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Both ways, from car and from app. Charging "pauses" can be programmed. I have not tried that, as the price of electricity stayed stable so far.
Home charger advice
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Interesting so if they can do it for the EQS there may be hope they will roll it out to earlier models🤞
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I have an EQS and bought this one off AliExpress. 300.64US $ 44% OFF|11kw 16a 3 Phase Mobile Type 2 Electric Car Charger Ev Wallbox With Red Cee5 Pins Male Plug Free Adaptor Free Socket Suit Tesla - Chargers & Service Equipment - AliExpress
I can say so far it works great and is significantly cheaper than others but well made. I am waiting for the electrician to install the 3-phase dedicated circuit to it later this month so am limited to 3.5 kw on single phase 16 amp circuit using the Schucko adapter. The EQS has its own scheduling system and is accessible through the Mercedes Me app. None of these devices are chargers but are in fact just a means to get power to the cable with some added security and safety checks. The chargers are built into the car itself. So, spending a lot of money on this is not wise. I opted for this particular charger as it is portable and accepts up to 11 kw using 3 16 amp breakers and 3-phase wiring.
Unless you have a real need for fast charging at home slower is better for prolonging the life of the battery. Also, unless you plan to take a long trip you should never charge above 80% or let It get below 20%. These extremes reduce battery life. The harder you charge the shorter the life. Rapid charging is real hard on them but okay if not done routinely. I deliberately didn't order the 22kw charging option. Battery replacement is insanely expensive and 10 years is probably the outside lifetime for them. There is also the issue of degradation (loss of capacity over time) so slower charging eases that problem substantially.
I can say so far it works great and is significantly cheaper than others but well made. I am waiting for the electrician to install the 3-phase dedicated circuit to it later this month so am limited to 3.5 kw on single phase 16 amp circuit using the Schucko adapter. The EQS has its own scheduling system and is accessible through the Mercedes Me app. None of these devices are chargers but are in fact just a means to get power to the cable with some added security and safety checks. The chargers are built into the car itself. So, spending a lot of money on this is not wise. I opted for this particular charger as it is portable and accepts up to 11 kw using 3 16 amp breakers and 3-phase wiring.
Unless you have a real need for fast charging at home slower is better for prolonging the life of the battery. Also, unless you plan to take a long trip you should never charge above 80% or let It get below 20%. These extremes reduce battery life. The harder you charge the shorter the life. Rapid charging is real hard on them but okay if not done routinely. I deliberately didn't order the 22kw charging option. Battery replacement is insanely expensive and 10 years is probably the outside lifetime for them. There is also the issue of degradation (loss of capacity over time) so slower charging eases that problem substantially.
Just be careful - check the Octopus app. I have a pod point and I am an octopus. Very happy so far but I noticed the Octopus has changed the times for their EV charging rate. it used to be 12.30 to 4.30 (worked very well) it is now 2.30am to 6.30 am(???).
Lol I am WITH octopus
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It is interesting how things are different in each country. We are living in Hungary which is served by only E.On. They have no rates whatsoever for EV. You must pay standard rate all the time. In Hungary, only water boilers (Kazan) can be on the "night" meter. It is some kind of centrally switched system with separate meters and there are no set times defining when "night" and "day" rates are in effect. Often we have no "night" at all as it is based on demand. We used to heat our household hot water electrically but particularly in the summer when A/C systems are running there was no "night" due to high demand thus no hot water either. We switched to a gas boiler to avoid the problem. Sometime in the future, I will put up solar water heaters for the summer. But I asked the electrician who will be installing the 3-phase dedicated plug (he is in fact an official E.On installer but will work for me off book) about separate metering for this and he says E.On is still trying to figure it out. I would blame it on Hungarian politics and extremely slow bureaucracy but E.On is German (and forced on us by the EU as a monopoly) and these things are mandated by the EU so it is likely screwed up similarly in all of the EU and in particular Hungary and other less than equal former Soviet countries.
