Leaving car plugged in overnight at supercharger?

[richrootes]

I am staying at a hotel tomorrow night, arriving late after a long drive and leaving early for another long drive (i.e. I need a full charge). The car park has 12 supercharger bays, but no other slow chargers.
Am I OK to plug in all night? It won't get busy, I am on free Supercharging and have never had idle fees before, and I really don't want to get up in the middle of the night to move the car!
Poor form or ok?

I bet you’re sorry you asked!

Plug it in, leave a note, relax - you’re obviously not trying to be an a hole, so don’t sweat it

Cheers!

 

[Big Earl]

Totally agree, its unlikely. But the trouble is, where do you draw the line? Sure, I dont doubt you wont be rude, as you already showed you are considerate by posting the question in the first place. But others will start to push it .. and push it .. until suddenly its impossible to find a charging slot. I've already seen cases of Teslas simply using charging slots as parking space, and not even plugging in at all. Sad but true.

Tesla is pretty clear about this. They draw the line at the supercharger being half full, at which point they start charging idle fees of $1/minute.

 

[ucmndd]

Totally agree, its unlikely. But the trouble is, where do you draw the line?

We could start with where Tesla has already drawn the line - idle cars at stations more than half full incur idle fees.

 

[Iain]

I put a big note in marker pen with my phone number just in case, but seriously does anyone imagine this is going to be full at any time overnight?

I think you explained it well. The UK has a real pandemic lockdown going on and it's unlikely another Tesla showed up let alone 10

 

[ucmndd]

But what's the real inconvenience of moving it? Sure, you have to wake up, put on pants, move car, go back to bed. Doesnt seem too much to me, and I'd certainly do that (since I've done on destination chargers as well).

... and if there was even the slightest likelihood of me getting in someone else’s way, I’d do exactly that. In fact, I’d be FAR more inclined to do so at a destination charger (where there’s usually only one or two available) vs. the situation presented in this thread with a dozen-stall deserted supercharger.

But given the choice, and the comfort of knowing I’m not impacting anyone else, I’ll choose sleep every time.

 

[ucmndd]

I think you explained it well. The UK has a real pandemic lockdown going on and it's unlikely another Tesla showed up let alone 10

I mean, even ten would result in precisely nobody waiting or being inconvenienced at all.

 

[DerbyDave]

Too bad all these 3rd party apps, or even the Tesla app, can't actually alarm your phone or alert you by your set method, when your car is at the Supercharger and more than 50% of the stalls are occupied at your location, etc. That information is easily obtained.

 

[Gwgan]

Can you get most of your charge from the Supercharger then move to an outdoor wall socket for the night and set a Depart At time? You get a warm battery and cabin on departure and nobody is inconvenienced.

 

[Tomilett]

I don't think a single other tesla turned up all night.
Even if all the other residents of the hotel parked their ice's in supercharger bays, there would still be 7 free.
Perhaps I didn't make clear just how locked down this country is right now!

 

[drtimhill]

I don't think a single other tesla turned up all night.
Even if all the other residents of the hotel parked their ice's in supercharger bays, there would still be 7 free.
Perhaps I didn't make clear just how locked down this country is right now!

Which is great .. and if it comes down to "Clearly, in these somewhat crazy times, I dont need to worry about getting in anyones way" then that's fine, though in that case why you would post a question here is unclear. But if its, "Is this considered, in general, good SC etiquette?" then as I already said, I think the answer is "no".

 

[GreenT]

Plus it's just not good for the battery to leave it at 100% all night long. I wouldn't even charge to 90 the night before. Why not just go out and plug it in first thing after you wake up. It'll be charged by the time you shower, pack, eat, etc.

You're assuming he showers? What about s--t and shave?

 

[evfeh]

Doing this scenario this weekend with a hotel with a supercharger next to it, for a couple of days. Plan on unpacking and charging to 90% and moving it out of the bays. Once errands are run, plug back in and recharge, and top off to 100% before I leave. 550miles round trip.