Wired Magazine - Request for Stories

[MattJancer]

Wired Magazine is doing a story on plug-sharing for our November issue. Plug-sharing can be any interaction between two EV owners whereby one shows up to charge his or her EV at the other's home or business. We're going to hit two aspects:

One, an etiquette list. Your suggestions on how to be a courteous plug-sharer, what not to do so that you aren't a total weirdo. Stuff you wish other plug-sharers knew but don't.

Two, humorous or bizarre plug-sharing stories. Weirdness that resulted from a breach of etiquette, hilarity that ensued from an unfortunate series of events, blatant slapstick, etc. Lend us your stories and we'll put a few in the article alongside the etiquette list. If we can use it I'll hit you with a PM to get your real name so that it makes it into the magazine alongside your tale.

This isn't necessarily limited to Leaf owners, so tell your buddies and spread the word: Wired is looking for etiquette tips and (especially) stories. Any interest is much appreciated and I'm looking forward to seeing what you've got to say.

 

[MaxPower]

http://www.plugincars.com/eight-rules-electric-vehicle-etiquette-127513.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Good news: I'm seeing a lot less people blocking EVSEs with their non-plug-in vehicle. Signage and the threat of towing / fines is working well.

Bad news: Lots of broken L3 chargers... or people charging to 100% on a L3 charger. This makes serious range extension too unreliable for anything other than weekend adventures.

Bad news: At work, I'm seeing a lot of people leaving their EV on the charger for 8 hours when the charge was completed after 3 hours... I think the way to deal with that is to tow repeat offenders, revoke their access to the chargers, or simply charge $5/hr for remaining plugged in after the charge is completed. Blocking access to a scarce resource like a L2 charger is extremely bad ettiquette. Another fix would be for the company to install a bunch of 110 volt outlets or L1 J1772 plugs in the parking lot -- this would be a lot cheaper than a L2 charger and remove the need for moving the car after the charge completes. Very few people have a commute long enough to require more than 20+8 kWh to return home. The LEAF could conservatively handle a 90 mile round trip at highway speed with an 8 hour 110V charge at work.

I strongly support yielding the charger to those with greater need -- someone who is "opportunity charging" should yield to someone who needs the charge to get home. Leaving a note or card on your dashboard with your phone number on it helps this idea along. Note that PHEVs like the Volt are always opportunity charging since they have a built-in gas-powered generator.

When I installed my L2 EVSE, I placed my home location on plugshare. Over the past year or so, a couple of people have actually come over to use it, even though there are lots of chargers within 5 miles. Both visitors were Volt drivers who rent an apartment in my neighborhood, and aren't allowed to charge at home. On weekends they will occasionally come over for a L2 charge. I don't mind, electricity is cheap in Santa Clara, and I have solar panels. Recently I started working at a new location that has free L2 EV charging, so my electric bill for the next year is going to be close to zero. I haven't charged anyone money for electricity yet, but if they came every weekend I would start charging 11 cents per kWh.

My most recent visitor had a brand new Volt, but the dealer didn't have time to charge it up for him. So I helped to provide his first all-electric experience in the new car.

In the words of Red Green, "Remember, I'm pulling for you. We're all in this together."

 

[EVDRIVER]

In the public charge space many EV drivers have an EV courtesy card on the dash that lets others know if they are able to unplug the car and use the station even it the car charging is not finished, these are quite handy. They even have times to unplug, etc. Plug in America offers such a card on their site.

Once I was stranded and needed a quick charge and reluctantly unplugged an almost fully charged Volt. I left a note and some cash on the dash to come back and find the Volt gone and the cash returned with a nice note in return.

I have also been made to wait for an EV charging spot by a ICE driver that used it as temp parking so he could pay his parking ticket. When I asked if he could pull out so I could pull into the spot that was clearly marked "reserved" he said "he would only be a minute". That ended up being 10 so I waited parked behind his car plus an extra ten when he returned. He told me I had to move as he needed to go :roll:


Of course if you are one of the the Tesla owners that uses SF garages you don't need this EV courtesy card since every public parking space with a charge station is your private spot for 24 hour parking, in some cases 5-7 days a week for work use. This is needed when you arrive with an anxiety invoking 230 miles remaining and you have to drive home 10 miles. These spots are also handy to just park without charging when all stations are used because it is simply convenient. I think this is not fair and they should at least have a valet service so they don't have to park their EV on their own and be subjected to dirty looks from other EV drivers :lol: I recently had a Tesla driver unplug my car while charging just to show his friends how the car charges, then he did not plug my car back in nor his as it did not need a charge of course. I'm ok with that.

