Recharging Etiquette

[Beta V]

I visited the Tesla Supercharge site in Issaquah, WA (the closest to my home) after a jaunt over on that side of the county. It was hidden in the middle of the Fred Meyer parking lot but I hadn't paid close enough attention--it was full. Yes, my screen app said there were no slots available, but I didn't notice. I pulled into a nearby parking space to wait and noticed several Teslas also hovering nearby. We all got out and organized who was next and talked about our experiences. I thought it would be nice to have a "take a number" kiosk at the site (or in the vehicle) to manage this. Other driver's experiences with their cars, (Model X, S, and 3) were pretty much the same as mine. Lots of times back to the shop, but like me, they liked the cars and bemoaned there were no real alternatives (yet).

We also noticed that some drivers were rude. Of course, while their car was connected to the charger, no one else could use the charge port. But several of these cars were fully charged and the drivers had not returned. What they might not realize is that while some don't pay for Supercharging (like me), I heard that everyone pays for "idle" time--plugged in and fully charged. Perhaps they didn't care or this isn't true so no disincentive to leave promptly.

When I returned from shopping, my car was almost finished charging (it took about 30-40 minutes for a full charge at .75 KWH) but the same two cars were still there hogging spaces. It just goes to show, just 'cause you drive an EV, does not mean you're cognizant of the needs of others. We need to return to our cars promptly when the app says we're charged--or beforehand. It would also be nice to know which ports had higher capacity than others. I also noticed that not all cars showed the remaining time on the dash--or perhaps they too were fully charged.

That Supercharge session saved me the cost of a fill-up ($30-$40) in electricity.

I tried to see if the car behaved differently running on premium power. Question: does it weigh more after being recharged?

 

[jboy210]

Does that Supercharger have an idle fee? Some don't. If not, you should contact Tesla and ask them to implement one. That $1/min after full (+ 5 min grace period) fee is a really incentive to move your car when it is charging is done.

 

[Uncle Paul]

People are supposed to move their cars when the stalls are congested and they are full.

Some people never do what they are supposed to do. Makes it harder on other, but they seem not to care.

Good job organizing a line.

More and more Superchargers are rolling out all the time, and Tesla has just announced their first Version 3 Supercharger that will fill up the cars much faster and increase turnover.

As you found out, you can survey the Superchargers around you and see which ones have the most empty slots. There are busy times and slow times...go at the slow times if you can.

Enjoy your new Tesla.

 

[ewoodrick]

That Supercharge session saved me the cost of a fill-up ($30-$40) in electricity.

I'm not sure how you can equate 30-40 minutes @75kW to $30-$0 of electricity. A 100kWh battery full charge at $40 indicates that your energy cost is $0.40/kWh. But I thought that Seattle power was a lot cheaper than that. Also , since you indicated 30-40 minutes @75kW, that's only about 40kWh.

Using Washington's $0.085 /kWh cost, 40 kWh is only $3.40.

 

[bob_p]

Tesla really should provide terms and conditions for using the superchargers, have all owners agree to those T&C's and in addition to the idle charging fees, be able to disable use of superchargers (at least for a while) for any owners who frequently abuse the superchargers.

The superchargers are a limited resource - and there will always be locations where there is contention for charging spots. Tesla can do more through their smartphone apps and the onboard software - which help their customers minimize time at the superchargers and also allow Tesla to support more vehicles per supercharger, lowering or at least spreading out their investment for new chargers.

 

[TMeister]

I'm glad you got the high power electrons. Those hydro generated ones in Washington state come out to 1.67x the ones everywhere else. And they do weight just a tad more.

 

[Rocky_H]

There seems to be some misinformation flying around in this thread.

But several of these cars were fully charged and the drivers had not returned.

Exactly what method or observation did you use to come to your assumption that the cars were fully charged?
Some new Tesla owners are used to other brands of electric cars, which always have some kind of blinking indicator light that shows when they are actively charging, and if that light goes off, it means they are charged. Tesla cars do not work that way. The light around the charging port goes off when the car is locked and the owner is away, but it is still very much actively charging. This is described in the manual. I have very frequently seen this mistaken assumption from new Tesla owners who think that the cars are done charging and are just rudely hogging the space, when in fact, that is usually a false assumption.

However, if you could actually see the charging screen inside the car, and it said "Charging Complete", or showed 0kW power, then that would be an accurate way to tell that it is done charging. So make sure you are not jumping to inaccurate assumptions before you make those accusations of rudeness.

but the same two cars were still there hogging spaces. It just goes to show, just 'cause you drive an EV, does not mean you're cognizant of the needs of others.

Probably not true. I am thinking they were probably still charging if you were making your assumptions from looking for flashing charging port lights.

Does that Supercharger have an idle fee? Some don't. If not, you should contact Tesla and ask them to implement one.

All of them do. Some sites have the metering of paying for the electricity turned off, but I have never heard of any of them not enforcing the idle fees.

 

[Kuhz]

That particular site is a bit bizarre, especially for queuing up

 

[Beta V]

I'm not sure how you can equate 30-40 minutes @75kW to $30-$0 of electricity. A 100kWh battery full charge at $40 indicates that your energy cost is $0.40/kWh. But I thought that Seattle power was a lot cheaper than that. Also , since you indicated 30-40 minutes @75kW, that's only about 40kWh.

