Public Charging in Helena, Montana

There is little opportunity to publicly charge my Leaf here in Helena, Montana.  The more running around town I do the more I like the possibility of charging outside the house, so I compiled an incredibly brief and incomplete list of places at which I've wanted to charge.  A shout out to local restaurant Suds Hut and to car seller Lithia Chevrolet...the only two in town to offer public EV charging.

At work
No dice.  I work at a public school so there's the legitimate question of using taxpayer dollars for any purpose-- even microwaving your lunch.  I have asked for my district's formal policy regarding employee electricity use but I suspect it is sparse or may not provide the kind of direct guidance needed for EV drivers.  I would be very curious to know how school districts nationally are answering this question.

I might suggest a legislative fix for the EV and public institution question.  The money needed for EV charging stations is not huge. Making the change from exhaust-belching cars to fume-free cars is worth the trouble.

Walmart offers 120V
This is a frequent grocery stop for me since it lies between me and work.  It's only 120V, but I still have managed up to an hour of charge.   As I wrote before, I enjoy the fact that the longer I spend in Walmart, the more it helps charge my car.  This is not me taking something for nothing from Walmart; the more I linger the more I will spend!  Moreover I prefer going to this store over its competitors because they offer a unique service.

I should note that Walmart probably never intended to help the EV owner with these outlets...they likely provided them as a service to Montanans with block-heaters.  This would explain why the outlets are only 120V and not energized year-round.   The outlets are located in the East parking lot.

Gread Divide Ski Area
I emailed the kind folks at Great Divide, and, although they theoretically support EV drivers, they do not offer any charging of any kind.  

Capital City Health Club
My family has a membership here and they do not offer any charging at this time.

Conclusion
Although there is little opportunity here for public charging, I suspect that will start to change soon. Merchants may find it is a little bit like wi-fi: if you build it they will come.  Supporting EV charging with front-row parking spots gives the business a good public image for not a lot of money, and also helps attract the growing number of customers that can plug in their cars.

The Leaf in Winter

Winter arrived abruptly to Montana a few weeks ago.  We had been enjoying weather in the 50's, also known as shorts-weather in these parts.  But like death and taxes, winter came and ended shorts season.  The temperature has been around 0 F.  Brrr.

Does winter hurt the Leaf's range?  Definitely.  But it doesn't make it any less usable.  I still get to work and back, take a kid to Karate, go get groceries, and whatever else comes up.  You'll remember that I live in a smaller town so distances are not great.

I noticed that I estimated the size of my town at 50,000 in my first post and 40,000 in the second.  I could invent a reason like, "the people flew south for the winter," but really I just didn't look.  So tonight I looked.  Here's the Census data: a population of 65,338 living in Lewis and Clark county in 2013. In the city proper I believe it's less than 30,000.  But back to the Leaf.

It is amazing to see the difference in estimated range with the heater on or off.  You lose about 10 miles with the heater on.  There was one sub-zero morning (my Leaf is garaged) that the range was estimated at 36 miles with climate control.  Mind you this was a fully charged Leaf.  I confess that this drop, compared to my autumn driving days of 70-80 miles, felt severe.  Again, for my 16-mile commute plus errands this is still plenty.

I find myself taking the charging cable with me on most trips, even though I seldom use it.  It provides a sense of security, and tonight I did plug in to my local Walmart while grocery-shopping.  I enjoy the fact that the longer I have to wait in line, the more Walmart contributes to my trip home.

Do I have range anxiety now that it's winter? Watching my battery gauge go way lower than ever before was a bit scary, but now I'm used to it.  I'm sure when the warm season eventually finds its way back I'll feel like a rich electricity man.

How many miles do you get in winter?  Like I mentioned before, my estimate-o-meter (nicknamed the guess-o-meter by many) got down to 36 miles on its worst day.  In real-world chilly Montana, I feel like the 36 mile estimate is close or maybe even a mile or two low.  On warmer days like today (26 degrees F!),  I feel confident saying 40-50 miles.  And yes, that's with the heater cranked.  

Notice the battery temperature-- one bar.
Range estimate is only 27 miles.

The outside temp was one degree F.

Negative 2 degrees F.  It was chilly.

Despite the cold weather, the car kept a higher batt temp by virtue of not sitting outside as long as above.
Range estimate is 28 miles.

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