I look forward to getting the extra perks that come with a Tesla some day, it also seems some other EV drivers have also emulated these benefits without the high cost of a Tesla purchase, I think this dilutes the resale value of the Tesla and should be avoided as I want my next purchase to hold it's value.

 

[Pipcecil]

The only direct plug-sharing story I had was from a few years ago. Honestly, I think this support type system of using someone's personal home or business EVSE will soon die off with the large availability of public charging.

Mine story really involved a breach of etiquette. It was a short interaction, but still awkward. I had a person contact my wife and I through plugshare asking to use our home EVSE from a trip from their home southeast of us to a place northwest of us (we live on the south side of the dallas-fort worth metroplex, and even today there are only a few EVSEs, much less a couple years ago). I would have gladly allowed the use of my EVSE until I realized the person's full intent. They had gotten a job in Fort Worth area and was wanted to charge at my house every day!!

Needless to say, I am not a fueling station business (even for electricity!) and I politely turned them down. I didn't hear back from them again. But, asking to use someone's home EVSE every day seemed weird and easily a breach of etiquette. Not to mention I would have to delay charging my vehicle, but to have a stranger (especially for the first months when I wouldn't even know the person) park in my garage every day just sitting there or roaming near my house (or even getting access to my house to use the facilities, etc.) EVERY DAY is...well...yea...

After that incident I removed my home EVSE from plugshare. I figured with all the public charging there isn't as much of a use anymore and I didn't have to deal with odd request such as this anymore.

 

[alanlarson]

I see that we already have the folks who think that everyone else should move out of their way so they can access charging. They don't realize that people went to work, to do their job, not to be running out every day to move their car around to and from charging spots.

Similarly, in public areas, they expect that if someone plugged in while they went to dinner, that person should either come out and move their car when it is done (or perhaps sooner, if they reach a point of able to get to their next destination with a partial charge). Never mind that the person is busy doing whatever they came to the area to do. They may be at a nice dinner, they may be in a movie; whatever it is, they didn't come to play car shuffling games.

Drivers of internal combustion powered cars don't expect that others will come out early to give them a parking spot if the lot is full. Many of these EV drivers feel entitled to tell others that they should yield to them, though. ( If their need is that great very often, I wonder how often they get stranded when they find there is no working charger available. )

There seems to be a social attitude of wanting to create rules that force others to yield to them.

 

[cwerdna]

I see that we already have the folks who think that everyone else should move out of their way so they can access charging.
...
Many of these EV drivers feel entitled to tell others that they should yield to them, though. ( If their need is that great very often, I wonder how often they get stranded when they find there is no working charger available. )

There seems to be a social attitude of wanting to create rules that force others to yield to them.

Perhaps your tune will change if you end up in need and come across EV spots that are all blocked by EVs/PHEVs which are done charging (esp. for hours) w/no contact info left behind and driver nowhere to be found. Then, be forced to drive around and waste time looking for other open stations, causing further range anxiety and possibly being stranded in the process.

There is something to be said about courtesy.

Example: I've seen repeated complaints of the DC FC at Stanford Mall in Palo Alto. Once, it was blocked by a Tesla Model S (which can't charge there yet anyway). Another time, there was a Leaf tha was LONG done, blocking the spot. The person in need was luckily able to get behind that inconsiderate Leafer and charge (cable was long enough), but that likely meant they had to remain w/their car, since they were likely blocking the way. After that 1st person finished, another driver came and also ran into the same problem. The same inconsiderate Leaf was still there and remained there after driver #2 completed.

That is NOT cool!

FWIW, the 1st 3 of 3 time I tried to use a DC FC at the dealer closest to me, I ran into this: http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?p=356517#p356517" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

 

[EVDRIVER]

I see that we already have the folks who think that everyone else should move out of their way so they can access charging. They don't realize that people went to work, to do their job, not to be running out every day to move their car around to and from charging spots.

Similarly, in public areas, they expect that if someone plugged in while they went to dinner, that person should either come out and move their car when it is done (or perhaps sooner, if they reach a point of able to get to their next destination with a partial charge). Never mind that the person is busy doing whatever they came to the area to do. They may be at a nice dinner, they may be in a movie; whatever it is, they didn't come to play car shuffling games.

Drivers of internal combustion powered cars don't expect that others will come out early to give them a parking spot if the lot is full. Many of these EV drivers feel entitled to tell others that they should yield to them, though. ( If their need is that great very often, I wonder how often they get stranded when they find there is no working charger available. )

There seems to be a social attitude of wanting to create rules that force others to yield to them.

