mmcp42 wrote:question re charging
let's say there's a car park near the office where I can leave my car all day
it has a charging point, so I can top up ready for my drive home
but that means I'm hogging the charge point/parking space nearby all day long
what is the etiquette for such a circumstance
a) just do it and stuff the other thirsty EVs
b) pop out at lunch time and move my car
c) notice that the car already parked there has been there 4 hours, so unplug him and plug mine in
d) if I do that is he paying for my charge?
Based on the experiences of my in-laws who run an i3 then as far as a) and b) go there are some who do and some who don't in both cases. As far as c) is concerned then I understand that the coupler locks in place while charging, so you can't transfer a live charging lead. One thing I'm not certain of is whether the plug auto unlocks when charging is finished which would allow another user to remove the charging lead from another vehicle and switch it their own. Given careful positioning of the charger then one charger can serve 4 bays.
Given that it'll be some time before the provision of charging infrastructure reaches practical levels to deal with an increasing number of cars then I think it is important to have a better understanding of a) and b) in order to make full use of the chargers that do exist.
I've read conflicting views on whether home charging or public charging will be more popular, part of that revolves around whether people will have the facility to charge at home, which may well be determined by the type of property they live in.