Random EV thoughts.....

User1998

Not exactly the right place to ask but didn’t want to start a new thread. Can anyone use the ESB e cars destination chargers at hotels or do you need to be signed up with ESB? This is the one here:

Silent Running

User1998 wrote: »

Not exactly the right place to ask but didn’t want to start a new thread. Can anyone use the ESB e cars destination chargers at hotels or do you need to be signed up with ESB? This is the one here:

In my experience, you just need to plug in and charge. The hotel might have some control over the charger, but there's no equipment to read cards or the like.

Quite a lot are faulty and haven't worked in years.

User1998

I drive a PHEV so its not the end of the world if it doesn’t work but hopefully I can charge up for a couple of hours. Thanks for the info

jhegarty

User1998 wrote: »

Not exactly the right place to ask but didn’t want to start a new thread. Can anyone use the ESB e cars destination chargers at hotels or do you need to be signed up with ESB? This is the one here:

Those don't take cards but they can be locked with a key.

Black_Knight

The freeloaders have descended upon easygo now the free esb units are gone.

Did a shop in our local Lidl and arrived to see a leaf charging at 3kW and the second socket not working (common with free stuff, little care and attention given to it). In rolls a Kia eNiro, driver pulls up, sees the dead available port and leaves the car and goes walking elsewhere. Certainly not into Lidl.

AndyBoBandy

Black_Knight wrote: »

The freeloaders have descended upon easygo now the free esb units are gone.

Did a shop in our local Lidl and arrived to see a leaf charging at 3kW and the second socket not working (common with free stuff, little care and attention given to it). In rolls a Kia eNiro, driver pulls up, sees the dead available port and leaves the car and goes walking elsewhere. Certainly not into Lidl.

This wouldn't happen to be Lidl Swords would it?

I was there last weekend as we needed a few bits and it was on the way home. A Merc PHEV was plugged in to the working socket, the other side was out of action, but I still parked in the bay and sat in the car while waiting for OH to finish shopping (as if the Merc had of returned and drove off, I'd have plugged in for the few minutes until OH returned*). In the 30 minutes or so we were there, an i3 came in, parked on the path beside me and enquired as to why I wasn't charging, but still left his car there on the path and went into the shop:eek: after I told him it was broken, then a Zoe and an Ioniq came in, saw both spaces were occupied, and quickly left again (so clearly they were not there for the lovely apple & pecan pastries).

OH returned (she always takes ages because browsing), and the PHEV was still there, so I very much doubt they were in the shop.

*I would have happily plugged in, even for 10 minutes as we were customers of Lidl, so were entitled to in the spirit of their provided chargers.

Cyrus

AndyBoBandy wrote: »

This wouldn't happen to be Lidl Swords would it?

I was there last weekend as we needed a few bits and it was on the way home. A Merc PHEV was plugged in to the working socket, the other side was out of action, but I still parked in the bay and sat in the car while waiting for OH to finish shopping (as if the Merc had of returned and drove off, I'd have plugged in for the few minutes until OH returned*). In the 30 minutes or so we were there, an i3 came in, parked on the path beside me and enquired as to why I wasn't charging, but still left his car there on the path and went into the shop:eek: after I told him it was broken, then a Zoe and an Ioniq came in, saw both spaces were occupied, and quickly left again (so clearly they were not there for the lovely apple & pecan pastries).

OH returned (she always takes ages because browsing), and the PHEV was still there, so I very much doubt they were in the shop.

*I would have happily plugged in, even for 10 minutes as we were customers of Lidl, so were entitled to in the spirit of their provided chargers.

hardly worth the hassle is it?

AndyBoBandy

Cyrus wrote: »

hardly worth the hassle is it?

the hassle of opening the boot, removing the cable and plugging in 2 plugs, all of which takes about 20-30 seconds......? then the reverse of this when we are leaving..?

I'm sitting there anyway, waiting, so why not get about 50km of range for 'so much hassle'

Cyrus

AndyBoBandy wrote: »

the hassle of opening the boot, removing the cable and plugging in 2 plugs, all of which takes about 20-30 seconds......? then the reverse of this when we are leaving..?

I'm sitting there anyway, waiting, so why not get about 50km of range for 'so much hassle'

exactly its not worth it

the monetary value is tiny and you dont need the range.