It is most likely that this has to do with the local market, what the customer needs are, the competitors etc. not with the country. Solar thermal are a good solution if heating water is your main expense and they can work all year round (very efficient during summer period). They are cheaper than panels but what's best for you depends on the sunlight that your area receives p.a. I do not know the exact figures for Hungary and your area. In the UK I opted to go for solar panels/battery/heatpump option and heat the water with a solic system (uses the extra energy from the panels to heat the element for the water). Again this is not the best way, solar thermal heat the water directly but for my area/setup it was the best solution. We have E.O.N here as well and I used to be with them for a number of years but they are quite expensive and I am now with octopus (cheaper and more flexible). Their customer services (EON) were exceptional. Without discussing politics (this is something for other forums) what EU does is to provide the framework for companies from all member states to provide services and therefore (in theory) the customer receives better value for money. If the local companies can't compete (services, price etc) they have to evolve and get better/bigger stronger so the customer will opt for their services. Again the size of the EU market allows more companies to bring products cheaper to the consumer. This is why the US customers enjoy low prices and better service. EU bureaucracy is terrible and the system has to be reformed. All countries/unions go through developmental stages and EU in particular has a very difficult task to integrate so many different systems and countries. But it can work if, as you eluded, we elect the right politicians to work for the common interest. At the end of the day countries can always leave the union but believe me there are no benefits to the country, its just a step backwards (yes I am referring to Brexit).
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Yes, I agree with you. We only have E.On here who is really just a billing service running through local companies. It was mandated by the EU. So, as you say there are local differences. I know we pay less out here in our area of the country than they do in Budapest. It is in fact pretty inexpensive at roughly 12 cents a Kwh. That is similar to the costs in the US. It was 35 cents 2 years ago so things have improved a lot but also the Dollar/Forint exchange rate has improved as well. Our income is in dollars but local expenses are in forints. With current exchange rates life is cheaper now but this is partially due to a full-on assault by the US against Hungary for not becoming subservient to US foreign policies. The EU has gone full compliant to the point of suicide. Maybe Brexit was better in the long run given the current situation in Europe? BUt, you are right politics is another forum.
Hungary is very slow to adopt policies regarding clean energy. For example (none of these apply to us as immigrants) they only provide financial assistance if you put on foam cladding, energy-efficient windows, and condensing gas boilers. They give a credit for EV but only if it is under 15 million forints ($41k) and nothing for chargers or solar panels at all. If you do buy solar you must buy a special meter yourself which runs roughly $1,000 and excess energy is sold back to E.On at a rate of 10:1. So, very few people are moving to solar here except for water heaters.
Hungary is very slow to adopt policies regarding clean energy. For example (none of these apply to us as immigrants) they only provide financial assistance if you put on foam cladding, energy-efficient windows, and condensing gas boilers. They give a credit for EV but only if it is under 15 million forints ($41k) and nothing for chargers or solar panels at all. If you do buy solar you must buy a special meter yourself which runs roughly $1,000 and excess energy is sold back to E.On at a rate of 10:1. So, very few people are moving to solar here except for water heaters.
Yes that sounds right, E.On (or any other provider) do not build their own infrastructure they "hire" what is there. This is the case everywhere and this is how competition works in order to reduce prices (hence you pay 12 cents now which believe me is cheap). What EU allowed was that E.On could operate in Hungary so the local companies could not form a cartel and charge you whatever they like. Also E.on could get better prices as a large company so you pay less (yes E.on will make a good profit but this is how it works, they are not a charity). The support for renewables depends on what the financial state of the economy is, if they are in a lot of debt they have other priorities.
Brexit: Who knows? But as John Maynard Keynes said in the long run we are all dead...
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Just a data point... in Finland household cost for charging electricity can be as low as 12 or 13 c/kWh. I have a 22 kW KEBA charger in the parking garage of our block of flats and that is the cost. 100 km results in 2.4 eur. For that it is possible to purchase a little more than 1 L of gasoline!
I have now driven 14k km:s with my 450+ and the average from entire journey including cold winter since 05. Jan 2022 is 21.8 kWh/100 km. As summer is nearing, the consumption figures stay consistently below 19 kWh/100 km, not refraining to use the energy pedal whenever needed and up to 130 km/h at motorways. Very efficient, I think!