Everyone is entitled to charge for a reasonable time. Taking a public charge spot from 8am to 5pm M-F seems perfectly reasonable since it does leave some time on the weekends for the PIP drivers that park for about 6 hours for their critical 1 hour full charge. I can name a garage where this happens almost every single day by drivers that have less than a 10 mile commute and an 85kwh pack. I watched a family that was stranded in their LEAF 30 miles from home be unable to charge because they could not use these types of spaces occupied by EVs that sat idle for hours not charging. A special thanks to the PIP driver that backed into the EV stall next to me to park and not charge and then hook my charge cable on their bumper and pull the Charge Point cable off the wall when they left. If you can't charge at least pull another station off the wall :lol: Nice break away design by the way.

 

[MattJancer]

Much appreciate the replies everybody. I'm putting the piece together now and may reach out with a PM to a few of you. Gotta see what kind of space we're working with first. A lot of our stuff from the print issue makes it online, so keep your eyes peeled in late October. Feel free to hit me with a PM if you've got any questions.

 

[abasile]

Our home in SoCal's mountain resort area has been in PlugShare for a few years now, and we've had a number of takers. It's always great to see people drive their EVs up here and I'm happy to help facilitate that.

Last winter we had a Ford C-Max Energi (PHEV) driver and his friend come by to charge on their way back to LA. He was a nice guy, and we enjoyed chatting for a bit. However, it became evident that he was about to drive down the mountain. I did mention that he probably wouldn't get much regenerative braking if he descended with a full charge, but he didn't seem to understand what I was talking about. I just let it go, and he completed his charge while I went inside to get some work done. ;-)

 

[KeiJidosha]

I charged at abasile’s a few years back. I had enough range in the MINI E to get up the mountain, but nothing left to go anywhere without his offer to share. Topped up, I was able to tour around the lake then over to Big Bear thanks to his generosity. Still one of my favorite adventures, it wouldn’t have happened without plug-sharing.

 

[TickTock]

http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=27&t=17709

 

[joewaters]

I've been on Plugshare for a while now, and since my location is 40 miles from any other and near a cross-country highway, I thought I'd get a few people a month trying to make the drive from ~say: Chicago to Des Moines~ messaging me for a stop. I have had a total of 2 people contact me. Both were Model S owners and both were visiting towns within 15 miles. Both could stop in Rockford at the superchargers to make the round trip without need for slow charging at my house. Neither actually charged at my house, but knowing that I was available was enough security to greenlight an electric voyage that might otherwise have consumed hydrocarbons. I don't have any horror stories about EVSE etiquette, and I think Midwestern drivers must be far more courteous that West Coast drivers, judging by the other entries on here.

 

[abasile]

I charged at abasile’s a few years back. I had enough range in the MINI E to get up the mountain, but nothing left to go anywhere without his offer to share. Topped up, I was able to tour around the lake then over to Big Bear thanks to his generosity. Still one of my favorite adventures, it wouldn’t have happened without plug-sharing.

It was a pleasure to meet KeiJidosha on that occasion. He even let me test drive the MINI E, which was truly a fun car!

Another time, a few years ago, a couple of Toyota employees were transporting a prototype RAV4-EV to Big Bear for a conference and charged here overnight. They allowed me a test drive of the RAV4 (that prototype wasn't bad, but rough around the edges compared to my LEAF) and insisted on leaving me with $20 for the juice. I've never solicited donations, as the added electricity cost really is minimal.

 

[cwerdna]

There is something to be said about courtesy.

Example: I've seen repeated complaints of the DC FC at Stanford Mall in Palo Alto. Once, it was blocked by a Tesla Model S (which can't charge there yet anyway).
...
That is NOT cool!

Right now, at https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10152218680635213&set=gm.735652926492371&type=1" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;, a Leafer who is very low on battery (not enough to make it home) has found that the Stanford CHAdeMO DC FC is blocked by a Fiat 500e, which can't even be DC fast charged. Driver is nowhere to be found.

Hopefully it's not too late for me to post my workplace charging situation (will do so later today or this weekend) which is generally pretty good.

 

[Phoenix]

In the 3+ years that I hv hd my leaf, I missed 2-3 phone calls or emails requesting plugshare charging. I scheduled one actual appt but he later cancelled. Just recently hosted a tesla but did not realize he was interested in an overnight long charge since he was a renter. Usually, the assumption with someone requesting a charge is that this is an emergency or once in awhile need. But in an urban area with many other charging options, this is the wrong initial assumption. Usually, it is someone wanting cheaper charge rates than what the commercial outfits offer. I hv no problems with that but such expectations need to be upfront at the outset.

As a person who has also requested private plugshare charging, generally I am also looking for cheaper rates than what commercial outfits costs. But also, I need backup alternatives if the desired station is not working for whatever reasons and I am on a regional trip.

In either situation (requestor or dispenser of electricity), it is a leap of trust to deal with an initial stranger. Money is not a great facilitator. Need some other basis for trust such as common interest in shared resources, prior relationship etc to make regular plug sharing possible. Of course people need to make it happen on their own to match up with other plugsharers but trying to save money and resources takes time.

