It's easy to find an EV charging station in Thailand

[snoop1130]

It's easy to find an EV charging station in Thailand

By Silpakorn Sangsinchai, The Nation

 

EA currently has 400 charging stations in Bangkok and plans to set up 1,000 stations across the country.

 

To conserve energy and reduce consumption, one of the most favoured solutions is the use of electric vehicles (EV), thanks to their zero emissions and cheaper energy cost per kilometre, not to mention having lower cost of maintenance comparing to traditional fossil-fuel vehicles, due to a much lower number of parts.

 

However, many potential buyers are still on the fence about converting to EVs, fearing that the current charging infrastructure is not comprehensive enough for long-distance trips. It’s the worst nightmare of EV owners to find their vehicles out of juice in the middle of nowhere, with no charging stations around.

 

To put their minds at ease, Energy Absolute Public Co Ltd (EA), one of Thailand’s largest EV manufacturers and charging-station operators, has developed the mobile application “EA Anywhere” to conveniently find charging stations nearby.

 

Available on both App Store and Google Play Store, EA Anywhere features the voice assistants Siri and Google Assistant to enable hands-free use while driving. 

 

Simply open the app or visit https://www.eaanywhere.com to get started. The app will ask for confirmation of your current location from a map, then choose the type of charging you need (normal charge or quick charge).

 

If you pick normal charging, you have to select the type of connection based on your car’s specifications – Type 1, Type 2 or CCS 2.

 

The app will display available stations near you, ranked by distance. You then can proceed to select the station and let the app navigate you to there. 

 

The EA website’s “maps” section offers a more traditional way of finding your way around and shows charging station throughout Thailand, including the locations of “coming soon” stations.

 

EA currently has more than 400 stations in Bangkok and is aiming for 1,000 throughout Thailand (500 in Bangkok and periphery, 500 upcountry). 

 

Combined with charging stations from other operators, EV users should have no problem finding a station, especially in urban Bangkok, Pattaya, Chiang Mai and Songkhla.

 

As an alternative to EA Anywhere, check out https://www.pumpcharge.com, where you can register and locate hundreds of stations in the Bangkok area. It also has an app called “PumpCharge” that has some nice features like reserving the charging slot in case there’s a queue.

 

According to the Ministry of Land Transport, by December 2018, Thailand had 122,631 registered hybrid electric vehicles (HEV) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV), while 1,454 were battery-electric vehicles (BEV). Only HEV can run on gas alone and doesn’t require a charging station, while PHEV and BEV need external plug-in sources.

 

The Energy Policy and Planning Office under the Ministry of Energy is supporting private entrepreneurs who want to invest in EV charging stations by providing funds to cover both gentrification of the area and construction of the station. 

 

From October 2018 to May 2019, over 80 stations were built under this project with Bt46 million in funding paid to investors.

 

Source: https://www.nationthailand.com/auto/30372650

 

-- © Copyright The Nation Thailand  2019-07-09

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[bluesofa]

While I'm keen on the idea of EVs, I'm well aware that at present the majority of these charging stations are probably sourcing their electricity from the grid, which comes from coal or gas.

Hopefully in the not-too-distant future, a lot will start to use solar power from the roof of the charging station itself.

[fredob43]

I cant see any reason to buy an EV at present or ever, till they improve their batterie life. At present you'll be lucky to get around 200 miles per charge.

I have to do several trips a year that are over 1000km that means I would have to stop and recharge the thing several times just to complete the trip. That's if I could find anywhere to charge in the first place. Adding many hours if not days on doing the same thing using normal fuel. 

 

They maybe fine as a second car if you are going to use it locally for trips to work and recharge when home. But for any other usage forget it.   

[transam]

6 hours ago, fredob43 said:

I cant see any reason to buy an EV at present or ever, till they improve their batterie life. At present you'll be lucky to get around 200 miles per charge.

I have to do several trips a year that are over 1000km that means I would have to stop and recharge the thing several times just to complete the trip. That's if I could find anywhere to charge in the first place. Adding many hours if not days on doing the same thing using normal fuel. 

 

They maybe fine as a second car if you are going to use it locally for trips to work and recharge when home. But for any other usage forget it.   

