Charging collaboration at work

[souperdave816]

I'm a relatively new owner of a Tesla Model 3. I set up my house for charging (with a NEMA 14-50 plug) but I will most often be charging for free at work. A few questions:
1. We have Chargepoint stations at work so we have to share charging cables when they're available. I noticed that if I plug in my J adapter into the charge port, the charging port door tries to close on it. I'd like to keep my adapter plugged in with the door open so that when a co-worker is done with their charger, they can just plug into my car. But will the charge port door keep trying to close and cause any damage?

2. When I'm plugged in, I'd like to free up my charger cable for others to use when the charging is complete. When my car detects that it's done charging (green light), will another person be able to unlock the charger cable from my car for their use?

Thanks in advance for your pointers. I couldn't find this info in the User Manual.

Regards,
Dave

 

[Rocky_H]

I don't know of any solution to #1. I think it will always keep trying to close.

For #2, well, it is always free for other people to take the charge cable, whether you are done charging or not. The adapter will still be locked into your charge port, but there is nothing that locks the J1772 handle into the adapter. It's up to other people to not be jerks to not steal your cable while you're still charging. So yeah, that will always be free once you are done charging.

 

[Mishakim]

After it closes on the adapter, the door will re-open and stay open until some other event prompts it to try to close (like unlocking the car after it's gone to sleep).

 

[jjrandorin]

I'm a relatively new owner of a Tesla Model 3. I set up my house for charging (with a NEMA 14-50 plug) but I will most often be charging for free at work. A few questions:
1. We have Chargepoint stations at work so we have to share charging cables when they're available. I noticed that if I plug in my J adapter into the charge port, the charging port door tries to close on it. I'd like to keep my adapter plugged in with the door open so that when a co-worker is done with their charger, they can just plug into my car. But will the charge port door keep trying to close and cause any damage?

2. When I'm plugged in, I'd like to free up my charger cable for others to use when the charging is complete. When my car detects that it's done charging (green light), will another person be able to unlock the charger cable from my car for their use?

Thanks in advance for your pointers. I couldn't find this info in the User Manual.

Regards,
Dave

We have chargepoint stations at my job (although the electricity is not free, we pay for it). The app will tell you when its done, so you can just go out and move your car. Even if someone can unplug you, your car will still be in the way.

Just go move it.

 

[souperdave816]

Thanks for the responses. Glad to know the charging door won't continue to try to close with the J1772 adapter attached. Otherwise that would be a software issue turning into a mechanical issue.

 

[hmgolds]

I don't know of any solution to #1. I think it will always keep trying to close.

For #2, well, it is always free for other people to take the charge cable, whether you are done charging or not. The adapter will still be locked into your charge port, but there is nothing that locks the J1772 handle into the adapter. It's up to other people to not be jerks to not steal your cable while you're still charging. So yeah, that will always be free once you are done charging.

This raises a question. If the J1772 is moved from one vehicle to another, does that "close out" the Chargepoint session for the first vehicle? Certainly could be an issue where Chargepoint is not free.

 

[srs5694]

2. When I'm plugged in, I'd like to free up my charger cable for others to use when the charging is complete. When my car detects that it's done charging (green light), will another person be able to unlock the charger cable from my car for their use?

Concerning this point, another owner might have a hard time telling when your car is done charging. I've noticed that on my Model 3, the green Tesla logo blinks when charging begins, but it eventually goes out, and I'm pretty sure it goes out before charging is complete. As a solution, you might get some tags on which you can write the charge-complete time and hang a tag on the J1772 handle or adapter. I got a set of such tags three years ago, when I bought my Chevy Volt, but I've never bothered to use them. IIRC, I bought them on eBay, but I might not be remembering correctly. They're basically laminated thin cardboard with printed information, and you can write on them with a dry erase marker. If you can't find precisely what you want, I'm sure they wouldn't be hard to make yourself, if you can get access to a laminating machine big enough to make the tags.

 

[hmgolds]

Charge rate is relatively predictable - at least until 80%. It's low tech, but why not a post-it that says "feel free to unplug me at (time)"? You can build cushion into that time if you feel necessary.

 

[ewoodrick]

First and foremost, please never charge at work or talk about charging at work "because it is free" This generally causes resentment from other workers and then no one is happy.

If you can charge at home and not charge at work, that is the best thing to do. It's not expensive charging at home.

Remember that many of the cars charging at work may HAVE TO CHARGE at work. There are a lot of 88 mile range Leafs on the road and they often have to charge. There is nothing worse than a Tesla with a 200+ mile range hogging a spot that someone has to use to get home in the evenings.

Most companies with a number of cars that need to charge have an unwritten rule that cars are moved during lunch. If you are plugged in for the morning, unplug before lunch. Then others can plug in after lunch. 3-4 hours is generally well beyond what is needed for most cars for a commute.

Yes, the Tesla does a lousy job at sharing a J-1772 plug or even a Tesla plug. The Leaf has 3 options, always locked, locked when charging, never locked. Most folks tend to set for lock while charging. Always locked is only used for locations where you are using your personal charging cord for 120V and 220V plugs and the cord could be stolen.