Cyrus

Cyrus wrote: »

exactly its not worth it

the monetary value is tiny and you dont need the range.

Tell that to a 22kw or 43kw charging Zoe owner especially in these days of work from home where 50km of range gets us through the week.

AndyBoBandy

Cyrus wrote: »

exactly its not worth it

the monetary value is tiny and you dont need the range.

I don't care about the value, but I do care about adding the range, as it's range that I won't then need to add later on...

by plugging in, and getting 50km of range, it would have meant I didn't need to go through the hassle of plugging in at home that night as I'd have sufficient range for the following day.....

swings and roundabouts...

Cyrus

AndyBoBandy wrote: »

I don't care about the value, but I do care about adding the range, as it's range that I won't then need to add later on...

by plugging in, and getting 50km of range, it would have meant I didn't need to go through the hassle of plugging in at home that night as I'd have sufficient range for the following day.....

swings and roundabouts...

so its a hassle at home but not when you are out, and your home charger is tethered :P

Cyrus

Deleted User wrote: »

Tell that to a 22kw or 43kw charging Zoe owner especially in these days of work from home where 50km of range gets us through the week.

if you dont have home charging its worth it, if you do its not, not sure why owning a zoe makes any difference.

AndyBoBandy

Cyrus wrote: »

so its a hassle at home but not when you are out, and your home charger is tethered :P

I've to do it once anyway, somewhere.

So I can do it while sitting outside a shop waiting for OH to finish, which could be anything from 20 minutes to an hour. I'm sitting there anyway, doing fcuk all else.

or

I can do it later that night at home (with my tethered charger), and unplug again the following morning (both at times when it could be pi$$ing rain).

On a Saturday afternoon at 2pm, wouldn't you want to go from 25% up to 45%, especially if it was available to do for such little effort?? just in case you decided to go somewhere else that day before going home?

I never want to be out and about and think, we have to go home now because we might not have the range to do that other thing we might suddenly decide to do...

Anyway, we'll agree to disagree...

slave1

Cyrus wrote: »

if you dont have home charging its worth it, if you do its not, not sure why owning a zoe makes any difference.

Zoe was mentioned as one of only two EVs that can take the full 22kw from the charge point.
I agree Andy, it's not about the cost, already in the car, boot open for taking out/putting in the bags, she's gonna be in there for 30minutes, take the 50odd kms.
If others think it too much hassle then they need not bother.
Like everything, horses for courses

Cyrus

slave1 wrote: »

Zoe was mentioned as one of only two EVs that can take the full 22kw from the charge point.
I agree Andy, it's not about the cost, already in the car, boot open for taking out/putting in the bags, she's gonna be in there for 30minutes, take the 50odd kms.
If others think it too much hassle then they need not bother.
Like everything, horses for courses

he was talking about plugging in for 10 minutes, if thats worth the hassle then so be it, i just cant see how it is. But each to their own.

personally if i have charging at home unless im parking up for a few hours ill leave the free chargers for those that dont have the option to leave their car charged overnight in their driveway.

liamog

https://www.electrive.com/2020/09/03/germany-to-promote-e-mobility-via-eu-council/

Interesting article, Germany is going to use some of it's time as President of the EU council to focus attention on e-Mobility.
The alternative fuels directive is up for renewal

For battery-electric cars, the German government apparently wants to include the establishment of a Europe-wide rapid charging network with charging capacities of at least 150 kilowatts in the revised AFID directive. According to a position paper of the Federal Ministry of Transport, which is available in the Tagesspiegel Background, charging capacities in the megawatt range are to be targeted for commercial vehicles. According to Bonhoff, only these high capacities would ensure the future viability of the infrastructure. However, such a charging standard for trucks does not yet exist. The CCS initiative CharIN is currently working on a commercial vehicle standard that will enable charging with up to two megawatts.

In addition to the development of the infrastructure, Germany wants to tackle another topic as part of its presidency of the Council: The billing at charging points. “In addition to building up the grid, we have a lot of other things planned, especially in terms of customer friendliness,” said Scheuer. “We want a Europe-wide standardised payment system for electricity charging and hydrogen refuelling. A communication from the Ministry of Transport states that regulations are needed “which allow charging infrastructure to be located in all EU member states and enable easy authentication, and which ensure price transparency and uniform payment systems”.