There are probably many thousands (including me) in LOS who do very low milage in their dailly routine where an EV ride would be perfect. These are the folk who will be targeted. After all, I charge my phone every night..

 

As for batteries, though they seem to be making progress on longevity, I read somewhere 8 years is aimed for, I wonder if a ride at 8 years needs new batteries it would be unecanomical to do so and the ride is scrapped earlier than a petrol version..

[HampiK]

What I would like to know, as also a lot of this EV Stations are in Shopping centers or other public places.. how accesible are they?

I guess some of them are already full parked by normal cars. As long the people here not follow the rules it's not worth, as you never can know if your desired station is usable.

[beddhist]

That article is an advertising feature...

 

Only a few days ago we reluctantly made the decision to replace our dying car with another ICE car. Mother-in-law needs to go to hospital in Bkk once a month, a 360km round trip. The cheapest car with enough range to make this trip is the Kona with the big battery, costing 2.3 MB. As far as I can see there are no fast chargers North of BKK, so the same problem as for fredob43 above. Plus, the inlaws were unwilling to go searching for a charging station in BKK before returning. I can't blame them.

 

EA Anywhere's web site needs work. There is no way to tell whether any charger is a fast charger or what type of plug it uses. I suspect the app will tell you.

 

Very sad to have to make this decision. Prices for EVs are still outrageous.

 

As for the batteries, e.g. MG will give an 8 year warranty. At the end of that they will still have 70-80% of the initial capacity, so I would have no concerns here. Some manufacturers are now saying they expect the batteries to outlast their cars. If a new battery is needed then the prices and capacities will have improved, so for some it will make sense to replace them.

 

Quote

Only HEV can run on gas alone and doesn’t require a charging station, while PHEV and BEV need external plug-in sources.

HEV run on gas alone, i.e. it's a car powered entirely by fossil fuels, just a lot more efficiently (mostly because of regen braking). PHEV doesn't need a plug, in can operate like a HEV. This would have been my preferred choice at this time, as most of our running would have been on battery only with the power coming from our rooftop solar. Alas, prices start at 2.4 MB (BMW) and 2.6MB (MB).

 

I'm still committed to buy an EV as soon as it is feasible.

[beddhist]

15 minutes ago, HampiK said:

What I would like to know, as also a lot of this EV Stations are in Shopping centers or other public places.. how accesible are they?

They are all publicly accessible, otherwise why list them in an app? If you look on plugshare.com you will also see restricted/home chargers. Here you would have to make contact first to get access.

 

15 minutes ago, HampiK said:

I guess some of them are already full parked by normal cars. As long the people here not follow the rules it's not worth, as you never can know if your desired station is usable.

Call the cops and ask them to tow the car(s). I know - TiT - but that's what I would do, before I risk running out.

[tifino]

Give the task over to the old cranker inventor! Khun Theinstein - all he needs is a towball,  and trailer to sit in...and crank up your power to his heart's content 

[geoffbezoz]

Just now, tifino said:

Give the task over to the old cranker inventor! Khun Theinstein - all he needs is a towball,  and trailer to sit in...and crank up your power to his heart's content 

But first the Thais would have to give him a patent for inventing the towball and the trailer  ????

[fredob43]

5 hours ago, transam said:

There are probably many thousands (including me) in LOS who do very low milage in their dailly routine where an EV ride would be perfect. These are the folk who will be targeted. After all, I charge my phone every night..

 

As for batteries, though they seem to be making progress on longevity, I read somewhere 8 years is aimed for, I wonder if a ride at 8 years needs new batteries it would be unecanomical to do so and the ride is scrapped earlier than a petrol version..

Agree with you there must be may thousands that do low KM.

I did point out that they would be fine to use for going to work and recharge when you get home. But what happens if you want to do a 500km trip well your not going to make it on 1 charge. So you would have to stop to get the thing going again. Taking into account the charging time that's if you could fined a point in the first place, how long would that add to the trip??? Until they sort out the batterie life their not worth even considering.

 

Re lasting time. My last Lump was nearly 9 years old when I sold it and it was just like new. How would an EV lump fair after that time? you might have to give it away, or crush it.

 

If you have to charge your phone every night I think you might need a new phone. My cheap Charley Nokia battery last around 10 days between charges and it's on 24/7.

