Got PHEV'd today :-(

[CommodoreAmiga]

My R1T delivery surprised me a bit, and I haven't had a chance to run my charging circuit, yet (project this weekend). I decided to go into the office, today, and take advantage of one of the two EV chargers that are free for employees to use. Well, one was in-use by a Tesla -- understandable. The other is being blocked by a Chevy Volt. Isn't that a hybrid? They don't need a charge. I understand wanting free electricity, but I wish they'd have left a note or something so I could reach them. I really need the juice, right now. I guess after work I'll be driving to a DCFC and giving that a try, for the first time.

Anyone else ever run into this? Is this going to be a common problem?

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[scooter]

All. The. Damn. Time. Parking garage at 217 W Washington in Chicago has 4 chargers on the 1st level of parking and they are always occupied by EVs that aren't charging, just parking. Frustrating as hell.

 

[R1Sky Business]

Time por passive aggressive notes on windshields

 

[crashmtb]

Should’ve ordered the off road recovery kit. The short tow strap would excel here.

 

[Dark-Fx]

What year Volt? and yes, it will be a common problem. Maybe more so with gas prices being high.
Our 2019 with the upgraded charger will get a full charge on a 32A EVSE in ~ 2.5 hours. But they are rare. Double that for a standard charger. Add an hour if it's 208V instead of 240V.

Gen 1 Volts will be done charging when the dash indicator flashes. Gen 2 when it's solid. If the indicator is in that state, I'd absolutely want you to unplug my vehicle to use it on yours if it were my Volt. But every driver is not as nice or understanding as I am.

 

[Engi_Nerd]

Free charging encourages poor behavior. PHEVs are the worst offenders, having a very "my battery is just as good as yours" chip on their shoulder with no concern for BEVs actually being stranded. IMO, the only solution is to make sure public level 2 charging has cost-parity with gas, at least in the short term.

 

[electruck]

My employer requires people to reserve a charging spot through the company calendar, just like we do with conference rooms and other shared company resources. We do have the advantage of being inside a gated lot so these chargers are not truly public, even though they are a shared resource. This encourages people to charge up and move the vehicle instead of simply parking there for the rest of the day.

 

[Andystroh]

I wish there was a good solution for this right now. The Tesla seems ok in most people’s eyes, but we have no way to know that it *needs* the charge, any more than the volt. They might have a charger at home and plenty of charge to get back, but are just taking advantage of the free charge. Not much different than the volt in the perspective of “who needs charge?” (You in this scenario).
We have been running into this scenario at our local ski mountain, some EV owners don’t like the PHEVs that plug in. But most of the EVs don’t need the charge to get home either. If the PHEV unplugs when their battery is full I don’t really see it as any different than an EV that does the same (who also has enough charge to get home), but I think an EV who needs the charge should take precedent over both.

I guess charging money for a charge is probably the answer; I wouldn’t charge at the ski mountain if I had to pay more than I have to at home (unless I need the charge). But selfishly I like the free charging.

 

[guernsej]

Free charging encourages poor behavior. PHEVs are the worst offenders, having a very "my battery is just as good as yours" chip on their shoulder with no concern for BEVs actually being stranded. IMO, the only solution is to make sure public level 2 charging has cost-parity with gas, at least in the short term.

I don't follow this train of thought. You think PHEVs should avoid charging in public just in case BEVs need to charge?

 

[Engi_Nerd]

I don't follow this train of thought. You think PHEVs should avoid charging in public just in case BEVs need to charge?

Not at all what I said? Every hotel I've been to in the last year had PHEVs left overnight in the free spots, long after they were full. We asked the hotel to speak to them so we could charge our BEV and nothing came of it, resulting in our having to spend an hour+ every day driving to and waiting at the supercharger. If level 2 parking spaces were either priced comparably to gas or charged idle fees, then PHEVS would be less inclined to abuse them.

 

[Interferon]

Free charging encourages poor behavior. PHEVs are the worst offenders, having a very "my battery is just as good as yours" chip on their shoulder with no concern for BEVs actually being stranded. IMO, the only solution is to make sure public level 2 charging has cost-parity with gas, at least in the short term.

Tragedy of the Commons in action.
Markets are always the most efficient allocators of resources, although not necessarily always the most humane.

 

[electruck]

Not at all what I said? Every hotel I've been to in the last year had PHEVs left overnight in the free spots, long after they were full. We asked the hotel to speak to them so we could charge our BEV and nothing came of it, resulting in our having to spend an hour+ every day driving to and waiting at the supercharger. If level 2 parking spaces were either priced comparably to gas or charged idle fees, then PHEVS would be less inclined to abuse them.

Would you really get up in the middle of the night to move your car to the charger when said PHEV vacated the spot upon the conclusion of charging? I surely wouldn't.

The problem you highlight is not so much one of "abuse" as it is the inability of L2 destination charging to scale. And there is only going to be more contention for these charging spots as EV adoption increases.

 

[zefram47]

A former employer had a 4 hour time limit + reasonable charging fees. After 4 hours the price was high enough any smart person would move their car. That said, an extra 4 hours isn't going to get you a lot at a public charger in a Rivian. Most Level 2 public chargers are 6.6 kW, resulting in around 12 miles per hour of charging for the R1.

 

[electruck]

A former employer had a 4 hour time limit + reasonable charging fees. After 4 hours the price was high enough any smart person would move their car. That said, an extra 4 hours isn't going to get you a lot at a public charger in a Rivian. Most Level 2 public chargers are 6.6 kW, resulting in around 12 miles per hour of charging for the R1.

That would be enough to replenish the charge consumed on the commute to work for many people.

 

[Dark-Fx]

Would you really get up in the middle of the night to move your car to the charger when said PHEV vacated the spot upon the conclusion of charging? I surely wouldn't.

The problem you highlight is not so much one of "abuse" as it is the inability of L2 destination charging to scale. And there is only going to be more contention for these charging spots as EV adoption increases.

Depends on the PHEV, and it's also the reason I think all PHEVs should have at least 32A 240V charging.

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