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Supercharger - Santa Monica, CA - Santa Monica Place (LIVE 19 Feb 2019, 14 urban stalls)
- Thread starter emupilot
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- California supercharger
rrosenbl
Member
I'm thankful for this charger, but a couple of odd issues as i charged there tonight.
one of the spots is handicapped which seems extremely messed up. unless you are handicapped and a tesla, the space will go to waste.
dont understand why they installed 72kw chargers. feels like a real step backwards as it feels nearly half as slow as the 120. version 3 really cant come soon enough.
parking is free for 90 mins which may not be enough to fill up if other cars are diluting the power.
but still, its nice to have this new addition in an area that needs waaaay more.
one of the spots is handicapped which seems extremely messed up. unless you are handicapped and a tesla, the space will go to waste.
dont understand why they installed 72kw chargers. feels like a real step backwards as it feels nearly half as slow as the 120. version 3 really cant come soon enough.
parking is free for 90 mins which may not be enough to fill up if other cars are diluting the power.
but still, its nice to have this new addition in an area that needs waaaay more.
Mirlen
Member
Urban Superchargers are 72kW dedicated per unit. There is no 'duluting' of power. Also, the time spent at 120kW is often not very long and you will run into power sharing as the stations fill. A dedicated 72kW connection could actually be faster in some circumstances...
1. Yes, that's the whole point and is needed to comply with federal law--the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)--and the California Building Code (CBC), specifically Chapter 11B sections 228 and 812 which lays out exactly how to meet the ADA's accessibility requirements for EV Charging Stations in CA. Further discussion of this topic in this thread: Supercharger Handicap Space
2. Tesla uses the urban-style superchargers that are power limited to 72 kW max at each charging post within cities/urban areas because they are designed to give a dependable/predictable charging time. This happens because there is no "splitting/sharing/diluting" of the available power between stalls. It doesn't matter if someone is plugged in on the same supercharger cabinet as you. Assuming the hardware is working properly, you'll always get up to 72 kW. While this is certainly slower than if you had access to the full 120 kW of an unpaired traditional-style supercharger, the major benefit is that for busy or heavily used locations (like those in dense urban areas) it removes the element of rolling-the-dice on how long your charging session will take. This allows much better scheduling for people who are forced to depend on supercharging because they don't have daily access to home/work charging.
3. See #2. There is no "diluting" the power. If the hardware is working properly and your car can take it, you'll get up to 72 kW whether your car is the only one charging or if every other stall is already taken.
I also have an uneducated, unfounded theory that the Urban Style Supercharger may be compatible with v3.
Why would they invest in so much infrastructure if it wasn't forward compatible with v3? Notice that the majority of superchargers recently opened are of the Urban Style, even in locations close to freeways and arterial roads.
(Mod: if this needs a separate thread or needs to be moved to another thread, go ahead (as it's not Santa Monica specific))
Why would they invest in so much infrastructure if it wasn't forward compatible with v3? Notice that the majority of superchargers recently opened are of the Urban Style, even in locations close to freeways and arterial roads.
(Mod: if this needs a separate thread or needs to be moved to another thread, go ahead (as it's not Santa Monica specific))
jvanyc
Member
It’s a festivus miracle. I’m here and really charging. I can’t imagine this location on weekends or holidays. Would be a nightmare to get up here.
jvanyc
Member
You can always see live availability in the app on phone and in car nav system but only 4 cars here. 6 open.
Rich C.
Member
TaoJones
Beyond Driven
Well, it’s about (way past beyond) time. Another location that will be at capacity starting day/week 1.
86 minutes (allowing 2 minutes to get to and from the SC after taking a ticket, and that’s if there’s no line on the way out) will not be enough time at an urban charger to charge from 10% or even 20% to a fully complete 100% (90 pack), but it’ll get to 90% and that’ll be good enough for a couple of days of long commutes *for most people*.
Onward and upward.
86 minutes (allowing 2 minutes to get to and from the SC after taking a ticket, and that’s if there’s no line on the way out) will not be enough time at an urban charger to charge from 10% or even 20% to a fully complete 100% (90 pack), but it’ll get to 90% and that’ll be good enough for a couple of days of long commutes *for most people*.
Onward and upward.
It’s just not a good solution to put these chargers in pay parking locations and just complicate the whole process. There are other solutions.
Santa Monica is a premium area and space is expensive and hard to find. The city of Santa Monica is actually very EV friendly. They have installed free L2 chargers in several parking structures years ago. The parking structures are reasonably priced considering how busy and high demand that area is. Hard to find anything cheaper in any of the beach cities in LA. When you go to Santa Monica those parking structures are great options and cheaper than other parking lots. Tesla doesn't owe us free parking in high demand areas like this.
Unless Tesla is going to buy their own lot* (massively expensive), there really aren't other solutions in this type of area. The ideal locations are places with lots of parking that serves multiple restaurants/shopping/entertainment options. But, in an area like Santa Monica, parking in such places is always going to have to be paid for. The owners/operators of those lots aren't going to forgo the potential revenue on those spaces by letting Teslas use them for free. So, either Tesla pays for "free access" via their lease or the car owners pay to use the parking stalls like everyone else. The cost for Tesla to pay would be prohibitive. So, if you want a supercharger in such locations you're going to have to pay for the parking. The only "other solution" is either to not have the supercharger at all.
*Tesla is/was actually considering doing this with their "Drive-in" diner. I don't know if that will ever happen, but even if it does I wouldn't ever expect more than 2 or 3 worldwide. It's not a very sustainable model for them.
i was there tonight with half the chargers being used and the rate maxed at 46kw instead of the 72. so despite what was previously said it looks like these urban chargers DO dilute.
to the guy who has no issues with my concerns, wait until you're in a rush, 9 chargers are full and the last one left is the handicapped spot... maybe you could get away with being in the spot until a handicapped person arrives, but ive seen parking enforcement mail a $300 handicapped ticket to someone just for having a wheel in the blue painted zone.
to the guy who has no issues with my concerns, wait until you're in a rush, 9 chargers are full and the last one left is the handicapped spot... maybe you could get away with being in the spot until a handicapped person arrives, but ive seen parking enforcement mail a $300 handicapped ticket to someone just for having a wheel in the blue painted zone.
is this already built?! I heard a supercharger Cafe was being built on Linclon and SM!
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