Using Washington's $0.085 /kWh cost, 40 kWh is only $3.40.

Okay, the $30-$40 is what my wife says it's costing (she hates the car). I need to take a closer look at the electric bills. Perhaps that's what she says it costs a month to keep it charged. Thanks

 

[dethman]

How did you know the cars were done charging?

People often charge to 100% at superchargers as a way to avoid idle fees, which takes forEVER.

Still rude, but it doesn't mean they are not charging.

 

[ajdelange]

Setting up for more charge than you "need" seems like a great strategy not necessarily to dodge the idle fee but to employ if you want to go have dinner or do something like that while charging. But certainly agree that it is at the least rude if the station is heavily occupied. Tesla could help us to use this strategy without being rude by having the App inform us that the station is filling up as well as informing us as to the status of ongoing charges.

Or they could, when the station is highly occupied, impose higher per kWhr charges if the vehicle is charged over 80%. Also would be nice if they had a dummy stall for the first car pulling up to a completely full charger to wait in. The system would then push alerts to all charging cars or cars nearly fully charged alerting them to the fact that there is someone waiting. The majority of folks would, under such circumstances, return to their cars and vacate their stalls, assuming they are adequately charged. At least I'd like to think they would.

 

[DCGOO]

Setting up for more charge than you "need" seems like a great strategy not necessarily to dodge the idle fee but to employ if you want to go have dinner or do something like that while charging. But certainly agree that it is at the least rude if the station is heavily occupied. Tesla could help us to use this strategy without being rude by having the App inform us that the station is filling up as well as informing us as to the status of ongoing charges.

That already happens. "This supercharger is nearly full, please move your vehicle as soon as possible" or something to that effect.

 

[TexasEV]

That Supercharge session saved me the cost of a fill-up ($30-$40) in electricity.

That’s not possible. Using an approximate rate of 10 cents/ kWh, if you have a 100kWh battery it costs $10 to charge from 0-100%. A 75kWh battery would be $7.50. Supercharger rates are designed to be more expensive than home charging, so as not to encourage people to charge there who could charge at home. And as others have said, there’s no way for you to know that someone else’s car has finished charging.

 

[Fairgame]

“That Supercharge session saved me the cost of a fill-up ($30-$40) in electricity. “

Why not? He filled up his car (with electrons). If he filled up gas suv with fuel, he would be easily spending $30-$40.

 

[bitmap]

That’s not possible. Using an approximate rate of 10 cents/ kWh, if you have a 100kWh battery it costs $10 to charge from 0-100%. A 75kWh battery would be $7.50.

It’s absolutely possible. In San Diego, my first tier electricity pricing is 0.23/KWH and second tier is 0.41/KWH. You cross tiers at a measly 380 KWH too. Heck, the nearby supercharger is 0.31/KWH.

 

[TexasEV]

He’s in Redmond, WA, not San Diego. The average residential rate is 10.4 cents/ kWh there according to a quick Google search, similar to what is charged in most places other than California.

 

[jboy210]

It’s absolutely possible. In San Diego, my first tier electricity pricing is 0.23/KWH and second tier is 0.41/KWH. You cross tiers at a measly 380 KWH too. Heck, the nearby supercharger is 0.31/KWH.

No Time of Use or EV plans available? Dumping the tiered plan was the 1st thing I did when I got a HPWC.

 

[Yinn]

I saw a new one recently. Apparently this is a normal thing at this supercharger - which was pretty full. People in Teslas would plug in, then be picked up by a gas car and leave. They'd return later via gas cars to pick up their car. That was a new one to me, and quite annoying. I sat waiting for about 45 minutes before grabbing another 30 minutes of charge and only one vehicle from a 8 stall station moved during that time.

 

[TexasEV]

I saw a new one recently. Apparently this is a normal thing at this supercharger - which was pretty full. People in Teslas would plug in, then be picked up by a gas car and leave. They'd return later via gas cars to pick up their car. That was a new one to me, and quite annoying. I sat waiting for about 45 minutes before grabbing another 30 minutes of charge and only one vehicle from a 8 stall station moved during that time.

You must be new here.

 

[jya*]

Setting up for more charge than you "need" seems like a great strategy not necessarily to dodge the idle fee but to employ if you want to go have dinner or do something like that while charging. But certainly agree that it is at the least rude if the station is heavily occupied. Tesla could help us to use this strategy without being rude by having the App inform us that the station is filling up as well as informing us as to the status of ongoing charges.

Or they could, when the station is highly occupied, impose higher per kWhr charges if the vehicle is charged over 80%. Also would be nice if they had a dummy stall for the first car pulling up to a completely full charger to wait in. The system would then push alerts to all charging cars or cars nearly fully charged alerting them to the fact that there is someone waiting. The majority of folks would, under such circumstances, return to their cars and vacate their stalls, assuming they are adequately charged. At least I'd like to think they would.

The last time I checked my app, in the charging screen there is a Nearby Superchargers section, showing number of slots available for my closest 4 superchargers. I don't know if this section is hidden while supercharging; I hope not.