I bought an electric car and made my home energy self-sufficient for two reasons: first, because it is environmentally friendly, and second, because it is economically advantageous. I bought my first electric car six years ago [2019]. I had been eyeing them for some time, but it was only then that the prices of electric cars became affordable. I now have my third electric car, and for the last one, I took advantage of a subsidy for entrepreneurs [most likely Electromobility Guarantee—Záruka Elektromobilita]. I had no problem getting the subsidy. I was just the first person to apply for itat our branch [National Development Bank, NRB], so they didn’t really know what to do, but in the end, it all worked out fine.
I consider myself a technically savvy person, but I had to read extensively and watch many educational videos to understand how the public and home EV charging works. With Teslas, it’s simple because they have their own ecosystem of chargers, including a map, but with other electric cars, it’s more complicated. You need a different chip and registration for each charger, you can’t pay by card everywhere, prices vary greatly, and so on. I have countless apps on my phone for different chargers. A major systemic obstacle to purchasing an electric car is the lack of charging infrastructure in residential areas. For example, in Pilsen, there is only one charger in the entire Lochotín district, located at a shopping center.
I would recommend that people considering buying an electric car borrow one and try it out, ideally for a week, if possible. There is a lot of misinformation and myths circulating on this topic. If more information were available and people could try out electric cars, I believe that electromobility would become more widespread.
Electromobility makes sense, especially with photovoltaic panels on one’s own roof. My whole house runs on electricity, I don’t burn anything, and besides low energy bills, I see the advantage of self-sufficiency. When there’s a blackout, we don’t even notice it at home. However, I would definitely recommend being cautious when choosing installation companies, because not all companies work with all converter and inverter technologies, and not every company is honest. It would be beneficial to have a guarantee of reliability from companies, perhaps in the form of insurance, which would ensure that, should the company go bankrupt, another company will take over and complete the job. It is also important to ask the company to explain why it is proposing a particular solution for my house, what energy output and power consumption it operates with, and so on.