A Complete Beginner's Guide to Electric Vehicles

That is what this video is. It's a lot simpler than you think!
OKAY SO THERE WAS SOME NEWS ABOUT PLUGS.

Referenced videos:
Electric car chargers aren't chargers at all — EVSE Explained

The tech which can charge an electric car in 10 minutes (DC Fast Charging)

2nd channel discussion

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00:00 Intro
02:35 Understanding Energy and Electric Vehicles
10:36 Power and Charging Speed
16:27 Charging Solution to Fit Your Needs
19:15 Level 1 Charging (charging from a household outlet)
23:51 Level 2 Charging - Installation options
28:09 Sizing a New Charging Circuit
32:34 How far an overnight charge will take you
34:43 Basic charging circuits are powerful
37:42 Multi-car families
40:24 DC Fast Charging
46:49 Factors which affect driving range
55:32 Conclusion
56:48 Bloopers

[TechnologyConnections]

THERE HAS BEEN SOME NEWS. CCS is probably dead. I made a video which you can watch.
Most of the other info here is still relevant, but I may remake or re-edit this video at a later date.

[legerdemain]

"Level 1 is good enough for many people who need 40-50 miles a day, unless it's really cold where you are." Has been my unpopular opinion forever, and I'm so glad to see you address it so well.

[Jobobn]

I just realized that I haven't ever watched a single episode of TC that I didn't really enjoy. Like, I'm not planning on replacing my car for another 5 years at least, and I just spent nearly an hour learning about the realities of owning one, and enjoyed every minute of it.

Just a damned good show.

[zombie-yellow]

I just want to add that the "kWh/100 miles" makes way much more sense for metric folks because we already use "L/100km" as our fuel consumption unit :p

[AustynSN]

On the dryer plug splitter option:
There are more advanced splitters. (More like an actual large box than just a splitter.) They actually do load balancing so that power to your car is cut off if you turn the dryer on. Some also have a built in breaker switch in case too much power goes through it.

[XxshadowmanxX]

When I was in school, it felt like "it depends" was the answer to absolutely everything. Now that I'm an engineer I find myself answering almost every question with those great two words. Thanks for the very informative video, and the laugh!

[ScarfmonsterWR]

I feel like in Europe, or at least in Poland, the current biggest obstacle for the adoption of EVs is that many people really have no way of charging them. That is, in many cities you want (or borderline need) to have a car, but you live in a flat and park your car outside. Even new buildings sometimes have outdoor parking only. And if the building is older than 15-20 years you'll be lucky to find even a street-side parking spot. When 45% of population lives in flats, most of them in older buildings, currently with no possiblity for a charging infrastructure, it's a huge obstacle.

[TechnologyConnections]

Hello! There has been news. In May 2023, Ford signaled their intent to switch to Tesla's charging connector. I'm pinning this comment the day they announced it - assuming it happens, well then charging landscape will remain fractured but in a different way now. I'm disappointed with Ford but I can't really blame them given the CCS charging networks as of this writing.
I can't predict whether other automakers makers will join them or not, nor do I want to - time will tell.

[PedroPedroPedro-Pedro-Pe]

"What now, toaster boy??" 😂😂😂
This is a very good video. The best explanation on basically everything one would need to know. And trust me, I've watched a few. Congrats on the great content!

[newq]

Technology Connections: *uploads a video about lanterns*

Me (broke) : *buys lanterns*

Technology Connections: *uploads video about electric cars*

Me (still broke):

[asmodiusjones]

I think what often gets lost in EV discussions, which you somewhat address here, is that EVs or any new technology doesn’t have to be perfect. It only has to be *better*. In my experience, people who are resistant to EVs focus on the unique aspects of operating an EV without actually comparing it to the effort of operating an ICE vehicle (getting gas, maintenance, longevity, etc).

[COSolar]

We had an existing 240V outlet on a 50 amp circuit in the garage. It wasn’t in the most ideal location but it was good enough. We used an EVSE which could plug right into the outlet and provide 40 amps or 9.4 kw to the EV. Based upon my experience 30 amps would have been sufficient. We only plug into charge once a week to accomplish our typical driving. As to range, it is largely about speed as you so clearly said. We’ve had our Ioniq5 since February and have found everything you said to be true. Carry on!

[echobeefpv]

As an electrician in central Canada ( extreme cold winters ), I can say that a 40 amp circuit would be required here to accommodate the battery heating and charging of any car not kept in heated storage, given our winter temperatures.That said, it is still an option here for the right person. Great video, very informative !! Oh, BTW, that wiring you were showing needed proper support, looked horrible with the romex flapping in the wind. Sorry, but it really does.

[DeviantOllam]

Thank you so much for untangling all of the various facts and figures on this topic. 🔌🚗

[graysonsmith]

This is my experience charging my EV. There are a lot of people who won't have the same experience, but I need to point out how GREAT it CAN be.
I live in an apartment with a garage, my apartment doesn't charge for electricity on the garage so I plug in everyday and charge for free overnight (110v is enough). I don't have to plug it in everyday, I could probably get away with every 2 or maybe 3 days but it's now just a ~10s habit. Admittedly, my daily commute is definitely shorter than average.
But that's not all, even if I didn't have the garage, my apartment has free unlimited level 2 charging. So I can charge from completely empty to full overnight also for free. Don't often do it because it's unnecessary.
But that's still not all, my work has several level 2 chargers that I could charge at unlimited for free (admittedly there's a waitlist, but I could if I wanted to). I tried it once, but it was unnecessary for me.
But that's STILL not all, my work actually pays for a charging plan that let's us charge unlimited anywhere in the city at a level 2 charger for free. I tried it twice in the year of having it, but both instances were again unnecessary.