In public chargers they take either c/min or c/kWh, have to be careful... 20 to 50 c/kWh in general. But in some 350 kW charging stations a minute can be as low as 50 c. Then EQS or Taycan will shine. Those are usually located next to McDonald's or similar venues near major highways.
I have now driven 14k km:s with my 450+ and the average from entire journey including cold winter since 05. Jan 2022 is 21.8 kWh/100 km. As summer is nearing, the consumption figures stay consistently below 19 kWh/100 km, not refraining to use the energy pedal whenever needed and up to 130 km/h at motorways. Very efficient, I think!
In public chargers they take either c/min or c/kWh, have to be careful... 20 to 50 c/kWh in general. But in some 350 kW charging stations a minute can be as low as 50 c. Then EQS or Taycan will shine. Those are usually located next to McDonald's or similar venues near major highways.
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Here in Hungary, I am getting the same 19kWh/100km on my 450+ as well. The Ionity chargers are free for the first year. But, I saw on ChargeMap that they charge 86 Euro cents per kWh so not cheap and that looks to be all over the entire EU. It is still much less expensive than diesel which may become a very rare thing soon. We are already on rationing here and are limited to purchasing 20 liters at a time. So, as expected home charging is the least expensive option. Home solar would be even better but expensive front-end costs make this unattractive for us. We also have no roofs facing South which limits their usefulness.
Ionity charge by the minute here in France! I have just completed my first long distance trip in my EQC and am annoyed by todays experience with Ionity. Going out Saturday I charged twice at around a charge start speed of 70 to 80 kw which dropped over the period of charge.I was pushing an 80 to 100% SOC in each case and I spent a total time of 1hr 17mins hooked up and according to Mercedes’ me the cost is 22.33 euro (currently Mercedes Me users in the first year can get the advantageous rate of 29centimes per minute) and for my money I received 77kw of power.
Coming back the first charge of the day was similar speeds and as the eco Mercedes’ me app advised I limited my charge to just the 80% SOC for the sake of battery health knowing that would get me to the next charge point where I intended a longer charge. The cost was 5.51 for 19mins and 22kw. But at the last charger it was only dishing out a measly low 32kw so to I stayed only as long as I needed to to recharge to a min leaving me 20% SOC buffer on arrival. Because it was so slow I was hooked up for 50mins and only received 26kw but it cost a staggering 14.51euro ie the slow charge worked to Ionity’s benefit and against mine. I am quite unhappy that the method of charging by the minute leads in effect to a very variable level of product delivery, a 32km n cost delivering 48kw one day and a longer time delivering nearly half and I am now having to make up that low of power delivery at home at a cost of .155 centimes.
I shall start researching and shall raise the issue with Mercedes and Ionity as it seems to me a quite unfair and non transparent system, those whose cars have slow on board chargers in effect pay more and if the charger does not deliver a fast speed you also in effect pay more. Mercedes and Ionity need to be more honest about this.
Another issue is the additional time taken when the charger is dishing out such a slow speed which I am not sure the navigation system allowed for.
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Very interesting the rates are so different. You are correct it is very unfair and can lead to very large charges. I am fine with a rate per kWh but want it to be fast enough to be functional. I think the industry will get there through competitive forces. Mercedes seems to be indifferent to the services provided and customer satisfaction once the purchase is made. I fear the company is descending into a death spiral where they focus only on sales and not on repetitive customer loyalty. This is a trend in all industries now and the legacy manufacturers need to step up their game a lot to remain competitive with the Chinese companies that are soon going to dominate with far better customer service.
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I am dreading our first long trip. It was a tough sell to convince my wife to buy the EQS (she manages our finances). If we face large issues charging while traveling she will be unhappy and likely will dump the car (or buy a second ICE vehicle) maybe an S500 which is what she wanted in the first place. I don't care much about the first year free but I do care a lot about the quality of service and getting a charge when needed and not having to be stuck getting 22kw charging in some remote place just to keep moving down the road.
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