JPA

AndyBoBandy wrote: »

I've to do it once anyway, somewhere.

So I can do it while sitting outside a shop waiting for OH to finish, which could be anything from 20 minutes to an hour. I'm sitting there anyway, doing fcuk all else.

or

I can do it later that night at home (with my tethered charger), and unplug again the following morning (both at times when it could be pi$$ing rain).

On a Saturday afternoon at 2pm, wouldn't you want to go from 25% up to 45%, especially if it was available to do for such little effort?? just in case you decided to go somewhere else that day before going home?

I never want to be out and about and think, we have to go home now because we might not have the range to do that other thing we might suddenly decide to do...

Anyway, we'll agree to disagree...

Why are you going shopping and sitting in car? Why are you there at all?!

I read that as German Automakers pushing to stop proprietary Supercharger network from expanding but I don't see that as a bad thing as the charging networks the German Manufacturers are supporting are open.

JPA

JPA wrote: »

Why are you going shopping and sitting in car? Why are you there at all?!

Because he and SWMBO are not joined at hip I'd guess.

JPA

[Deleted User] wrote: »

Because he and SWMBO are not joined at hip I'd guess.

He could be sitting at home is what I mean.

liamog

Deleted User wrote: »

I read that as German Automakers pushing to stop proprietary Supercharger network from expanding but I don't see that as a bad thing as the charging networks the German Manufacturers are supporting are open.

I'm on record as being in favour of stopping limited access charging networks.
I also want any EU directive to cover roaming agreements for billing. I should be able to sign up with a single provider and be given union wide access with fair rates.

For me the ideal situation is that every 50kW+ charger has

Pay&Go access with an NFC card reader
Own network cost via membership
Roaming network cost via membership

JPA

JPA wrote: »

He could be sitting at home is what I mean.

Probably under instruction to load the car :P or has another errand to do, so combining journeys.

slave1

Limited charging networks are fine, Tesla have them, Nissan have them, Audi have them, it's part of what you are paying for with your car when you buy into that brand.
This should not detract from other commercial ventures into charging

AndyBoBandy

JPA wrote: »

Why are you going shopping and sitting in car? Why are you there at all?!

Because myself, Mrs BoBandy & Junior BoBandy are out for a drive, and on the way home we decide to stop off at a shop we happen to be passing (despite still being about 20 minutes from home).

Now 1 of us can go into the shop, or all 3 of us can go into the shop, but given we are in the midst of a global pandemic, we feel it's better all round if just one of us goes into the shop...

unkel

It would be great if somehow all EVs would use the one standard of charging and it looks like most manufacturers are playing ball and already use CCS or will use it soon

That said, there's nothing inherently wrong with a 100% privately funded "members only" club though is there? We're not living in some sort of goddamn communist country now, are we, where private enterprise is verboten?

liamog

slave1 wrote: »

Limited charging networks are fine, Tesla have them, Nissan have them, Audi have them, it's part of what you are paying for with your car when you buy into that brand.
This should not detract from other commercial ventures into charging

There is a distinction between a charger at a dealer, and a limited charging network on a motorway. My own opinion is that is should be illegal to limit access to a public charging station. I don't want a situation where Castlebellingham has 50 chargers, 10 from each manufacturer. It's incredibly wasteful.

ELM327

liamog wrote: »

There is a distinction between a charger at a dealer, and a limited charging network on a motorway. My own opinion is that is should be illegal to limit access to a public charging station. I don't want a situation where Castlebellingham has 50 chargers, 10 from each manufacturer. It's incredibly wasteful.

There's probably more liklihood of there being 40 Tesla, 4 ecars and 6 Ionity at that site in the next couple of years!

unkel

ELM327 wrote: »

There's probably more liklihood of there being 40 Tesla, 4 ecars and 6 Ionity at that site in the next couple of years!

Those eCars ones might have 2kW AC charging if they're not broken

ELM327

unkel wrote: »

Those eCars ones might have 2kW AC charging if they're not broken

AC is not needed at a services, should be DC only. (Ideally CCS only)