 

[cwerdna]

Hopefully it's not too late for me to post my workplace charging situation (will do so later today or this weekend) which is generally pretty good.

Last paragraph of http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?p=345976#p345976" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;, although now we're down to 8 self-service L2 J1772 handles and the number of plug-in vehicles has grown. We have a few more dedicated 120 volt outlets now as well.

http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?p=356549#p356549" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?p=379454#p379454" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Since I leave late, I tend to defer my charging until late in the day, when there are plenty open handles and charging spots. Or, I might use a 120 volt spot instead, allowing others to L2 charge.

 

[alanlarson]

There is something to be said about courtesy.

Example: I've seen repeated complaints of the DC FC at Stanford Mall in Palo Alto. Once, it was blocked by a Tesla Model S (which can't charge there yet anyway).
...
That is NOT cool!

Right now, at https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10152218680635213&set=gm.735652926492371&type=1" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;, a Leafer who is very low on battery (not enough to make it home) has found that the Stanford CHAdeMO DC FC is blocked by a Fiat 500e, which can't even be DC fast charged. Driver is nowhere to be found..

She reports that two of the other chargers in the area were in use, but found a chargepoint to charge at. According to plugshare, it is on the opposite side of the parking structure from the DC charger, far closer than the ones she mentioned by the container store (but not free).
There are at least 8 in downtown Palo Alto, just across El Camino Real from there.
So, while the 500e driver probably needs to be given a clue, this is hardly a huge disaster.

As for "driver is nowhere to be found" - they were probably shopping! That is what people come there for.

A comment worthy of note is on her facebook page - the cord on that charger is short. In fact, if you center a leaf in the parking spot, the cord will barely reach and be hanging mostly in the air. You need to park off to the side towards the charger. It appears that the new (coming) DC charger on Alma street will have a similar problem.

 

[cwerdna]

There is something to be said about courtesy.

Example: I've seen repeated complaints of the DC FC at Stanford Mall in Palo Alto. Once, it was blocked by a Tesla Model S (which can't charge there yet anyway).
...
That is NOT cool!

Right now, at https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10152218680635213&set=gm.735652926492371&type=1" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;, a Leafer who is very low on battery (not enough to make it home) has found that the Stanford CHAdeMO DC FC is blocked by a Fiat 500e, which can't even be DC fast charged. Driver is nowhere to be found..

She reports that two of the other chargers in the area were in use, but found a chargepoint to charge at. According to plugshare, it is on the opposite side of the parking structure from the DC charger, far closer than the ones she mentioned by the container store (but not free).
There are at least 8 in downtown Palo Alto, just across El Camino Real from there.
So, while the 500e driver probably needs to be given a clue, this is hardly a huge disaster.

As for "driver is nowhere to be found" - they were probably shopping! That is what people come there for.

A comment worthy of note is on her facebook page - the cord on that charger is short. In fact, if you center a leaf in the parking spot, the cord will barely reach and be hanging mostly in the air. You need to park off to the side towards the charger. It appears that the new (coming) DC charger on Alma street will have a similar problem.

Great... so instead of receiving juice relatively quickly via a 44 kW CHAdeMO DC FC, she's limited to pulling it at either ~3.x to 6.x kW due to an idiot Fiat 500e driver. Probably needs to be given a clue? There's no probably at all.

The Leaf driver was real low on juice (9 miles on her GOM), had to look around for other options to charge (causing more range anxiety) and will receive much less juice for a given time, besides the time already wasted.

If you see at https://www.facebook.com/groups/BayLeafs/permalink/735652926492371/?comment_id=735669349824062&offset=0&total_comments=25" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;, she ended up parking behind the Fiat 500e and was able to reach. That's just ridiculous. She probably had to stay w/the car (unlike the Fiat 500e driver) since it might block traffic and the way she's parked would catch the attention of the cops and security.

Re: the bolded part, yes, sure, but hello, it is NOT cool to BLOCK a charging station, esp. a DC FC when your car isn't even compatible with it. WHY?!?!? And, if using it, one could at least have the courtesy to leave contact info behind AND to promptly disconnect and move your vehicle once it's fallen to L2 speeds.

Try posting your comments in that thread and see how much agreement you get. How about you arrive at Stanford Mall the next time w/9 miles or less on your GOM, w/o enough juice to make it home but a desire to use the CHAdeMO DC FC, only to find its blocked? Have fun wasting time, possibly being stranded searching around other places to charge, and extending your time needed to charge. What if they're all blocked, ICEd or in use?

The OP may as well look at http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?p=385085#p385085" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; and for stories from the beginning of that thread.