Charge Point Etiquette ?

[LovelyCarrot]

As I understand it there is an informal "gentlemans agreement" regarding EV charging.

First priority are the short range EVs (Leafs, i-MieVs)
Second priority are the long range EVs (Teslas)
Third priority are the plugin hybrids (Outlanders)
Last priority are non-plugin hybrids, they shouldn't even be there at all!

I've seen this type of rationalization before, but nobody has any idea what your state of charge is, regardless whether you have a short or long range EV. Nobody should be touching other people's cars/cables or taking it upon themselves to determine whether someone "deserves" a charge. If your car is plugged in, you have the priority until you are done, period. If someone needs a charge and spots are taken, they need to find another charger or wait. If you feel someone has exceeded a posted time limit, that's what the garage authorities are for.

 

[rush6410]

Let me know if I was out of line. Scenario: I was returning from a trip that put me down to a 10% charge when arriving home. I plugged in at my house. I had to leave on a business trip a few hours later leaving my car at the airport parking. The parking lot has EV charging points. I only had enough charge to get me to the parking lot knowing they had free charging while I left it there for 5 days. When I arrived, unusual for this lot, all ports were being used. Earlier that week I was at the same lot when returning from a business trip. An i3 BMW was plugged in when I left. When I got to the lot this time, that same i3 was still there plugged in. I knew he was fully charged based on the elapsed time. Also, the way he was parked made me realize it was the same vehicle, jacked up parking job. So, I unplugged him and closed his port. I wouldn't have done that if I wasn't concerned about my state of charge. Was I wrong for doing that?

 

[kort677]

what you've pointed out is a pet peeve of mine, airports do not need many L2 units, for the most part a bank of spots with 110 outlets would solve most people's needs.
Places like airports have been sold L2 units and are unaware that they could have helped more ev owners out for a lot less expense by just providing 110 outlets.
as for the etiquette I'll leave that for others

 

[bonnie]

So I parked at a free charge Point site at 8:30 am. Sign said 4 hr max charge time. Ok. At 12:30 my phone app notifies me that charger was disrupted and no further charging. That was interesting as last week I used same charger for 8+ hrs, so I thought it was not an auto disconnect but manually done. I was nearby and walked to my car to find indeed that the cable was no longer connected, but the black adapter was still locked in my charge port. Some leaf had wiggled into the next door motorcycle parking area and was connected. I didn't make eye contact with him, nor him of me. I walked away. Came back at 5 pm and my car had been reconnected and had sucked up more juice. Did I miss a confrontation that should have happened for disconnecting me or was I wrong to not move out of that spot after 4 hrs? By the way I did have to pay $13 for all day parking just like every other car in the lot. It was only the energy that was free...

Leave your cell phone # when charging & avoid all this.

Personally, I use one of these tags, available many places, such as https://evannex.com/products/charging-hang-tag-courtesy-notice-package.or Electric Vehicle Charging Etiquette Hang Tags Or if you run into me at an event or charging, I always have spares to hand out.

 

[Peteybabes]

Let me know if I was out of line. Scenario: I was returning from a trip that put me down to a 10% charge when arriving home. I plugged in at my house. I had to leave on a business trip a few hours later leaving my car at the airport parking. The parking lot has EV charging points. I only had enough charge to get me to the parking lot knowing they had free charging while I left it there for 5 days. When I arrived, unusual for this lot, all ports were being used. Earlier that week I was at the same lot when returning from a business trip. An i3 BMW was plugged in when I left. When I got to the lot this time, that same i3 was still there plugged in. I knew he was fully charged based on the elapsed time. Also, the way he was parked made me realize it was the same vehicle, jacked up parking job. So, I unplugged him and closed his port. I wouldn't have done that if I wasn't concerned about my state of charge. Was I wrong for doing that?

i did this to an i3 at the mall that had been plugged into a CCS combo DCFC for like 4 hours...just hogging a nice DCFC Chargepoint...

 

[dogldogl]

My local airport forces a choice - each pair of EV charging spots shares a single ChargePoint J1772 (free with your $38 parking). I can only presume whomever arrives 2nd plugs in (no explicit guidance is provided but the ChargePoint runtime display might add value here, use your best judgement). It seems to work out OK as it's a premium (hourly) lot so the turnover is relatively high.

I'd also recommend the hanger tags (for all EVs, not just Teslas) in case you or a neighbor is dependent on a specific charge. It's not that hard really. Call it out (hanger tag) if you need it, else chill - you got some bonus range & a sweet parking location.

 

[kort677]

My local airport forces a choice - each pair of EV charging spots shares a single ChargePoint J1772 (free with your $38 parking). I can only presume whomever arrives 2nd plugs in (no explicit guidance is provided but the ChargePoint runtime display might add value here, use your best judgement). It seems to work out OK as it's a premium (hourly) lot so the turnover is relatively high.

I'd also recommend the hanger tags (for all EVs, not just Teslas) in case you or a neighbor is dependent on a specific charge. It's not that hard really. Call it out (hanger tag) if you need it, else chill - you got some bonus range & a sweet parking location.

it's nice to have those units in a short term lot for those who are there for a short term however like I noted. L2 units are a mismatch in an airport setting because many people who park at the airport will be away for 1+ days. IMHO it would be better and far more cost effective if the airports would just make X amount of parking spaces with access to 110 outlets so people could top off their cars while traveling. In this context the speed offered by an L2 unit isn't necessary.

