Charging outside of the home

[Brdgray]

I can’t for the life of me think through why so many companies are investing in chargers at their businesses / gas stations / retail outlets / etc. If I looked over the course of the last year with my MS, I have only NEEDED to charge twice when I brought the car on road trips. Outside of that even if I’m at a retailer I’m only charging because it’s free OR I’m charging at a supercharger when I had 6 months free.

Assuming fleet vehicles, taxis, people who live in cities/apartments, and folks on road trips might be the answer? If so, retailers need to really rethink where the chargers need to be located.

Thoughts from this group?

 

[boaterva]

We only charge away from home on trips (Supercharger or destination charger at B&B sort of thing). Would never use one at a Walmart, etc. Yep.

 

[Tigerkc]

Not everyone drives a Tesla with >200 miles of range. At my company, there are many Leafs, and I think many of them needs some charging at work to make it home. Also, my company encourages employees to go green, chargers are plentiful and charging is free.

 

[Cheburashka]

Pretty dumb post IMO.

Not everyone's lifestyle matches yours.

If you're traveling further from your house, makes sense to plug in while you're eating, shopping, etc.

Also, some people only have Level 1 or no charging at all at home.

Moreso, not everyone drives a Tesla. I know... hard to believe!

 

[Prachatice]

I think a lot of it is city and municipal codes. Here in Boulder, buidings/businesses are required to have charging if they apply for improvement/building permits. I, for one, love it even though I have about a one mile commute. The more chargers that are out there, the more people will be inclined to look at EVs which means more competition which means better and better cars to chose from.

 

[Brdgray]

Pretty dumb post IMO.

Not everyone's lifestyle matches yours.

If you're traveling further from your house, makes sense to plug in while you're eating, shopping, etc.

Also, some people only have Level 1 or no charging at all at home.

Moreso, not everyone drives a Tesla. I know... hard to believe!

I appreciate the candor here. I am thinking also that the range on EVs is increasing every day regardless of Tesla. For the people that only have Level 1 - I can see the argument.

 

[iRia]

If I’m going somewhere for a day it’s nice to be greeted with a full battery when I’m ready to leave. Last place I charged that wasn’t home nor work was a local zoo. Spent the day and my car was fully charged as I was leaving.

 

[ChadS]

As long-range BEVs increase, I agree that public and workplace L1/L2 chargers will become less important to BEV users. But then I've never recommended that BEV users rely on those chargers, because you can never be sure they are available. A lot of the use of public chargers, even by BEVs, is not for a charge they ABSOLUTELY NEED...they can presumably get a charge somewhere else later...but having an opportunity charge where they are parked anyway can be a convenience.

Moreover, those chargers will likely always be helpful (though not a requirement) to PHEV users. They bought a PHEV rather than an ICE to be able to use electricity, and with the shorter-than-BEV ranges, many PHEVs can use an opportunity charge while out and about. Converting as many of their gas miles to electric miles is beneficial for all of us.

Plus, more available charging helps drive EV sales, even if the EV owners don't necessarily need it.

So it's not just about what some owners may NEED...these chargers (when they work and are properly sited) drive more sales, increase convenience, and convert more gas miles to electric. That's great stuff, even though I, too, haven't had to use anything but Superchargers and my EVSE at home for years.

 

[geoffmanley]

It’s nice having chargers all over. My company put in 4 Tesla rapid chargers that are free, although they cheaped out and put all the chargers on one 80 amp lead. But it’s still better than sitting at a supercharger.

 

[ValleyGeek]

My understanding is that for general, non road trip, use the long term idea is that we move away from the traditional "refuel station" (supercharger) paradigm and instead charge more frequently, but slower, at destinations. It lowers the requirement for large batteries which increases efficiency, lessens the single points of high demand on the grid by distributing the load, and is easier on the batteries by charging them more regularly at lower rates.

I'm not an expert or in the industry but I recall hearing that in the past and it made sense to me. We'll still need places like superchargers to support long distance, timely travel but the idea will be that only people driving through should need them and locals or commuters will be able to L2 charge throughout their day at destinations instead.

 

[PWlakewood]

I say the more chargers the better. I don't mind plugging in just to top it off even though I may not need it but if it's free why not. I may frequent an establishment more if it has free charging. I pay for my electricity at home so if I can save a few bucks I'm all for it.

 

[Rockster]

It’s nice having chargers all over. My company put in 4 Tesla rapid chargers that are free, although they cheaped out and put all the chargers on one 80 amp lead. But it’s still better than sitting at a supercharger.

My office park put in two groups of three wall chargers in each group. Each trio of chargers shares a 100 amp circuit, which means I get ~26 amps, 40 amps, or 48 amps, depending upon the use of the other two chargers in the group. I don't need to charge here but it's free and it's a perk they did for us so I'm not going to say "no" to it.

Similarly, a movie theater near us has a bank of free chargers. If I'm there to see a movie and I could use the charge and there's plenty of empty space at the chargers, I'll plug in and take advantage of their charging generosity while I'm inside spending $5 for a soda and $8 for ten cents worth of popcorn.

 

[BigNick]

If there had been an Internet 100 years ago, there would be people wanting more gasoline stations and fewer hitching post/water trough stations.

 

[tpoltron]

For the people that only have Level 1 - I can see the argument.

Remember the goal: replace all ICE. A large portion of Americans (especially in cities) and the majority of the rest of the world do not have garages or assigned parking so even Level 1 is not an option. Personally I think being able to wake up with a 'full tank' without having to make a special trip is one fo the killer advantages of EVs. For those without that luxury, ubiqtuos and easy charging is must or they will never switch. I think this is a really important issue to solve, with the other simply being education about how much better EVs already are.

 

[Greengolfer]

My first EV was a Fiat 500e. It had 94 miles of range, and I used it to go from home to work and back(50 milea round trip). I used available chargers all over the city. It helped me venture a little farther out. Since I got my P85 I haven't used anything but my home charger and Tesla superchargers( for trips). It is nice to know that there are many options for those who might not have 250 miles of range or more.