Electric cars, which are becoming increasingly widespread around the world, are beginning to form a certain social system of users, within which an unspoken set of rules is being developed, primarily concerning the use of charging infrastructure.
This “charging etiquette” involves a few simple rules or ways of behaving at public charging stations, with the goal of making electric car charging as convenient as possible for all electric car owners. According to statistics, the number of charging stations in the U.S. has already reached more than 40K.
Although some electric drivers have already adopted these rules, it’s worth repeating the basic points of “charging etiquette” for beginners and some less “polite” drivers or owners of internal combustion engine cars.
The first rule of behavior at a public charging station [22] is that if there is no need to charge your electric vehicle, never occupy the parking space reserved for the station. This is rude to other drivers who urgently need to recharge.
We should also mention the phenomenon known as “ICEing” when drivers of fuel cars allow themselves to occupy specially designated places for charging electric cars.
Charging stations, unlike fuel stations, are designed to be self-service. Therefore, try to operate them carefully. After use, insert the connector back into the holder and remove the cable. Cables left on the floor may pose a danger to pedestrians, and they are also not designed to be frequently driven over by cars, despite their very sturdy construction. Also, turn your music down so that it does not disturb others.
Try not to charge to 100 percent battery capacity unnecessarily, especially since many manufacturers and researchers recommend recharging to 80 percent. Charging between 80 and 100 percent is much slower. When you are not traveling long distances, it is courteous of you to disconnect from the charging station as soon as you reach an acceptable charge level to get to your destination. To calculate the distance, use the tesla range calculator.
Try to monitor the charging level of your electric vehicle. It would be thoughtful of you to remove or park your electric vehicle elsewhere when it reaches an acceptable charge level, thereby yielding it to other drivers. If your battery level has reached 80%, move to the Level 2 charging station [13]. Give up fast charging to drivers who need it.
The chances of occupying a “charging spot” near large supermarkets on a weekend are practically nil. To avoid ruining your “weekend,” use less busy times for charging.
Modern mobile services make it possible to schedule charging in advance. Use the EV charging time calculator to estimate waiting time. Some apps (like Plugshare[A]). They show whether charging stations are busy or not, and some even offer to book them. So study the most convenient routes with charging points so that you don’t get stuck at the stations for a long time.
If you are traveling on a Tesla and are going to charge on the station with a connector J1772, then make sure that you have not forgotten the J1772 to Tesla adapter (which usually comes with each Tesla car).
If you do not plan to stay with the vehicle while charging, write a note for other drivers as to whether it is safe to remove the connector from your vehicle when the optimal charge level is reached. Keep in mind that this is not possible in all cars. Read how long it takes to charge an electric car.
This is the minimum you need to know to be a polite driver. The market for electric cars is constantly growing and the infrastructure is still lacking, especially in intercity traffic, as it is concentrated mainly in large cities. Therefore, “charging etiquette” is more than relevant.
We’ve seen that there is a growing demand for Wallbox models of electric car chargers. They are characterized by their stable operation and have many advantages over other types of electric car chargers. If you are interested in learning more about them, we suggest reading our next article, which will compare different Wallbox models and help you choose the best one for your needs. Thanks for reading!