Time limitations on public chargers.

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Dec 31, 2017
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Location
SE British Columbia, Canada
I noticed this sign stating that a 40 minute charge limitation is suggested. Not sure if it is programmed into the charger. Anyone else seeing suggested or better yet, programmed time limitations?

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I guess that's akin to asking people to pull away from the pump once they've filled their tank. I see people at Buc-ees park at the pump and eat their lunch. Granted there are 100 pumps but it's just not proper etiquette and reflects poorly on the offender for their lack of respect for fellow drivers needing to refuel.
 
Took a rented Tesla to a ski resort last winter and had noticed on the dashcam that more than one person checked the charge port light to see if it was fully charged.

Even though it never fully charged after the ~8hours or so it was parked, it feels awkward to know leaving your car might seem like a lack of respect.

Just one of the many reasons I figured out electric was not for me.
 
The "chargepoint" station I parked my Prime at charged x per minute/kwh but xx once it was done charging but stayed connected. I imagine a clever carmaker could invent a plug that ejects the cord once charged, to avoid this fee.
 
Took a rented Tesla to a ski resort last winter and had noticed on the dashcam that more than one person checked the charge port light to see if it was fully charged.

Even though it never fully charged after the ~8hours or so it was parked, it feels awkward to know leaving your car might seem like a lack of respect.

Just one of the many reasons I figured out electric was not for me.
Interesting take. To some it would be though if you weren’t currently charging and they needed to charge. EV owners tend to be courteous to others. Seems like an odd concept because as mentioned above so many block gas pumps just to run into the convenience store. I’ve always fueled and pulled into a parking space after if I needed to go inside.
 
I always fuel, then pull away from the pump. It is courteous to other drivers and the gas station owner.

I like the idea of a $ rate for charging and another $ rate for leaving the car connected and blocking the charge station. Blocking the charge station not only inconveniences another driver, but also denies the station owner of the opportunity to make money.
 
Idle fees are definitely a thing at some networks. Once you hit 100% you start getting charged extra until you unplug.

I think idle fees should be massively high! Should be something like $5/minute. People need to leave ASAP.

EA for some dumb reason doesn’t charge idle fees (at least they didn’t used to, maybe that has changed?). That in combination with “free charging” when you buy a new car is a disaster. People leave their cars plugged in until they hit 100% (which takes a LONG time), then they have no motivation to move their car once it’s complete. You get people clogging DCFCs for HOURS with no penalty.
 
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This is a serious issue at some places such as airports where an EV owner leaves the car parked overnight at the charging station long after charging is finished. Of course, that blocks that station so others cannot use it.
 
Yeah. They will generally require some sort of account that’s tied to the vehicle and with an associated credit card. It communicates with the vehicle and possibly some website or app for when it will hit the time limits, when the battery is full, etc.

Parking a vehicle without being connected may be subject to towing.
 
This is a serious issue at some places such as airports where an EV owner leaves the car parked overnight at the charging station long after charging is finished. Of course, that blocks that station so others cannot use it.

That’s what idle fees are for. For Tesla it’s (US) 50 cents per minute if most of the charging stations are in use at a site and doubles if it’s 100% in use. They give a five minute grace period.
 
Idle fees are definitely a thing at some networks. Once you hit 100% you start getting charged extra until you unplug.

I think idle fees should be massively high! Should be something like $5/minute. People need to leave ASAP.

EA for some dumb reason doesn’t charge idle fees (at least they didn’t used to, maybe that has changed?). That in combination with “free charging” when you buy a new car is a disaster. People leave their cars plugged in until they hit 100% (which takes a LONG time), then they have no motivation to move their car once it’s complete. You get people clogging DCFCs for HOURS with no penalty.

Some EA stations say they do, but Out of Spec Reviews on YouTube has tried to test this multiple times on stations that say they do an has never been charged for idling, so I wonder if all are like that and it's just a scare tactic to get people to unplug instead of actually charging them fees.
 
I noticed this sign stating that a 40 minute charge limitation is suggested. Not sure if it is programmed into the charger. Anyone else seeing suggested or better yet, programmed time limitations?

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I love the "powered by water" statement. That means someone someplace else is not powered by water if water power is charging the car... if that makes any sense... *LOL*
 
Hydroelectric power is the main source for British Columbia and the Pacific NW.

In fact, our local power utility gets about 80% from hydroelectric.

Electric distribution is really odd. It's more like a bank. The money is all the same, but it's not segregated. The transmission is from mixed sources. But theoretically it gets accounted for as this electricity in is withdrawn as this electricity out.
 
Interesting take. To some it would be though if you weren’t currently charging and they needed to charge. EV owners tend to be courteous to others. Seems like an odd concept because as mentioned above so many block gas pumps just to run into the convenience store. I’ve always fueled and pulled into a parking space after if I needed to go inside.

You're right but in my mind, it takes 5 hours of driving for this day trip and a lift ticket these days costs $100USD/day. Time is precious.

Since the parking lot becomes full, it would be an ordeal to find a free spot.

Worse part was I still had to go to a Tesla Supercharger after the 8 hours since it didn't have enough battery life for my destination 200 miles away. Cold and high speeds hurt the mileage
 
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The "chargepoint" station I parked my Prime at charged x per minute/kwh but xx once it was done charging but stayed connected. I imagine a clever carmaker could invent a plug that ejects the cord once charged, to avoid this fee.
You still have a parking spot to move out of, they can easily use a sensor to check if your car has moved.
 
I love the "powered by water" statement. That means someone someplace else is not powered by water if water power is charging the car... if that makes any sense... *LOL*
I can see it in 2 different ways:

1) hydrogen fuel cell, using cracked hydrogen from water, fake "power by water"
2) hydro powered by a dam, I don't see it as "someplace else is not powered by water" because they may just not release the water if the electric rate is too low, and release more when the price is high.

I don't see what's so good or bad about power by water, it is just electricity, we shouldn't waste it regardless of the source.
 
You're right but in my mind, it takes 5 hours of driving for this day trip and a lift ticket these days costs $100USD/day. Time is precious.

Since the parking lot becomes full, it would be an ordeal to find a free spot.

Worse part was I still had to go to a Tesla Supercharger after the 8 hours since it didn't have enough battery life for my destination 200 miles away. Cold and high speeds hurt the mileage
If you are driving from sea level to a ski resort you are going uphill, and when you come back you are going downhill, in theory it shouldn't take much energy going downhill. I would worry more about heating when getting stuck in a typical traffic jam leaving a ski resort going downhill though, it is not just mgh = 1/2 mv^2 when you have to use heating.
 
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