Busy Charging Times

[joeyclegg]

Howdy!

For the supercharging locations in Arlington, Waco, Corsicana, Huntsville, and North-Houston, what is the busiest time of day during the week or weekend that the charging stations are mostly full and experience high traffic? If you can be as specific as possible (day, time, queue, etc.) that would be a lot of help. Thank you!

 

[TexasEV]

Helpful for what? Are you wanting to plan a trip based on that? No need to worry. I don't think anyone has ever seen them full.

 

[joeyclegg]

Helpful for what? Are you wanting to plan a trip based on that? No need to worry. I don't think anyone has ever seen them full.

Helpful for research purposes. Wanted to know some information about these locations in order to do a time study.

 

[vrykolas]

Helpful for what? Are you wanting to plan a trip based on that? No need to worry. I don't think anyone has ever seen them full.

I've been at Waco with 1 spot open in the middle of the day (but it wasn't this full for very long), and this was unusual.
We travel to Austin every month or two (from Dallas) and there's usually only 1 or 2 slots full

 

[joeyclegg]

I've been at Waco with 1 spot open in the middle of the day (but it wasn't this full for very long), and this was unusual.
We travel to Austin every month or two (from Dallas) and there's usually only 1 or 2 slots full

Do you remember if this was during the week or weekend?

 

[joeyclegg]

Howdy!

For the supercharging locations in Arlington, Waco, Corsicana, Huntsville, and North-Houston, what is the busiest time of day during the week or weekend that the charging stations are mostly full and experience high traffic? If you can be as specific as possible (day, time, queue, etc.) that would be a lot of help. Thank you!

In general (any location).

 

[vrykolas]

Do you remember if this was during the week or weekend?

Weekend

 

[Missile Toad]

For all times between noon and midnight, the 12:00-1:00PM hour gets the most 'check-ins' over at plugshare. The business really tails off after 6PM. My guess, is that most queuing (if it begins at all) begins around 12:30PM. As a way to verify this, go in for a charge at 11:30, and see how many 'partners' you have at the site after 12:00 noon. I'll bet that 11:30AM (checking-in) is always less busy than 12:30PM (checking out).
Incidentally, what do you suppose is the 'typical' duration of a charge at these sites?
- 20 minutes
- 30 minutes
- 40 minutes
- 50 minutes
- 60 minutes and beyond?

 

[joeyclegg]

For all times between noon and midnight, the 12:00-1:00PM hour gets the most 'check-ins' over at plugshare. The business really tails off after 6PM. My guess, is that most queuing (if it begins at all) begins around 12:30PM. As a way to verify this, go in for a charge at 11:30, and see how many 'partners' you have at the site after 12:00 noon. I'll bet that 11:30AM (checking-in) is always less busy than 12:30PM (checking out).
Incidentally, what do you suppose is the 'typical' duration of a charge at these sites?
- 20 minutes
- 30 minutes
- 40 minutes
- 50 minutes
- 60 minutes and beyond?

I called a few places that offer the charging stations and they did say the busiest times are around 12-2:00pm. I suppose the typical duration time is within 30-40 minutes, however I am sure outliers exist that are there for less than 20 minutes or for more than 60 minutes. Also, part of the research is to determine the initial SOC as people begin recharging and determine the final SOC as people leave. My hypothesis is people start recharging at around 20-30% battery capacity and leave at around 80-90%.

 

[Missile Toad]

@joeyclegg I'll bet that there are two peaks on a histogram that distributes the SoC on arrival.
Given, that 75% of the charging is for travel beyond 150 miles from your start, I think there are two classes of people:
Big battery (100) or new owners: Are less sensitive to increased efficiency at the low end of the battery -- and roll in with about 25%
Small battery, or experienced/confident owners: Want to pour as much juice into the battery as possible -- and roll in with about 12%.

Now some in the second group will charge from a higher level if they are overnighting at a place without destination charging. Further, if somebody is at a hotel, charging overnight, I would think charging up to >90% is the rule ... and maybe done in two stages, to avoid any idle fees.

 

[joeyclegg]

@joeyclegg I'll bet that there are two peaks on a histogram that distributes the SoC on arrival.
Given, that 75% of the charging is for travel beyond 150 miles from your start, I think there are two classes of people:
Big battery (100) or new owners: Are less sensitive to increased efficiency at the low end of the battery -- and roll in with about 25%
Small battery, or experienced/confident owners: Want to pour as much juice into the battery as possible -- and roll in with about 12%.

Now some in the second group will charge from a higher level if they are overnighting at a place without destination charging. Further, if somebody is at a hotel, charging overnight, I would think charging up to >90% is the rule ... and maybe done in two stages, to avoid any idle fees.

Thank you very much for your input. I will make sure to post some of the findings once the time studies are completed.

 

[Pipcecil]

I think you are forgetting one class of owner: Stop for break/lunch/dinner. We have hit superchargers a few times not because we needed it to get to the destination but we needed a bathroom break or lunch/dinner break. Might as well add some additional range assurance while we do it is our idea. I think there are plenty of Tesla drivers that do this. If you are going to stop, might as well get some juice out of it.