How many blocks between a hotel and a charger for it to be convenient?

[Missile Toad]

In some U.S. cities a block is 660 feet or 1/8 of a mile. This is the equivalent of 0.2 km. So think in these terms as you answer the question (your city/town may vary). When I say 'convenient', I mean that you would consider a stay at that hotel and travel via your Tesla to get there. For some Model S, it can take about 13 hours at a J1772 if recharging from 0 to completely full.

For purposes of this poll 1 Block = on-site charging too.

 

[kort677]

you could have included longer distances as choices.
in the early days of tesla my son was at FSU in Tallahassee and I had to walk about 1.5 miles to the one campus garage that had a few l2 chargers, and charging for non permit holders had to be done after school hours.
after a year or two of that the Four Points hotel that I usually stayed in installed a tesla destination charger. and as luck would have it after he graduated telsa installed a SpC just outside of town.
last year on a trip to Vail CO the condo I used only had a 110 available which I used to keep the car "warm", the town's garage which had 8 chargepoint L2 units was about .75 miles away and when I needed to top off for a ride I'd plug in there.
these days as chargers are becoming more and more common long treks to a charger usually isn't necessary.

 

[dgpcolorado]

Distance aside, I think it would have more to do with whether I would be comfortable leaving the car at the charge station overnight. That would depend on the neighborhood.

I sometimes walk more than a mile each way to a movie theater while my car is charging and that's just for a couple of hours of opportunity charging (and to listen to audio books while I walk). Every week I walk three blocks to the supermarket while charging and that means carrying bags of groceries on the way back.

 

[jbcarioca]

Thinking of the future the answer should be >1 block because ubiquitous overnight charging in the same lot that would otherwise w=be used will go a great distance to remove objections.
We are already BEV users so we'll tolerate daily inconvenience and still be happy. Not so much for new adoptees.

 

[jaguar36]

I'd happily walk a mile to be able to get charging overnight. Of course the location matters too. I'm not going to be walking down the side of a highway with no sidewalks or anything.

 

[Missile Toad]

I'm seeing a surprising number of entries for 4 blocks (and comments that people would happily go even further) for considering a location convenient to the hotel. Because current mid-2017 ownership (and therefore responses) is likely skewed to

a) men;
b) EV enthusiasts;
c) 35+ age​

Incidentally, I fit all of the above three categories.
Let me throw in a few observations, and vague inferences that such (apparent) biases might introduce.

1) when staying at a hotel, maybe as likely as not, to be traveling with a spouse.
2) the 'b' bias might skew many to be happy to have _any_ chargers at any walkable distance;
3) many years of experience with hotels, sidewalks, cross-walks, etc, gives these older owners more confidence while on foot.​

Now, consider these biases versus how we might be constituted in 2020 and beyond:
1) more equal distribution of sexes as owners (if we even own cars in that era);
2) more people who just want to go from point A to B, and still be as convenient as ICE;
3) generally double or triple the charger density

Anyway, I'm sensing, future, similar surveys will skew to lower numbers for what distance is thought as convenient.

 

[dgpcolorado]

...Now, consider these biases versus how we might be constituted in 2020 and beyond:
1) more equal distribution of sexes as owners (if we even own cars in that era);
2) more people who just want to go from point A to B, and still be as convenient as ICE;
3) generally double or triple the charger density

Anyway, I'm sensing, future, similar surveys will skew to lower numbers for what distance is thought as convenient.

For several years my take on L2 public charging is that it will soon be obsolete, to be replaced by ubiquitous DCFC. Most slow charging will take place at home or work and any other charging away from those locations will be DCFC because L2 charging is too slow to bother with otherwise. The push for public L2 charge stations has been because of short range EVs, such as the LEAF. Once all, or nearly all, EVs have a decent range, there simply won't be much need for opportunity charging.

The hotel model is for destination charging — why not, one is going to be parked there all night anyway, right? Suppose, however, that DCFC stations were as commonplace as gas stations. The only reason to use L2 charging away from home would be to save a few dollars because it is free and DCFC likely would cost money to use. Instead of proliferating, I expect L2 charge stations to get less use and disappear, in favor of increased numbers of DCFC stations. Not that my crystal ball is any better than that of anyone else!

