Supercharger - Aiea, HI (6 stalls)

[miimura]

I did see a few Teslas on the Big Island when I was there in January. People in high rises don't need superchargers, they need L2 charging in those garages.

Everyone knows that L2 charging where you normally park is the correct solution. Actually being able to get them installed is another matter entirely.

 

[nanimac]

People who don't live in Hawaii don't understand the challenges of building anything here. Permitting process is tedious and a nightmare and construction costs here are at least 25% higher than on the mainland. It will take just as long, if not longer, to build a supercharger site here as it took for Giga Austin to be built. Land is limited and finding spots where electric infrastructure can actually support superchargers is even more limited. BUT...Tesla is committed to bringing superchargers here, it's just NOT THAT SIMPLE here in the republic of Hawaii.

 

[Big Earl]

I did see a few Teslas on the Big Island when I was there in January. People in high rises don't need superchargers, they need L2 charging in those garages.

In an ideal world, yes. Unfortunately, it isn't always that simple. Condo boards, electrical infrastructure limitations, building permits, and a host of other challenges can make installing mass L2 charging a tedious and incredibly expensive project. If Tesla wants to sell cars in Hawaii, it's easier for them as a company to install Superchargers than to wait for individual properties to get their acts together to support EVs.

 

[Akikiki]

I did see a few Teslas on the Big Island when I was there in January. People in high rises don't need superchargers, they need L2 charging in those garages.

I'm quite impressed that you can be in CA and "see" that Tesla owners in HI don't need superchargers. Maybe you can help them install the L2 chargers in the high rises? (Just a little jab of less than perfect humor there.)

We are all on the same team. You don't have all the facts. The people in high-rises would love to be able to charge at home. Most of these high rises were built before anyone considered needing HV supply in the parking garages. They currently do not have the building infrastructure to add Level 1 or 2 charging. We know, we've talked to owners living in high rises. In order to install an entirely new infrastructure would also require scaled up electrical transformers? Who is going to pay for that?

Charging - at home, at work, in the public are one of often discussed subjects with two+ owners get together. Those of us that can charge at home are sympathetic and talk to those that can't charge at home about ideas. This is how we know the problems. HOAs and high rise unit owners object and refuse to help pay. Non-EV owners, don't want to fund infrastructure upgrades for those "elitist EV owners (especially those rich Tesla owners)". So who is going to pay for these upgrades?

A few years ago, we had a high rise fire where people died, and died because there was no fire suppression or sprinklers. We learned that 350+ high rises have inadequate or no fire sprinkler systems support. This also revealed the age of these buildings. That's a vast number of high rises without adequate fire fighting infrastructure. I think if a fire sprinkler system is on their wish list its higher than EV charging. Chances of adding charging infrastructure is slim.

I mean no offense to you @STS-134, but we are surely glad you are not authorizing sites for Superchargers.

 

[STS-134]

I'm quite impressed that you can be in CA and "see" that Tesla owners in HI don't need superchargers. Maybe you can help them install the L2 chargers in the high rises? (Just a little jab of less than perfect humor there.)

We are all on the same team. You don't have all the facts. The people in high-rises would love to be able to charge at home. Most of these high rises were built before anyone considered needing HV supply in the parking garages. They currently do not have the building infrastructure to add Level 1 or 2 charging. We know, we've talked to owners living in high rises. In order to install an entirely new infrastructure would also require scaled up electrical transformers? Who is going to pay for that?

Charging - at home, at work, in the public are one of often discussed subjects with two+ owners get together. Those of us that can charge at home are sympathetic and talk to those that can't charge at home about ideas. This is how we know the problems. HOAs and high rise unit owners object and refuse to help pay. Non-EV owners, don't want to fund infrastructure upgrades for those "elitist EV owners (especially those rich Tesla owners)". So who is going to pay for these upgrades?

A few years ago, we had a high rise fire where people died, and died because there was no fire suppression or sprinklers. We learned that 350+ high rises have inadequate or no fire sprinkler systems support. This also revealed the age of these buildings. That's a vast number of high rises without adequate fire fighting infrastructure. I think if a fire sprinkler system is on their wish list its higher than EV charging. Chances of adding charging infrastructure is slim.

I mean no offense to you @STS-134, but we are surely glad you are not authorizing sites for Superchargers.

Isn't Hawaii a "right to charge" state (meaning that condo associations cannot deny owners the permits/approval to install a charging station in the complex garage at their assigned space)? The condo where we have a timeshare on Maui has installed some charging outlets, but they are only 120V outlets at this time, right along the wall closest to the building (it's a covered garage). Hopefully they install some 240V EVSEs soon but if someone actually bought an EV and wanted a 240V EVSE to charge it, it's my understanding that it would be illegal for the association to deny that person permission to install it.