[transam]

2 minutes ago, fredob43 said:

Agree with you there must be may thousands that do low KM.

I did point out that they would be fine to use for going to work and recharge when you get home. But what happens if you want to do a 500km trip well your not going to make it on 1 charge. So you would have to stop to get the thing going again. Taking into account the charging time that's if you could fined a point in the first place, how long would that add to the trip??? Until they sort out the batterie life their not worth even considering.

 

Re lasting time. My last Lump was nearly 9 years old when I sold it and it was just like new. How would an EV lump fair after that time? you might have to give it away, or crush it.

 

If you have to charge your phone every night I think you might need a new phone. My cheap Charley Nokia battery last around 10 days between charges and it's on 24/7.

I have a Nokia that must be 6 years old, even has an alloy case, hense the daily charge....

[fredob43]

1 minute ago, transam said:

I have a Nokia that must be 6 years old, even has an alloy case, hense the daily charge....

Alloy case A.

Must be worth more now than you paid for it, if only for scrap value.

 

[transam]

1 minute ago, fredob43 said:

Alloy case A.

Must be worth more now than you paid for it, if only for scrap value.

 

Still works great, why change it...I am not interested in iPhones, I get enough of that stuff on here...????

[fredob43]

12 minutes ago, transam said:

Still works great, why change it...I am not interested in iPhones, I get enough of that stuff on here...????

I change mine as the last one I had fell into the fish pond. So it was a Nokia that had Blue tooth for the hands free in the lump. I only ever use it as a phone, as you say if I want internet I use the comp: Mind you it does cost a small fortune to keep filling comp: up with ink.

[Srikcir]

20 hours ago, bluesofa said:

sourcing their electricity from the grid, which comes from coal or gas.

And more recently palm oil!

[bkk_mike]

On 7/10/2019 at 1:40 AM, transam said:

There are probably many thousands (including me) in LOS who do very low milage in their dailly routine where an EV ride would be perfect. These are the folk who will be targeted. After all, I charge my phone every night..

 

As for batteries, though they seem to be making progress on longevity, I read somewhere 8 years is aimed for, I wonder if a ride at 8 years needs new batteries it would be unecanomical to do so and the ride is scrapped earlier than a petrol version..

The warranty on the battery is 8 years for most EVs.

They will generally last longer than that, so long as they have the proper thermal management. (The one that is the possible outlier is the Leaf as thermal management of the batteries is it's weak point - but even Leafs seem to be lasting OK as taxis in cities like Dundee).

 

The times when Lithium batteries degrade are when the charge is virtually empty and when it's very full, or if you are putting in charge when the batteries are below freezing. The rest of the time, you're not really affecting the life of the battery. The cars generally are set to warn you to charge when you get low so they're never fully flat unless you push your luck, and often don't actually let you charge them to the same level as phone batteries. (In Tesla's you have to put them into "trip mode" to let you charge them to 100% - in most other cars at a displayed 100%, the batteries could still take some charge, but the electronics are stopping it in order to avoid shortening the battery life).

 

And yes - the issue, until there are fast chargers on the main roads, is charging on long trips (in the UK they have them at motorway services, so you charge when you stop to use the facilities, and get something to eat, you don't generally sit in the car while it's charging - except with Teslas where you've got Netflix and computer games so you get a takeaway and sit in the car as it's nicer than inside the services...). But if you run two cars anyway, there's no issue with an EV as the second car. (Imagine never having to use a petrol station in Bangkok ever again). The best choice in Thailand at the moment seems to be the MG ZS EV at 1.2m baht. Somehow it's avoided the import duties that affect the Koreans, Europeans and Teslas.

 

If you're worried about the green-ness of the electricity in Thailand, get some solar panels on your house to charge the car with. (I'm assuming if you're thinking of getting an EV you would usually have a house, because it's a lot easier to install a home charger at a house than at a condo building)

[sirineou]

How about wireless charging while you are driving. I know the infrastructure does not exist but the technology does. I charge my telephone on a pad, why not a car. Buty induction plates under the road and you are charging while driving .Such a concept would give EVs unlimited range.

Interesting article at the link below.

https://www.engineering.com/DesignerEdge/DesignerEdgeArticles/ArticleID/16726/Wirelessly-Charge-Your-Electric-Car-While-You-Drive.aspx