Filling our PHEV battery at a public facility requires three things to charge it: the charging station, a “smart” phone, and a credit card. For the past week I’ve attempted to find several public charging stations to learn the process: some EV stations were broken, some cost more than gasoline, and some locations are free! The difference depends upon the location owner who purchases and maintains the charging station.

The first charging station we discovered, located in front of our apartment office and the largest across the United States and Europe, is made by ChargePoint Holdings, Inc:. -chargepoin+. I downloaded the app on my iPhone which provides map locations and used my credit card to maintain a balance of $10. They make and distribute hardware and software but did not claim responsibility for setting up and operating the station when I called their customer service to seek help. They said our apartment location was not listed on their network and had not been properly installed. Strike one.

They sent me to the nearby Whole Foods that claims to offers a free charge but it was also not working. When I called again to ChargePoint customer service, a different agent told me it’s been broken for many days. Turns out the plug-in charger locking mechanism had been broken on both outlets and has not been repaired in at least a week. Maybe sabotage? Strike two on public charging!

The next day on Saturday searching for another free charging location the ChargePoint app directed me five miles away to an empty office parking lot at the MetLife building located at 1000 Weston Parkway in Cary, NC. Using my iPhone to unlock the cable charger for the first time it worked - A single! We took a family walk around Lake CrabTree reservoir on a chilly day so we only stayed about 30 minutes and added 1.62 kwh, an estimated four miles to the battery. Then we found the West Regional Library provides a free charge manufactured by EATON that recharged faster than the last place with a full charge taking 4.5 hours.

The first EV charging station requiring us to pay money was in downtown Raleigh in front of the Museum of Natural Sciences which is free to visit. However, street parking costs $2 for a maximum of two hours. For the ChargePoint charger I paid $1.75 to get an estimated 14 miles of charge which works out to $0.125 per mile which is more than the cost of gasoline that costs about $0.08 per mile.

The next day I returned to our apartment and asked the manager about operating the charger. She said some people have been able to use it but they did not know how it worked. After a few attempts I discovered that by repeating the process to unlock the charger three times with my iPhone finally opened up the power cable and since it is not installed to the ChargePoint network there is no cost for using the charger. A home run!

We also just began to rent a one-car garage that has an electrical outlet so we can use the 110v cable to get a full charge in about 12 hours. This process of looking for charging stations has made me feel like a e-vampire searching for a free energy connection!

Does charging the lithium-ion battery affect it’s lifetime? According to driving electric:

“1. Don’t overcharge it: constantly topping up your electric car to keep it fully charged can actually damage it. Laptops, for example, lose battery capacity if they're plugged in all the time. It's better to let the capacity run down to 10 or 20%, then recharge to around 80%.

2. While electric-car batteries have a built-in thermal management system to keep them cool, it’s still worth seeking out a shady spot on a hot day, or even a garage or car port if you plan to charge at home.

3. It’s also advisable to avoid immediately charging your electric car following a particularly spirited drive. Give the batteries a chance to cool down first . Limit your use of rapid chargers. Obviously, there are times when you need a top up in a hurry, and the fact they can give you a quick boost of up to 80% in a short space of time will be invaluable to higher-mileage drivers. But don’t rely solely on rapids to keep your car topped up, as they’re not good for the batteries in the long run. Slow charge whenever you can and especially if it's cold outside.

5. Don't park your car uncovered for long periods of time in very hot conditions.”

Combining my experience with these recommendations indicates that EVs are most suitable for people who can charge their cars in their home garage overnight.