 

[ReddyLeaf]

Well, I voted 4 blocks because there wasn't anything larger. I've dropped off my parents at a hotel, then driven to the RV park for overnight charging and hoofed it back 8 blocks only to repeat the same thing the next morning and next night/morning. You do what you have to do and this neck of the woods, there aren't many available 240V options. Doing this made my parents comfortable with both the sleeping arrangements AND driving an EV. The referenced trip was just for the weekend and included a SC stop at Ritzville and then another 120 mi without viable 240V options, the hotel overnight, then another 50 mi farther into the woods with no electricity.

 

[Rocky_H]

Well, I voted 4 blocks because there wasn't anything larger. I've dropped off my parents at a hotel, then driven to the RV park for overnight charging and hoofed it back 8 blocks only to repeat the same thing the next morning and next night/morning. You do what you have to do and this neck of the woods, there aren't many available 240V options. Doing this made my parents comfortable with both the sleeping arrangements AND driving an EV. The referenced trip was just for the weekend and included a SC stop at Ritzville and then another 120 mi without viable 240V options, the hotel overnight, then another 50 mi farther into the woods with no electricity.

Yeah, I'm surprised the options are so low. Half a mile isn't that much. At a regular walking speed of 3 miles per hour, that's 10 minutes. I'd certainly walk more than 10 minutes to have an overnight charging spot. It takes me longer than that walking from my parking spot at work to my desk each day.

 

[BrettS]

I think part of the confusion comes from the fact that the word ‘convenient’ might mean different things to different people. For me I’d think it was convenient to have a charger in the parking lot of the hotel. If the charger is a few blocks away it would certainly be usable, but in my mind that would no longer be convenient.

 

[Missile Toad]

So 'convenient' is a term I expect hotels will bring up, more and more. Hotels have so much manpower they want to devote to squabbles between guests on who needs to make room for the next EV. So I'm expecting, particularly in urban areas, some form of marketing at the hotel website:

EV vehicle charging located conveniently nearby.​

They know that the term is going to mean different things to different people, so they hedge with a somewhat vague term so they can deflect blame, perhaps responding when a new Model 3 owner comes in "Hey, you said 'convenient'. But I had to walk 6 block in the rain to drop off the car!";
"Well, sir, that's what everybody thought was convenient back in 2017, and we've not had any complaints this year."

 

[Lloyd]

I would walk 6 blocks and not feel too put out! But, I like to walk!

 

[ItsNotAboutTheMoney]

Where would it be, and what time of year?

 

[dgpcolorado]

Where would it be, and what time of year?

In a blinding snowstorm, uphill both ways?

 

[johnnyS]

A year ago we stayed in Estes Park Colorado for several days. There is a very good L2 charger in the library parking lot which was .5 miles from the hotel. The charger had a 3 hour time limit sign and that was the maximum that you could pay so I was not comfortable just leaving the car overnight. The reality was we were the only ones using the charger. Anyway I charged for two hours in the evening and then in the early morning. It was doable, but not really convenient.

 

[Rocky_H]

A year ago we stayed in Estes Park Colorado for several days. There is a very good L2 charger in the library parking lot which was .5 miles from the hotel. The charger had a 3 hour time limit sign and that was the maximum that you could pay so I was not comfortable just leaving the car overnight. The reality was we were the only ones using the charger. Anyway I charged for two hours in the evening and then in the early morning. It was doable, but not really convenient.

Overnight charging needs to be "set it and forget it". It sounds like the time limit was what made this difficult, not the distance.

 

[BrettS]

Overnight charging needs to be "set it and forget it". It sounds like the time limit was what made this difficult, not the distance.

I think it was a combination. If it was a block away and had a 3 hour limit then it might have still been convenient because it would be easy to come down and move the car when the limit was up.

 

[Ciaopec]

In a blinding snowstorm, uphill both ways?

Did I go to school with you? This was the route I took when I was young!

 

[kort677]

Did I go to school with you? This was the route I took when I was young!

I had to do the route barefoot, top that

 

[Ciaopec]

I had to do the route barefoot, top that

I used my little brother's shoes: I had to carry him. Barefoot must have been a bitch.