, but ... this will not always be good. If a car has an outdated list of charging points, it can create fancy paths like the one below. Here is the Volvo XC40 Recharge Twin (formerly: P8), but similar offers for charging at 11kW stations also took place in Volkswagen or Mercedes models:
Generally: Consider the routes marked by the car as indicative.... If you don't like surprises, use PlugShare (available online here: Electric Vehicle Charging Station Map), or if you want to plan your trip based on your vehicle's capabilities, use ABRP.
We do it like this: we start with an overview of the path marked by ABRPbecause the application is trying to provide the optimal travel time (this can be changed in the parameters). Then we launch PlugShare to see the area around the chargers suggested by ABRP, because what if there was something near the bar earlier (lunch break)? Or maybe there will be a store at the next station (shopping break)? Let's look at a specific example:
Planning a route Warsaw -> Krakow
It's like this: on Thursday, September 30, we are launching the Volvo XC40 Recharge on the Warsaw, Lukowska -> Krakow, Kroverska route. The author of these words goes with his wife and children to test the suitability of the car in real conditions (family travel test). From experience I know we'll have to make one stop to eat and stretch our bones... If you do not have children or are only adults on board, your preferences may be different.
Z Google map (picture 1) shows that I have to drive 3:29 hours. Now, at night, this is probably the real value, but when I start around 14.00:3:45, I expect the time to be 4:15 - 4:30, depending on the traffic. I drove this route in a diesel car at 1:XNUMX plus XNUMX hour parking (because the playground was :), counting from the starting address to the destination, i.e. passing through Warsaw and Krakow.
ABRP (Figure 2) offers one charging stop in Sukha. But I would not want to stop so quickly and prefer not to take risks with Orlen, so I check what else I can choose. PlugShare (Image # 3, Image # 4 = selected options: Fast Stations / CCS / Orange Pins only).
I have a car from yesterday, I have already done one test at 125 km / h (maximum without an expressway ticket) and I know how much wear and tear I can expect. Battery Volvo XC40 Recharge Twin it has about 73 kWh, and from the Nyland test I know that I have more or less that amount at my disposal.
So I can bet either on GreenWay in Kielce, or at the Orlen station near Endrzejow - these are the last two buttons before Krakow. A third option is to drive a little slower than the legal limit and stop only at your destination. Of course there is also Option 3a: stop where you need to when you get tired or start writing... With an electric vehicle with slightly less power consumption or a larger battery, I would go with option 3a. In Volvo I stake on Orlen near Jędrzewieu. (Czyn, PlugShare HERE) - I don't know enough about this car to be concerned.
Charging at destination
At the destination, I first check if I have access to a charging point. Unfortunately, many place owners post lies on Booking.com, so in the next step I scan the area with PlugShare. Of course, I prefer slower points (because I sleep through the night anyway) and free points (because I like to save money). I also check local operators, for example, in Krakow it is GO + EAuto - these are those “dozens of cards and applications” that you can sometimes read about on the Internet.
How will it go? I do not know. With a Kia e-Soul or VW ID.4, I would be quite calm, because I am already familiar with these cars. The same goes for VW ID.3 Pro S, Kia e-Niro and I think Ford Mustang Mach-E or Tesla Model S / 3 / X / Y. Definitely I will share with you the cost and impressions of the trip to the Electric Locomotive..
And if you want to find out about the route in person or see the electric Volvo XC40 up close, it is possible that on Friday evening or Saturday morning I will be at the M1 shopping center in Krakow. But I will confirm this information (or not) with the exact location and information about the watch.
This may interest you:
