Original Reddit post

When I went into this I had no clue about charging infrastructure, so I figured I would share what I learned in the last few months:

  • A home charging wallbox is nice to have, but not needed for most people. Unless you do more than 100km day after day a normal 230V is more than enough to charge your car. Just make sure to get a high quality mobile charger that monitors socket temperature.
  • If you can charge at home, you never need to think about charging on the road unless you travel. Modern EVs have 500-600km real world range. So any feasible day trip can be done with one charge. So unless you are going on vacation outside Switzerland you don’t even need to worry about public charging infrastructure. Now if you cannot charge at home here’s what I have learned about public charging:
  • There is a drastic price difference between different charging providers, depending on what payment method you use, and even the time of day. I have seen anywhere between 0.25 and over 1 Franc per kWh. The best deals I have seen:
  • LIDL chargers (11-22 kW) for 0.27.- per kWh. Slow, so best to combine it with doing something else in the vicinity of your LIDL. LIDL app needed to charge.
  • AMAG fast chargers (150+ kW) for 0.28.- per kWh. By far the best deal in Switzerland, I’m dreading the day it goes away. And no, it’s not just for VW-Group cars, any EV will work. AMAG app needed to charge.
  • Tesla Supercharger off-peak pricing, between 0.25.- and 0.29.- per kWh. Usually before 9-10am in the morning. I think you need a Tesla or a Supercharger subscription for this. Haven’t used it myself.
  • eCarUp app. Many private and public government chargers are managed through this platform. Prices vary dramatically, but sometimes you find chargers for 0.40.- per kWh and less. Worth opening the app and checking for good deals nearby. Between LIDL, AMAG and Tesla you can get public charging for the same or less as home electricity prices. So not being able to charge at home won’t cost you extra money, just a loss of convenience. I have not bothered with other charging networks/providers, like M-Charge or Swisscharge, Ionity etc. They can be useful if you care more about convenience than saving money, but it will cost you extra. Tell me about other charging deals I might have missed in the comments. Also please be smart about charging and don’t reward providers that charge 0.50.- plus. I hope we can get to a point where charging doesn’t cost much more than the current electricity market rate. Plus a small percentage for infrastructure and profit. Just like gas stations. Imagine seeing 2-3x price differences for a Liter of gas, depending on what app and provider you use. submitted by /u/siriusserious

Originally posted by u/siriusserious on r/Switzerland