So, my recommendation2
1) Charge at home
2) When charging at work, move the car at lunch
3) Never ever refer to charging at work as free charging.
4) Remember that you will have more range than any non-Tesla car and if you hog a site, the non-Tesla cars will definitely resent you.

 

[bpjones]

Otherwise that would be a software issue turning into a mechanical issue.

The root issue here is that you’re following poor EV charging etiquette by parking in an EV charging space all day. The “software issue turning into a mechanical issue” wouldn’t even come up if you would just move your car when it’s not charging.

 

[ent3ndu]

. If the J1772 is moved from one vehicle to another, does that "close out" the Chargepoint session for the first vehicle?

Yes, and you can’t start another session without scanning another card. If it’s free that’s no biggie, but not if it costs.

another owner might have a hard time telling when your car is done charging.

ChargePoint stations themselves indicate when the car is done charging.

 

[ReddyLeaf]

First and foremost, please never charge at work or talk about charging at work "because it is free" This generally causes resentment from other workers and then no one is happy.

If you can charge at home and not charge at work, that is the best thing to do. It's not expensive charging at home.

Remember that many of the cars charging at work may HAVE TO CHARGE at work. There are a lot of 88 mile range Leafs on the road and they often have to charge. There is nothing worse than a Tesla with a 200+ mile range hogging a spot that someone has to use to get home in the evenings.

Most companies with a number of cars that need to charge have an unwritten rule that cars are moved during lunch. If you are plugged in for the morning, unplug before lunch. Then others can plug in after lunch. 3-4 hours is generally well beyond what is needed for most cars for a commute.

Yes, the Tesla does a lousy job at sharing a J-1772 plug or even a Tesla plug. The Leaf has 3 options, always locked, locked when charging, never locked. Most folks tend to set for lock while charging. Always locked is only used for locations where you are using your personal charging cord for 120V and 220V plugs and the cord could be stolen.

So, my recommendation2
1) Charge at home
2) When charging at work, move the car at lunch
3) Never ever refer to charging at work as free charging.
4) Remember that you will have more range than any non-Tesla car and if you hog a site, the non-Tesla cars will definitely resent you.

1000+
As an owner of both the now 45 mi 2011 Leaf and a 200+ mi Tesla, please use proper etiquette and only charge at work when spots are open, while leaving your phone number for others to contact you if they really need to charge. That said, I really wish every employer would provide 16A 240V Clipper Creeks at every parking space in Silicon Valley, operational from 9am-3pm, so that we can consume some of that excess solar being curtailed.

 

[eprosenx]

Concerning this point, another owner might have a hard time telling when your car is done charging. I've noticed that on my Model 3, the green Tesla logo blinks when charging begins, but it eventually goes out, and I'm pretty sure it goes out before charging is complete. As a solution, you might get some tags on which you can write the charge-complete time and hang a tag on the J1772 handle or adapter. I got a set of such tags three years ago, when I bought my Chevy Volt, but I've never bothered to use them. IIRC, I bought them on eBay, but I might not be remembering correctly. They're basically laminated thin cardboard with printed information, and you can write on them with a dry erase marker. If you can't find precisely what you want, I'm sure they wouldn't be hard to make yourself, if you can get access to a laminating machine big enough to make the tags.

Yeah, I don't understand why there is no visual indicator of charge status. You are right, the light goes out shortly after charging starts. There must be a reason for this that some folks did not want it showing? I would at least like the *option* to turn it on and leave it on as a status so others know if OK to unplug. At a lot of companies there are a limited pool of folks with EV's and they all know each other, so swapping around charging plugs to accommodate each other is no big deal, but the charging indicator may be critical.

Feature request!

 

[TexasEV]

Yeah, I don't understand why there is no visual indicator of charge status. You are right, the light goes out shortly after charging starts. There must be a reason for this that some folks did not want it showing? I would at least like the *option* to turn it on and leave it on as a status so others know if OK to unplug. At a lot of companies there are a limited pool of folks with EV's and they all know each other, so swapping around charging plugs to accommodate each other is no big deal, but the charging indicator may be critical.

Feature request!

The reason for this was to not attract attention to the car, especially when plugged in at night.

 

[Rocky_H]

I would at least like the *option* to turn it on and leave it on as a status so others know if OK to unplug. At a lot of companies there are a limited pool of folks with EV's and they all know each other, so swapping around charging plugs to accommodate each other is no big deal, but the charging indicator may be critical.

When companies set up a corporate Chargepoint account for their site, there are a lot of parameters they can turn on and have Chargepoint enforce. They get to choose their rates and time limits. My workplace has a pretty good system. People are not allowed to just hang around on them all day long, because they do have a 4 hour time limit enforced (charging gets stopped), and when you get the notice that you've hit the four hour limit, you have a half hour to get there and move your car before it starts hitting you with penalty idle fees. So that does make sure that at least two cars do get to use that station each day.