 

[X Fan]

this is a good idea, I ran the same idea past the local airport authority and drew blanks. They claimed that it would be too costly to install many L2 chargers at the airport, I explained that people in long term parking do not need fast charging and the access to 110 outlets would suffice most people who use the lots, they responded that I had an interesting point but there are still no 110 outlets available.

+1 re: airports installations.....c'mon, not that expensive & minimal electric cost.

FWIW: SW Florida is onboard with EV--both SRQ (Sarasota) & RSW (Ft. Myers...albeit not covered ) have chargers and given the concentration of EV vehicles in SE FL I don't understand why FLL & MIA don't install as well (FLL does have significant parking challenges though).

 

[Peteybabes]

here's my worst experience of chargepoint abuse...

this tesla parked just for the close parking spot which means he/she should have parked in the right parking spot. instead they parked in a charging lane backwards so they couldn't charge and they were over the line so i had to go over my line so that passengers could exit...

 

[MXWing]

The ultimate solution is every parking stall has a J1772 plug and all are connected by load sharing.

Second best Is they figure out a way to charge exhoberent rates for those who are not charging/stay plugged in when not accepting a charge.

Since it might be 20 years before this happens I just don't plan on relying on crap shoot public infrastructure. Not worth the aggravation and stress.

 

[MXWing]

here's my worst experience of chargepoint abuse...

this tesla parked just for the close parking spot whic means he/she should have parked in the right parking spot. instead they parked in a charging lane backwards so they couldn't charge and they were over the line so i had to go over my line so that passengers could exit...
View attachment 241438

F that person. We need a system on how to deal with stuff like that. That's a violation of a social common sense contract.

Tesla owners are gonna start keying other cars once the population grows from M3s

 

[kort677]

here's my worst experience of chargepoint abuse...

this tesla parked just for the close parking spot whic means he/she should have parked in the right parking spot. instead they parked in a charging lane backwards so they couldn't charge and they were over the line so i had to go over my line so that passengers could exit...

some people haven't gotten the memo that those are CHARGING spots not parking spots. the guy is just a dolt.

 

[kort677]

The ultimate solution is every parking stall has a J1772 plug and all are connected by load sharing.

like you noted, that's not going to happen for a very long time and only when EVs become the prominent cars on the road

Second best Is they figure out a way to charge exhoberent rates for those who are not charging/stay plugged in when not accepting a charge.

in this case it wouldn't matter because the one tesla is not plugged in, he's just occupying the space.

Since it might be 20 years before this happens I just don't plan on relying on crap shoot public infrastructure. Not worth the aggravation and stress.

 

[Peteybabes]

F that person. We need a system on how to deal with stuff like that. That's a violation of a social common sense contract...

exactly and it was in the evening which means that they probably went to one of the theaters in the Easton Town Center or out for a meal which means it was parked for a while...at least when i came back 20 or so minutes later when i was finished he/she was still parked there.

i know i'm a tesla owner, but feeling entitled to that spot makes me angry if it's not being used, some owners buys simply for the social benefit and because it's a status thing which is not cool...

 

[K-MTG]

My friends office has 30 ChargePoint stalls but nobody uses them since they are $4 per hour.

It is kind of a restricted lot so only employees can access it...I sometimes head out to his office on the weekends when it’s empty.

If I only need to charge for an hour, can I remotely stop charging via the ChargePoint app or Tesla app? If I do so, will I continue to inquire $4 an hour charges on the ChargePoint?

I do plan to leave a note that it’s okay to disconnect but since they are 30 stalls on a weekend...I don’t think it will be an issue

Thanks

 

[Peteybabes]

My friends office has 30 ChargePoint stalls but nobody uses them since they are $4 per hour...

Holy smokes! way to make ev's unattractive!

how about $1/hour? they would still be making a profit....

 

[kort677]

Holy smokes! way to make ev's unattractive!

how about $1/hour? they would still be making a profit....

instead of insisting on a lower cost to charge I think the force of the marketplace will send the signal. either they'll pull the units out because of a lack of usage or they'll lower the costs to increase usage.

 

[K-MTG]

Holy smokes! way to make ev's unattractive!

how about $1/hour? they would still be making a profit....

They are very high in Irvine for some reason...I was at UCI (Univeristy California, Irvine) a few months ago for a conference and they charged me $2.50 per hour in addition to the $2 per hour parking fee...crazy!!

 

[Lloyd]

Holy smokes! way to make ev's unattractive!

how about $1/hour? they would still be making a profit....

In CA at PG&E rates they pull about $1.50 per hour average. At peak rates in the summer it can be double that. The rest is for site/owner profit, maintenance and Chargepoint profit.

I charge $4.00 per hour for my Eaton facility, but I deliver 70 amps instead of the Chargepoint's 30 amps.

 

[d21mike]

My local McDonalds has two free J1772 Chargers near the entrance right next to the handicap parking. I used it once just to make sure I knew how to use the J1772 Connector. I normally just walk there from home. However, sometimes cars will just park there and not plug in maybe because of no other spot or just close by the front door. Not even sure about the type of cars. The last time I noticed someone there and not plugged in was a handicap person and the person appeared to have a bad limp so I felt he needed a close parking spot.

My point is I think it would be better to put these charging spots at a further distance from the entrance. Maybe at the furtherest parking spot. I assume those that use them might actually be there longer so maybe not a big deal for a little long walk to the entrance.

I just got my Tesla on 9/28/17 so pretty knew. On my trip home from Fremont at a superstation the stalls were pretty far away from all of the local fast food places. That made sense to me.