Charging bays - a bit hit and miss?
Discussion
Well, I'm 1000 miles and a month into my running of an i3. So far I love the car but am yet to be convinced with the general reliability and upkeep of the charging points I've used. Thankfully I have the Rex version which has got me out of a spot of bother on longer journeys.
It seems to me that there is a general lack of interest / funding of charging points which means a fair number don't work as they should. Does anybody else find this?
Also, I pitched up at my normal bay today to find a Merc 350e plugged in. At which point does a hybrid become an EV? I thought they charged their battery from the engine? Is it acceptable to be plugging one in at an EV parking bay? Seems to be a bit of a grey area and one I'm uncertain about. I asked the council and got an indifferent shrug from their parking dept too!
It seems to me that there is a general lack of interest / funding of charging points which means a fair number don't work as they should. Does anybody else find this?
Also, I pitched up at my normal bay today to find a Merc 350e plugged in. At which point does a hybrid become an EV? I thought they charged their battery from the engine? Is it acceptable to be plugging one in at an EV parking bay? Seems to be a bit of a grey area and one I'm uncertain about. I asked the council and got an indifferent shrug from their parking dept too!
you are far from the first person I have heard say this. In fact I idly discussed a hybrid for my wife recently and this is the main reason we decided it was a silly idea. Life it too short to be worrying where or if I she could get a charge to get her home.
That and the fact an ev would never make financial sense ( or even ecological sense?) over the time we would own it.
That and the fact an ev would never make financial sense ( or even ecological sense?) over the time we would own it.
Dirty Sanchez said:
Well, I'm 1000 miles and a month into my running of an i3. So far I love the car but am yet to be convinced with the general reliability and upkeep of the charging points I've used. Thankfully I have the Rex version which has got me out of a spot of bother on longer journeys.
It seems to me that there is a general lack of interest / funding of charging points which means a fair number don't work as they should. Does anybody else find this?
Also, I pitched up at my normal bay today to find a Merc 350e plugged in. At which point does a hybrid become an EV? I thought they charged their battery from the engine? Is it acceptable to be plugging one in at an EV parking bay? Seems to be a bit of a grey area and one I'm uncertain about. I asked the council and got an indifferent shrug from their parking dept too!
They're both Hybrids, why shouldn't the 350e use the charging point? And doesn't the i3 charge it's battery from the engine?It seems to me that there is a general lack of interest / funding of charging points which means a fair number don't work as they should. Does anybody else find this?
Also, I pitched up at my normal bay today to find a Merc 350e plugged in. At which point does a hybrid become an EV? I thought they charged their battery from the engine? Is it acceptable to be plugging one in at an EV parking bay? Seems to be a bit of a grey area and one I'm uncertain about. I asked the council and got an indifferent shrug from their parking dept too!
I get your point but I'm not sure I see it like that. The C350e has a petrol engine to drive the wheels and recharge the battery, with the battery cutting in at low speeds to cut emmissions and fuel consumption. The i3 has a range extender, yes it is a petrol engine but a generator to power the battery when it's flat. It doesnt charge the battery, it just provides the power to keep the car moving. For me It's a get you out of the s
t fallback when you reach your intended charging point and it's not working. Unlike the Merc I can't charge my battery if I don't plug in.
t fallback when you reach your intended charging point and it's not working. Unlike the Merc I can't charge my battery if I don't plug in. REALIST123 said:
Dirty Sanchez said:
Well, I'm 1000 miles and a month into my running of an i3. So far I love the car but am yet to be convinced with the general reliability and upkeep of the charging points I've used. Thankfully I have the Rex version which has got me out of a spot of bother on longer journeys.
It seems to me that there is a general lack of interest / funding of charging points which means a fair number don't work as they should. Does anybody else find this?
Also, I pitched up at my normal bay today to find a Merc 350e plugged in. At which point does a hybrid become an EV? I thought they charged their battery from the engine? Is it acceptable to be plugging one in at an EV parking bay? Seems to be a bit of a grey area and one I'm uncertain about. I asked the council and got an indifferent shrug from their parking dept too!
They're both Hybrids, why shouldn't the 350e use the charging point? And doesn't the i3 charge it's battery from the engine?It seems to me that there is a general lack of interest / funding of charging points which means a fair number don't work as they should. Does anybody else find this?
Also, I pitched up at my normal bay today to find a Merc 350e plugged in. At which point does a hybrid become an EV? I thought they charged their battery from the engine? Is it acceptable to be plugging one in at an EV parking bay? Seems to be a bit of a grey area and one I'm uncertain about. I asked the council and got an indifferent shrug from their parking dept too!