 

[Big Earl]

Isn't Hawaii a "right to charge" state (meaning that condo associations cannot deny owners the permits/approval to install a charging station in the complex garage at their assigned space)? The condo where we have a timeshare on Maui has installed some charging outlets, but they are only 120V outlets at this time, right along the wall closest to the building (it's a covered garage). Hopefully they install some 240V EVSEs soon but if someone actually bought an EV and wanted a 240V EVSE to charge it, it's my understanding that it would be illegal for the association to deny that person permission to install it.

Sure, but what if the existing electrical infrastructure can't support EV outlets? There are a lot of older complexes that are basically maxed out with little or no room for additional circuits. What are owners to do in these situations? Running a new, dedicated service for EV infrastructure can be prohibitively expensive, especially if there are only a few owners with EVs. Rather than making people move to a complex that offers EV charging, or delaying adoption until more people are interested, the best option is for Tesla to step up and build Superchargers, just like they're doing in other metropolitan areas.

 

[Akikiki]

it's just NOT THAT SIMPLE here in the republic of Hawaii.

...kingdom of Hawaii

 

[Akikiki]

Sure, but what if the existing electrical infrastructure can't support EV outlets? There are a lot of older complexes that are basically maxed out with little or no room for additional circuits. What are owners to do in these situations? Running a new, dedicated service for EV infrastructure can be prohibitively expensive, especially if there are only a few owners with EVs. Rather than making people move to a complex that offers EV charging, or delaying adoption until more people are interested, the best option is for Tesla to step up and build Superchargers, just like they're doing in other metropolitan areas.

Thank you Big Earl.

I wish I could raise my wand and add EV Level 2 charging to every building. Let's assume, we had the permits and HOA approvals as in who/which gets the capability, do only guest parking spots get the charging station, if owners, who gets left out when too many it?

But aside from that, their is all that circuit installation, new metering, service panels, (must the be in a secure-able closet? New closet? Who pays for all this? The few that want EV charging? When non-EV owners our number EV owners in the building, do you think the HOA is going to fund the new installations?

And when there's not enough capacity in the parking garage to add one more 15 amp circuit, who is going to pay for the new Transformer that has to be ordered, built, shipped, and installed?

Don't think we don't want everyone to have EV Level 2 charging if they want it. Who is going to pay for it? Not the charge itself.

 

[smartypnz]

Was always under the impression that utilities automatically order/upgrade transformers at their own cost. It is an investment to make more money from the customer.
For example when I requested more Amperage to add charging capabilty for 2 Teslas in our garage, the utility ran new lines through the neighborhood to upgrade the future of possible neighbors doing the same. I paid nothing (nor would have for that).

 

[jalapeno_chips]

L2 chargers were approved by the HOA at my condo, still waiting for permit approval....it's been over a year already

 

[lensovet]

Was always under the impression that utilities automatically order/upgrade transformers at their own cost. It is an investment to make more money from the customer.
For example when I requested more Amperage to add charging capabilty for 2 Teslas in our garage, the utility ran new lines through the neighborhood to upgrade the future of possible neighbors doing the same. I paid nothing (nor would have for that).

lol no it does not work that way.

 

[rpo]

I am vacationing in Honolulu currently and rented a Model Y. Charging at hotels/condos is nearly non-existent, and that was blatantly obvious during my 2.5 hour wait at the supercharger today in Honolulu. Not one car left during the first 40 minutes I was waiting, and considering this is a 250 kW charger, I thought that was crazy. Then I finally plugged in, and the charger never once went above 55 kW. I talked to two other owners (everyone else was a renter through Turo like myself), and they said the supercharger only delivers 200+ kW if NOBODY else is plugged in. Considering there was consistently 7-15 cars waiting, that must be only in the middle of the night.

My takeaway was that anyone renting a Tesla while on vacation that was not familiar with charging on the mainland would NEVER want to purchase a Tesla after the supercharging experience here. I saw multiple owners cut in front of people that had been waiting for over an hour. There was yelling between owners. It was simply chaos. The next time I am in Honolulu, I would avoid renting another electric car.

P.S. My rented Model Y used 60% of the battery driving 50 miles over 2.5 days. The phantom drain (probably from sentry mode) is out of control.