 

[peakshaving]

1000+
As an owner of both the now 45 mi 2011 Leaf and a 200+ mi Tesla, please use proper etiquette and only charge at work when spots are open, while leaving your phone number for others to contact you if they really need to charge. That said, I really wish every employer would provide 16A 240V Clipper Creeks at every parking space in Silicon Valley, operational from 9am-3pm, so that we can consume some of that excess solar being curtailed.

Seriously! If only PG&E would figure out a cool pricing scheme for companies to just stuff those electrons into EVs during the day- they could make a bit of cash with all this extra power instead of shunting it to the ground.

Someone will have to pay for the equipment cost of routing all those chargers though... But I've always seen it as a no-brainer solution to the duck curve, especially if V2G ever comes around with high cycle life batteries.

 

[souperdave816]

Thanks again for those of you that gave some productive responses. ewoodrick and bpjones: your responses were a bit condescending, so maybe you didn't understand my situation:

1) Charging where I work is free. Our company has purposely provided this perk for free to provide an extra incentive to employees to make the move to EV and to reward EV owners with free charging. So I don't feel bad about charging at work and not at home.
2) My use case was to allow my charger to be freed up as soon as my car was done charging. I do not park next to a chargepoint location ALL DAY. As soon as my app notifies me that I'm done charging, I make every attempt to get out to my car and move it. But I might be in a meeting and would want the owner of a neighboring car to be able to use my charging cable and know that my charging is done. That's all.

I fully understand the charging etiquette at my place of work. I was merely asking about how the Tesla charging port door worked and whether others had use cases of collaborative charging at work.

 

[ReddyLeaf]

Seriously! If only PG&E would figure out a cool pricing scheme for companies to just stuff those electrons into EVs during the day- they could make a bit of cash with all this extra power instead of shunting it to the ground.

Someone will have to pay for the equipment cost of routing all those chargers though... But I've always seen it as a no-brainer solution to the duck curve, especially if V2G ever comes around with high cycle life batteries.

According to CAISO, 225,000 MWh (225,000,000 KWh) of renewables were curtailed last month, May 2019. Most of this is solar, and covers most of California, except a couple of major metro areas (maybe San Diego and SF Bay areas, I’m not sure). If I did the math correctly, this works out to 900,000,000 mi of EV driving at 4 mi/KWh. 900 BILLION MILES, just last month. Come on, talk about a waste of FKNG resources.
California ISO - Managing Oversupply

 

[peakshaving]

According to CAISO, 225,000 MWh (225,000,000 KWh) of renewables were curtailed last month, May 2019. Most of this is solar, and covers most of California, except a couple of major metro areas (maybe San Diego and SF Bay areas, I’m not sure). If I did the math correctly, this works out to 900,000,000 mi of EV driving at 4 mi/KWh. 900 BILLION MILES, just last month. Come on, talk about a waste of FKNG resources.
California ISO - Managing Oversupply

Yeah those numbers were even worse before when the demand predictions were shaky. Nowadays it's a lot better and I think the curtailment happens because of transmission congestion.

I think those numbers will be better for June. Today renewables never went beyond 50% of supplied power even though it was like 14,000MW for most of the day. I think the heat and AC usage will remove most of the curtailment at least in the last few days.

Adding demand might not even help the curtailment if the problem is that the transmission lines from central california solar plants can't transmit enough power up here since we're bottlenecked. Hopefully buk transmission lines gain traction but I wouldn't hold my breath on that, this state has some of the most evolved NIMBYs I've ever seen like protesting against PV stations in the desert or wind turbines out in the ocean.

 

[peakshaving]

Thanks again for those of you that gave some productive responses. ewoodrick and bpjones: your responses were a bit condescending, so maybe you didn't understand my situation:

1) Charging where I work is free. Our company has purposely provided this perk for free to provide an extra incentive to employees to make the move to EV and to reward EV owners with free charging. So I don't feel bad about charging at work and not at home.
2) My use case was to allow my charger to be freed up as soon as my car was done charging. I do not park next to a chargepoint location ALL DAY. As soon as my app notifies me that I'm done charging, I make every attempt to get out to my car and move it. But I might be in a meeting and would want the owner of a neighboring car to be able to use my charging cable and know that my charging is done. That's all.

I fully understand the charging etiquette at my place of work. I was merely asking about how the Tesla charging port door worked and whether others had use cases of collaborative charging at work.

I don't think ewoodrick is trying to shame you for taking advantage of the free charging. I charge for free at work as well but mentioning it to my coworkers causes ire and management's already starting to murmur about not supporting EVs because the staff think its unfair that certain people (who are usually 'rich' Tesla owners) get free "gas" and special parking (nevermind that its only while you charge). It's just a massive headache for management even if the intentions are good.

ANYWAY- Charging is the one thing that I think EV owners get real tribal about since things blocking chargers has been problem since the first charging stations were built and as EV drivers we do expect other EV drivers to be better about it. If you know what your company's EV charging policy is then disregard what we're saying here- it's all irrelevant if the property management want something else from EV users, just follow their policy.

My company solved the problem of people not moving their cars on time by hiring a valet to do it for us but in the last week or two we've gotten some real snarky slack messages by ICE drivers who are real furious that they not only don't get free "gas" but now they dont get managed parking!