I think the "I'm worthier than you are" attitude will blossom as more of us take to the roads. Tesla obviously are superior to everything and feel they should have priority and my C350e (it wasn't me yesterday BTW) is going to be lowest of the low. The leaf/zoe/i3/whatever brigade will consider themselves the underdog for various reasons and feel cheated.
My attitude is first come first served and I don't care what you're driving. We're all in the free electricity racket and as such we're equally as authorised. I get 4 hours free parking in London like every other ULEV, so if I can't get on I'll just park somewhere else and return.
To be honest, it's not my problem that you gave yourself range anxiety by buying something without an engine.
What I guarantee I'll do in the interests of being a good egg is not leave it plugged in forever even when it's charged, instead move off to let someone else on. That is annoying. See Mr Tesla parked off Oxford street all afternoon even though he's charged.
From a technical viewpoint, yes my 350e will charge itself but that's a daft proposition as it wastes a load of petrol doing it. The idea is to charge it up wherever possible (especially for free!) from a power source. The numbers are sweet then.
My attitude is first come first served and I don't care what you're driving. We're all in the free electricity racket and as such we're equally as authorised. I get 4 hours free parking in London like every other ULEV, so if I can't get on I'll just park somewhere else and return.
To be honest, it's not my problem that you gave yourself range anxiety by buying something without an engine.
What I guarantee I'll do in the interests of being a good egg is not leave it plugged in forever even when it's charged, instead move off to let someone else on. That is annoying. See Mr Tesla parked off Oxford street all afternoon even though he's charged.
From a technical viewpoint, yes my 350e will charge itself but that's a daft proposition as it wastes a load of petrol doing it. The idea is to charge it up wherever possible (especially for free!) from a power source. The numbers are sweet then.
Yeah half the bays i see have mitsubishi outlander PHEVs etc. BMW and Merc are making more and more plugin hybrids. I suspect charging bays will get alot busier over next couple of years, mainly by the increasing number of PHEVs which must be annoying if you own a leaf and cannot physically get home without charging, unlike a PHEV / Rex...
trowelhead said:
Yeah half the bays i see have mitsubishi outlander PHEVs etc. BMW and Merc are making more and more plugin hybrids. I suspect charging bays will get alot busier over next couple of years, mainly by the increasing number of PHEVs which must be annoying if you own a leaf and cannot physically get home without charging, unlike a PHEV / Rex...
Which is why charging will be welcomed by BEV owners. A minimum fee (£3 say) would keep PHEV's away!Yes chargers can be hit and miss and source london, under new ownership, seem to have been slow getting things going, which is I recall a legacy they invested with many previous stakeholders over whose property etc they need to wrest control. But where they are making things happen its good. I am also seeing a massive uptake in EVs in london, especially Westminster. And that shouldn't be a surprise and is good from many angles....strength in numbers meaning more infra needed, but more likely inconvenience for me. Which is why I have now had a charger fitted at home.
But it's also why I will upgrade to an i3 Rex in a few months as 2 yrs of Zoe, for commuting in london, have generally been terrific, and, the Rex means more relaxed about charging.
Charger hogging when charged is st behaviour.
But it's also why I will upgrade to an i3 Rex in a few months as 2 yrs of Zoe, for commuting in london, have generally been terrific, and, the Rex means more relaxed about charging.
Charger hogging when charged is s
t behaviour. supermono said:
It seems to me Source etc could easily notify users that their car is charged and to remove it. They can send an email explaining it's selfish and maybe if you leave it in for hours not charging you get warned a couple of times and then revoked or maybe suspended a week?
they are likely to introduce a booking system via the app, problem solved.i'm not sure how they came up with that as a good idea, ok maybe one booked and one FCFS.
But having a penalty for being plugged in and charged is simple to introduce and can carry sanctions such as educational email first then suspension of service for a day, a week, a month. Even permanently for repeat selfish gits.
But having a penalty for being plugged in and charged is simple to introduce and can carry sanctions such as educational email first then suspension of service for a day, a week, a month. Even permanently for repeat selfish gits.
Interesting comments. I can't say I disagree really. Interesting to get a view on things from other users. Would I do the same if I had a Merc and the chance to park and charge for free? Def yes. So that's kind of why I've also taken the view of first come first served. I try and aim for the one slow charge point on the basis that it takes a working day to fully charge. If I don't need to charge it then I park on a residential street or multi storey like everyone else. I'm trying to play fair but it takes everybody else to do the same. When I ordered the car in Sept I never saw a a single car plugged in ever in any of the four bays near work. Now it's snooze you loose all of a sudden! Time to expand the network assuming the funding is there to do so.
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