EV Etiquette: Six tips on how to be a good EV charging citizen

Electric vehicles have been quietly and rapidly expanding in number around the world, and after a very slow start are starting to accelerate in Australia.

But it is already clear we are reaching the point that enough of them are around now to need some ground rules for sharing charging facilities. After all, when it comes to new social settings (and technologies), some commonly accepted norms need to evolve to smooth the inevitable friction of how to share that common space and infrastructure.

The same applies to the new paradigm of EV charging … just as it would have done in relation to feeding and watering horses at the local hostelry.

Below is a collection of six common etiquette rules that have evolved in countries where the EV transition is further up the adoption curve than here. Feel free to add others that you have seen in action in the comments section.

1. Sharing DC chargers

As the EV fleet expands exponentially rather than in a nice linear fashion, it is inevitable there will be times that DC charger networks find it hard to keep up with demand to install enough chargers. (A situation not helped in Australia’s by the electricity networks having very slow response times for approving, let alone making, a new connection).

As a result, the fits and starts of the DC network expanding to meet customer demand will occasionally get out of sync with EV sales until we reach saturation for both.

Currently, on some busy weekends overseas (and more recently even here) queues of waiting EVs can start to form at the most popular DC fast-charger sites. (Often due here to faulty chargers – more on that topic in a following article).

Without careful thought and regard for others, these sites may become clogged and waiting lines develop, slowing trip times and creating frustration with EV tech generally. A few simple rules do help to reduce this though.

i. First up, only use DC fast-chargers if you really need to. When leaving home for a long drive, charge to 100% overnight as most times that’ll get you to the destination without needing a DC charge at all. Remember, DC chargers are not a direct petrol station replacement. On average, 80 to 90% of the time, you don’t need to go there!

ii. Charge to 80% (or less) if at all possible. For technical reasons, DC charging speeds ramp down significantly after reaching 80 to 90%. This results in the DC charging time from 80 – 100% being roughly equivalent to the 0 – 80% time. Plus it saves you time to only get what you need and do an AC charge at your destination.

iii. If you only need another 100 km range to get you to your destination – add only the contingency for what you need to get back to the nearest DC charger to your stop and do the rest via an AC charge overnight. Remember: most cars sit parked for over 95% of the time: use that time wisely and charge when the time doesn’t matter to you rather than hold up others waiting for the last electron to reach 100% charged.

iv. If you don’t have access to home charging (for instance flat dwelling EV owners) charge at less busy times. By the way: it is likely as DC charging networks evolve that their pricing will reflect peak and off-peak times.

2. Can you unplug another car to get your charge?

This one relates more to AC chargers as they commonly lock into the car until the owner releases it. Even at DC chargers though, TheDriven has reported on squatters with 100% charged cars with no one within cooee of the car.

However, without knowledge of the owner’s intentions or knowing the correct disconnection procedure for a particular EV, you can damage the vehicle charging socket by attempting to disconnect a charging lead, let alone the potential for creating ill feeling between you and the EV owner for meddling with their property without permission.

If it is really urgent – find a power point and use the emergency EVSE that comes with the car until the charger becomes available.

On the other side of the coin – do your best to help others in these early days where there are limited public EVSEs. If you are using a public DC or AC charger – you have a couple of options to alert other users of your charging intentions:

i. Leave a note on your car. This may be as simple as ‘I am at the café across the road’ or ‘if you need this charger urgently, call 04XX YYY ZZZ’

ii. For more private communication – you could download and use the NeedToCharge App. (https://www.needtocharge.com/)

See also: “Sorry, I went ballooning:” It’s high time charging networks cracked down on EV squatters

3. Is it OK to park in an ‘EV Only’ labelled parking spot and not use the EVSE provided?

In short: NO!

These spots are for EVs to charge. You are in fact being no better than an internal combustion engine (ICE) car parking in that charging spot if you are not charging. (By the way: ICE vehicles parking in an EV charging spot is called ‘ICEing’).

Also – as ICEing is a common complaint by EV owners when they do want to charge – if you regularly see ICE vehicles parked in particular EV charging spots, contact your local council and make your voice heard about how these spots should be properly enforced with parking fines in the same way as they do with disabled parking spaces.

4. Is it OK to use an electricity outlet without asking?

Power outlets may be ubiquitous in our modern world, but the power they provide is not free. The problem is that when it comes to plugging in an appliance, most people think of their mobile phone. With a charge for a mobile phone costing no more than a few cents at most, the logic seems to go that as the EV is an appliance, same rules apply?

The short answer is no.

Charging an EV is very different as they can draw significant amounts of current for long periods of time. This can create noticeable increases in electricity charges for even one charge, depending on the type of electricity tariff the installation is on.

Owners of street accessible outlets may feel rightly annoyed to find an EV parked and charging on their property and adding to their electricity bill if they were not asked first.

See: EV driver fined $500 for “stealing” electricity from council power box

A better way to find a public outlet that is effectively ‘pre-approved’ (or at least find out how and who to pay) is to check the Plugshare App or website.

Plugshare (plugshare.com) is great one-stop shop for this information, and lots more besides. Should you have found an outlet that’s not listed, make sure you ask the owner BEFORE plugging into it.

5. I’ve been charging at a pub/caravan park/friend’s place. Should I offer to pay?

As mentioned previously, electricity is not free. A two hour charge at 22kW could be worth between $3 and $23 (or more) depending on the electricity tariff. However, many places do not worry about the cost of a one-off charge and see it as a friendly gesture, plus a chance to get a few EV questions answered by a ‘captive’ EV owner.

Therefore, the thing to do is to be proactive and make the offer. Many people feel uncomfortable about asking for money, but if you offer first to pay, it will make them happier to allow subsequent EVs to charge rather than lock off the outlet in case another ‘freeloading EV’ owner’ turns up.

6. How much should I pay to an outlet owner for EV charging?

As electricity kWh costs vary widely, this can be a ‘how long is a piece of string’ question. The cost can be very little, or a significant amount. However, freeloading off others is a good way to lose friends and give EVs in general a bad name.

A commonly accepted payment for an overnight stay at a caravan park cabin or motel is to add around $10 to the cabin or room price. If staying at a powered camping site, at least have a friendly chat to the manager – although in that case they may be fine with it.

By the way, if you or the outlet owner wants to be more accurate about the price, there is a simple formula you can use:
kW being drawn by EVSE x hours x kWh cost (in dollars).

Example: a portable EVSE draws 2.4kW and is plugged in for 8 hours during an afternoon BBQ visit to a friend. Their electricity kWh cost at that time is 33c/kWh. Payment: 2.4 x 8 x 0.33 = $6.33

Summing up

So there you go, six tips on how to keep the EV transition (and your trip) flowing smoothly. And don’t forget, meeting other EV owners and sharing EV charging experiences whilst charging is one of the joys of EV ownership: several times I have found that I have talked longer than the charge took!