So I RARELY pay for charging AT ALL, I rarely think about it, and I rarely wait for it. About once every month or 2 I make a 600mi round trip to visit my family. The only inconvenience in doing so is from my own doing to save like $3 and 5 minutes. I'll set my charge limit to 100% from 80% (or more recently 70%) a day or two before leaving so my car definitely gets to 100% by the time I leave from my regular garage charging habits, or I'll plug in at my apartments level 2 charger overnight, either way it's free. Then I admittedly need to stop to charge for 10-15 minutes after driving ~2.5 hours straight at 70-75mph, which will cost me ~$10 (who doesn't want to take a break after driving for that long?). Then I charge overnight to full at my parent's for free (they joke it's the price to see me). I now use a 220v to charge overnight, but I could get enough charging over the weekend on 110v before heading back. Then after another 2.5hrs at 75mph I stop for 15min to charge for $10 to get home (where i charge to full for free either over a few days in my garage or overnight at the apt's charger). So I might spend on average $10-20 and 15-30minutes a month on charging. The calculator I have that tells me how much I'm saving based on how much I drive says I've saved over $130 vs driving with gas this month, and I drove more than usual.

Any combination of factors could make up for the lack of the others, so for some people it may be FAR better, easier, and cheaper than you think.

[MeKnownAsI]

So worth the length; great call on consolidating this all into one video. I hope many, many people find this video and benefit from your clear, concise and always entertaining delivery. This video was loads of work I'm sure, many thanks for the dedication and detail you put into it.

[agoatmannameddesire]

I started out thinking I’d need a 50A L2 circuit, and then I actually got the EV and found I only need to charge an average of 4 hrs on L1 per night to meet my needs.

The biggest issue we’ve ran into is remote road trips, like visiting national parks. There are some DCFCs in unexpected places, but I definitely have range anxiety when we’re headed out camping. The pro-tip there is RV parks, if you’re willing to camp in one every few nights, because you can just bring your EVSE with you and charge at L2. I hope RV parks start catching on to this and advertising it better, there’s an untapped market of people who want to charge for a few hours but won’t eat an entire RV spot overnight.

[Srcsqwrn]

I absolutely love how you strive to get people value out of any product. This channel is one of my favourite things. c:

[kevinm]

The transition at 18:49 from the plug to your shirt is beautiful.

[ouch]

I watched this video from start to finish. Thank you for making it. As someone who has been driving EVs exclusively for nearly 4 years, I think this video is actually much, much more than is actually necessary for most people. Aside from geeks who need to know all the details (like myself), you need to know little more than to plug it in every night. Aside from road trips, EVs are actually far easier to deal with day to day.

Some thoughts:

- Most people could just use a regular 120V power outlet for their charging needs as long as they don’t want to charge solely during off-peak times. That said, if you plan to do that, I’d highly recommend replacing the outlet you intend to charge from, and make sure the wires are attached to the screws on the outlet, not the part on the back of the outlet where you can just push the wires in. 12A for hours and hours is a lot for a standard outlet, and if the plug is loose or there is an iffy connection at the plug, it’s going to significantly decrease the life of the outlet. It’s probably not going to cause a fire unless you are using a “too cheap” charger from Amazon since any reputable charger will have a temp sensor in the plug, but still.

- DC fast charging, for most, is almost an insignificant thing. I drive a lot, and at least 90% of my charging is done at home overnight. Having an Ioniq5 and a Bolt EUV myself, the difference in fast charging speeds is…substantial, but in actual use, that almost doesn’t matter. I’ve road tripped the Bolt plenty of times, it’s doable. I’ve road tripped (more than 500 miles) the Ioniq5 about 4 times since I got it in May, it’s very easy. For our daily use, both cars are great. The Bolt is actually slightly better for the daily commute since the efficiency is about 15% better than the Ioniq5 at highway speeds, and it’s WAY less expensive to buy.

- Cold/wet weather affects all cars, we just notice it more in EVs. I used to quite regularly (every week) have to “commute” from Seattle down to my hometown of Salem, OR, about 250 miles one way. At the time, I had a 2016 Civic. On perfect weather days, it would get 40mpg consistently during that trip. However, if it was cold, I’d lose 3mpg. If it was cold and wet, I’d lose 6mpg. On a cold, wet and windy trip, I lost 10mpg, all at the same overall speed. Cold temperatures will cause a range reduction on any car, including ICEV and EV, even if you don’t use the heat, because the air is more dense. Air drag is by far the biggest thing slowing you down at highway speeds, so an increase in air density leading to an increase in drag will occur on every car.

- Some cars come with dual-voltage chargers right out of the factory. The Bolt EUV, older Teslas (like 2021 and older), Polestar/Volvo are the ones that come to mind, though Fords may as well. That means that those chargers can charge from either 120V (at 12A) or from 240V (usually 32A). If your car comes with one of those chargers, you don’t need to buy any other EVSE. My partner and I, who both drive EVs and both commute 90mi/day EACH charge both of our EVs solely during off-peak times (from 10pm-6am here) using just the dual-voltage charger that came with our Bolt EUV (plugged into a NEMA 14-50 240V outlet). I think the highest our electricity bill has ever been, including the energy to charge both of our EVs AND power our 1750sq.ft. home has been is $250. We would spend double that just on gas if we were both driving ICEV.