Just bought an electric car? We ask Australian EV owners about etiquette – and how to avoid getting sneered at.
Depending on where you find yourself in Australia, and when, it’s not uncommon to have to queue to recharge your electric vehicle at a public recharging point. As more electric vehicles are sold, more often there are simply not enough public chargers for everyone.
RELATED: ‘A risk to public safety’ – councils warn EV owners
At Drive, we’ve seen all manner of more obvious electric car charging sins – from petrol cars claiming EV charging spots, to EVs parked across multiple charging spots at once, to cars left abandoned and blocking a charger for days.
To combat situations like this, electric vehicle owners in Australia are embracing a somewhat-unspoken code of conduct. Most of it is common sense, but if you’ve just bought an EV and intend to recharge it publicly, nobody hands you a document with everything that you ought to know.
In the spirit of the golden rule – do unto others what you’d wish done unto you – we’ve attempted to make that document here. In this article, we ask Australian electric vehicle owners what they think is good etiquette, and what new EV owners should know, when tapping into the public charging network in 2023.
Let’s get to it.
Be patient with other EV owners, especially new ones
If you’ve bought an electric car, you’re an early adopter – so you’ve assumed a role of educating others as they make the switch. Be patient.
“Things won’t necessarily work as well as they should in a fully evolved system, and there will be growing pains,” says electric vehicle owner Luke Hartfiel.
“Charging infrastructure is a good example where a combination of people not completely knowing what they are doing, combined with sparse infrastructure of varying capability and reliability, can lead to some unhappy campers. We have to acknowledge that we are all in this together right now, and help each other where we can.”
Move your car when you’ve finished charging
Even if it’s not busy, monitor your car’s charge using an app if available (for your car, or the charger) and return, unplug and move the car into a nearby spot the minute you can if you intend to roam around the local town, go shopping or similar.
Someone might show up and be in a hurry, and discovering your fully-charged car parked, locked and plugged into the charger is something that would surely annoy you if the roles were reversed. At the very least, if it seems quiet, put a phone number on the dashboard and don’t go too far.
If it’s busy, accept the minimum charge you need
If there’s a queue, and you only need 150km of range, charge to this point, then unplug and free the charger up for others – which includes moving your car. Simple as that.
Do you really need to charge beyond 80 per cent?
When using a high-speed public charger, don’t seek to charge your car beyond 80 to 90 per cent – unless you absolutely need to.
“The time taken to charge from 80 per cent to 100 per cent sometimes is longer than the time needed to charge from zero to 80 per cent,” says electric vehicle owner Kieran Pradeep. “It just blocks chargers for others.”
If your electric vehicle has a later lithium ferrophosphate (LFP) battery, the charging slows at slightly higher percentages – but it still slows.
Know your vehicle’s maximum DC charge rate
If your EV’s maximum DC charge rate is 50kW, don’t hook up to the 350kW charger if a 50kW charger is free. EV owner Dan Hockin was driving to Adelaide and made a stop to charge in Horsham, Victoria, where he discovered two 50kW chargers free, and a Nissan Leaf plugged into the only 350kW charger. The Leaf can only accept 50kW DC maximum.
“Basically blocking other, faster [charging] cars,” he says. “Obviously not intended, but shows that we need more signage and onboarding for new EV owners for a successful transition for everyone.”
It’s first in, best dressed with public AC chargers
Public chargers tend to use the faster Direct Current (DC), but you can also find public Alternating Current (AC) chargers, which are slower to recharge.
“AC, or slow chargers, are an added convenience if you happen to be going somewhere, [but] they’re not where you go if you need to charge,” says electric vehicle owner Charles Gregory.
“If someone needs to charge, they should go to a DC/fast charger (which are designed for quick charging/rapid throughout). AC chargers at hotels are another example; you’ve booked for the night, it’s like your home charger, you don’t need to get up at 3am to move your car.”
Of course, as ever, use your common sense – and consideration for your fellow EV owners – here.
Take advantage of, and contribute to, PlugShare
PlugShare (to which we have no affiliation) is a user-generated-content app that’s something of an EV community. Checking into PlugShare when charging your EV at a public recharging point lets other users know if the charger is available – at a glance.
Users can also keep the app up-to-date by listing public charging locations, their status (often they’re out-of-order), plug types and charging rates, and availability. If enough users are keeping it updated, it’s an invaluable resource for an EV owner – especially if you’re travelling in unfamiliar areas.
“PlugShare is great for trip planning, and invaluable for local conditions for advice of broken chargers, to where to find the charger hiding in large car parks,” says electric vehicle owner Rhys Timms. “I always look ahead to ensure the charger I plan to use is working before setting off on my journey, and always leave feedback when I charge so other users know it has been used recently with no issues.”
Be more patient with pedestrians
Tyre noise might alert a pedestrian as your speed increases, but in places like car parks your electric vehicle can be near silent. Even if your EV has AVAS (Acoustic Vehicle Alerting System, an external speaker that makes a low humming noise to warn pedestrians), it still pays to be aware that many pedestrians won’t be so quick to notice you creeping up on them. Be extra patient – don’t run them over.
“I have had my Tesla since 2019 and [have been] a courteous, thoughtful driver towards pedestrians from day one due to the fact that my vehicle is silent,” says Jane Moulin. “[This] is a hugely important safety and etiquette issue.”
Know any electric vehicle etiquette tips that should be on this list? Let us know in the comments below.
The post ‘A hugely important issue’: Electric car etiquette everyone should know appeared first on Drive.
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