How do I charge it?? :)

[YuO]

Sorry for the stupid question, our first electric car

So, I understand how I charge it at home, but what about charging stations on the parking lots etc?

My friend told me that I am supposed to apply for a card and can charge for free...After looking into it I guess it is only available for Nissan Leaf owners (he has Nissan)... Are there programs like this for Mercedes? Do I need an account of some sorts or just a credit card? And how much is it (+/-) to lets say fully charge a car on those stations?

Found one called evgo - is it a good option and is it accepted on all stations?

And if I charge at home every night - what should I expect $$wise my electric bill to be?

Thank you!
ps
I am in the USA

 

[JeffRay]

YuO,

Where are you located as it makes a difference?

For me, in NYC, first, I googled electric charging stations in my immediate area, then I visited them to inspect the type of machine and access. From there, I applied for the relevant accounts, mostly using their app. Right now, I have three, Chargepoint, Blink and one I never use so I forgot its name.

The only ones that are free for me are certain lots who make it available for no charge to customer so long as we pay the regular parking fee. You still need a card to start charging so the attendant does not need to find theirs.

Simple as that.

 

[YuO]

YuO,

Where are you located as it makes a difference?

For me, in NYC, first, I googled electric charging stations in my immediate area, then I visited them to inspect the type of machine and access. From there, I applied for the relevant accounts, mostly using their app. Right now, I have three, Chargepoint, Blink and one I never use so I forgot its name.

The only ones that are free for me are certain lots who make it available for no charge to customer so long as we pay the regular parking fee. You still need a card to start charging so the attendant does not need to find theirs.

Simple as that.

thank you so much!
I am in MA

 

[mddg]

I almost never use charging stations that "charge" money. There are some free ones around - Whole Foods and some parking garages. Some will take regular credit cards. I only have the Blink card, but I'm not sure I have ever used it. I think there's also the EVgo and SemaConnect cards too.

The question of how much it costs will depend on the miles/kwh efficiency and your electric rate. The menu on the B shows an efficiency (wall to wheels) relative to the electricity used in miles/kwh that is useful for the cost. That number is temperature and driving style dependent but typically varies from around 2-3.6 miles/kwh. If you know your electricity rate you get in MA, you should be able to multiply that out with the number of miles you drive.

 

[YuO]

Ok so we went to the mall and they had charging station parking.... the charger didn't fit our car??? How is that possible?

 

[GlennD]

There are 3 general standards. Tesla is propriety. L2 which is all the B has is pretty universal. L3 is the fastest and currently there is 2 standards. CCS and Chadmo. If you need fast charging than Quick Charge Power (Tony Williams) offers an adapter for the B that is 3K plus install.

L2 takes around 3 hours to charge the battery if it is fully discharged. Usually it is not. Most commercial chargers run on 208VAC instead of your home's 120VAC 0r 240VAC so they are slower than a home L2 EVSE. The supplied L1 takes just about all day. It runs at 8A default or 12A.
.

You likely encountered a Tesla station. Plugshare is an app that shows good info and you can filter by type.