 

[LoudMusic]

I am vacationing in Honolulu currently and rented a Model Y. Charging at hotels/condos is nearly non-existent, and that was blatantly obvious during my 2.5 hour wait at the supercharger today in Honolulu. Not one car left during the first 40 minutes I was waiting, and considering this is a 250 kW charger, I thought that was crazy. Then I finally plugged in, and the charger never once went above 55 kW. I talked to two other owners (everyone else was a renter through Turo like myself), and they said the supercharger only delivers 200+ kW if NOBODY else is plugged in. Considering there was consistently 7-15 cars waiting, that must be only in the middle of the night.

My takeaway was that anyone renting a Tesla while on vacation that was not familiar with charging on the mainland would NEVER want to purchase a Tesla after the supercharging experience here. I saw multiple owners cut in front of people that had been waiting for over an hour. There was yelling between owners. It was simply chaos. The next time I am in Honolulu, I would avoid renting another electric car.

P.S. My rented Model Y used 60% of the battery driving 50 miles over 2.5 days. The phantom drain (probably from sentry mode) is out of control.

I'll stick with my statement that I would not own an EV if I couldn't charge it where I park at night. Even a 15A circuit would make a world of difference.

 

[Patrick66]

Charging at hotels/condos is nearly non-existent, and that was blatantly obvious during my 2.5 hour wait at the supercharger today in Honolulu.

The situation is pretty stupid; they need a supercharger in Waikiki with about 10 stalls and another 10 stalls at Ala Moana Center.

That said, are you looking at Plugshare? I haven't used that many public chargers in the past year, but there are a lot of L2 chargers out there that are not expensive (a few that are free, but they are about useless). A fair number of hotels also have destination chargers as well, not sure about their overnight utilization.

If I was to rent via Turo here again I would just coordinate to return with a minimum range amount in advance.

 

[Akikiki]

I am vacationing in Honolulu currently and rented a Model Y. Charging at hotels/condos is nearly non-existent, and that was blatantly obvious during my 2.5 hour wait at the supercharger today in Honolulu. Not one car left during the first 40 minutes I was waiting, and considering this is a 250 kW charger, I thought that was crazy. Then I finally plugged in, and the charger never once went above 55 kW. I talked to two other owners (everyone else was a renter through Turo like myself), and they said the supercharger only delivers 200+ kW if NOBODY else is plugged in. Considering there was consistently 7-15 cars waiting, that must be only in the middle of the night.

My takeaway was that anyone renting a Tesla while on vacation that was not familiar with charging on the mainland would NEVER want to purchase a Tesla after the supercharging experience here. I saw multiple owners cut in front of people that had been waiting for over an hour. There was yelling between owners. It was simply chaos. The next time I am in Honolulu, I would avoid renting another electric car.

P.S. My rented Model Y used 60% of the battery driving 50 miles over 2.5 days. The phantom drain (probably from sentry mode) is out of control.

If you are still here, reach out to Honolulu Exotics Rentals, also known as weedrivetesla.com. They have charging capability, 808 927-4593. 1824 Auiki Street. They are near Sand Island Access Road. That's in Kalihi, between Airport and Waikiki.

 

[nanimac]

Yes, use Weedrivetesla next time to rent a Tesla. They have destination chargers at their shop and you can get Chademo adapters from them to use at the HECO fast chargers around the island. Also, we have ONE supercharger here right now for probably over 6,000 Teslas on Oahu so of course the supercharger will always be busy. Am sure the locals would appreciate tourists considering other options vs using and complaining about our ONE supercharger site. LOL

 

[Tyl]

Yes!!! Indeed!!! Many more supercharging locations needed and many more superchargers per location. Here’s an overhead of Aiea ….picture of where many more could… possibly… be installed. A 50 stall supercharger station in Aiea would fit the current needs. …. But not for long

 

[Big Earl]

Yes!!! Indeed!!! Many more supercharging locations needed and many more superchargers per location. Here’s an overhead of Aiea ….picture of where many more could… possibly… be installed. A 50 stall supercharger station in Aiea would fit the current needs. …. But not for longView attachment 921396

Perhaps it would be worthwhile to reach out to property owners to gauge their interest in partnering with Tesla. As a Tesla owner, you're in a good position to explain the benefits that a site host might see - increased customer traffic, listed directly on Tesla's navigation system, attract tourists/visitors with EV rentals. Be sure to mention the likelihood of Superchargers servicing non-Teslas in the future.

Interested hosts can reach out to Tesla here: Host a Supercharger | Tesla

 

[Tyl]

Great points.

Here todays situation in Aiea HI

… and yikes! ….. I have to pay for energy with this rental!! I’m so glad I have free supercharging for life with my 2013 MS back home.

ALOHA!

note: rentals must be returned with 70% charge minimum so one has to plan charging accordingly or pay, pay pay.

Note: no magic docks here.

 

[Big Earl]

Daaaamn.