5 ms·

A little longer? What am I going to do at a gas station for an hour? I am already bored when I am there for 3 minutes with an ICE car...

AshleyGrant 7y ago
A) It doesn't take an hour to charge an EV unless you're charging past 90%, which isn't typically done as it hurts the battery. B) You're bored b/c you have to stand next to the pump waiting for it to finish. This isn't a problem with EV charging. Go get a coffee or read a book.
- dmitrygr 7y ago
  Not everyone has time to "get a coffee or read a book" when the car runs empty. Some people live years without a free hour to "just go read a book", for example: anyone with young kids.
  - badwolf 7y ago
    Charge while you go grocery shopping? While you're at work?
  - samcheng 7y ago
    I've found that those same young kids also don't tolerate long periods in the car very well. The periodic stops to charge work pretty well - you stop, plug in the car, then take them to grab a bite to eat and blow off some steam. (Then you end up having to go unplug the fully-charged car long before they finish eating!)
  - AshleyGrant 7y ago
    The day we ordered our Tesla, my wife and I (without kids) stopped at a truck stop on the way to the Tesla store that we end up stopping at on most of our trips out of town. We did the following: a. Fueled up the car from about half a tank to full b. Used the restroom. c. Bought two fountain sodas We timed the stop from when we parked to when we got back in the car. It was fifteen minutes. I would expect that any family that stops at that stop is there at least that long, if not longer. --- Going back to in-town charging though.. You need to realize that all you need for a charging station is a parking lot, and you can leave the car while it charges. Put DC fast chargers in a grocery store parking lot, and people can charge while they do their weekly shopping. I doubt anyone with young kids is spending less than 30 minutes at the grocery store each week. So instead of getting a coffee or reading a book, they can go buy cereal and frozen chicken nuggets.
vanilla_nut 7y ago
I'm surprised that coffee shops/bookstores haven't started to target this demographic yet. Buy a coffee, an hour or two of quick charging, and read a book for a couple of hours in a comfy seat while your car charges. Considering how many people will go to those establishments already, it seems like a pretty easy hook (and probably has a lot of demographic overlap).
- human20190310 7y ago
  I think coffee shops prefer that most people pay their money and move along a lot more quickly than that. It's likely that the reason you can't find a seat in most coffee shops already is because it isn't profitable to provide a two-hour seat to everyone.
  - wutbrodo 7y ago
    Plenty of coffee shops have built their business around providing a place that's comfortable to relax in: free Wi-Fi, power outlets, lots of comfortable seating. Sure, all else held equal, they'd prefer that people move through quickly, but they'd also prefer to charge triple the price. The reason they don't, and the reason they do provide for customers hanging around, is that it's a way of attracting business (and prevents loss of business to competitors who try this strategy). The parent comment's suggestion seems more in less in line with this general approach.
gist 7y ago
Exactly. I simply don't get this. All of that effort when it's (for lack of a better way to put it) 'not ready for prime time'. Other comments include running an electric extension cord out the window and other hacks. A cord out the window be serious. Imagine for a second of what compensating good could be done for the world if people put the same time, thought or effort into something else with more immediate (and urgent payback).
- stetrain 7y ago
  I agree that running a cord out the window is ridiculous, but planning a ~40m charging stop at a place that has shops, restaurants, grocery stores, etc. like my local chargers doesn't seem so inconvenient. I can personally choose to buy an EV, I can't personally choose to convert the power plants in my state to nuclear. Obviously supporting multiple policies that improve emissions and sustainable energy is the way to go, and supporting one does not mean I don't support the others.
- RandallBrown 7y ago
  It's not any extra effort to plug your car in at the grocery store while you're shopping. In fact, it's often less effort because the electric charging spots are often closer to the doors. Then you don't have to make an extra stop or trip just for gas. It sounds way better than the current situation with gas.
  - gist 7y ago
    Extra effort? You have the anxiety of wondering if the spot will be open or not. Also as the method becomes more popular it would make sense that the spots will not be increased immediately and therefore will not be open. And of course the grocery store is only one place you go and how many people go there regularly enough to use it for charging and how many spots do they have or will have? > It sounds way better than the current situation with gas. Seriously? Where do you live and where would you get gas? This is a non issue for most people.
    - RandallBrown 7y ago
stetrain 7y ago
Both of my local Tesla chargers are in the same parking lots as grocery stores. One is also near a movie theater and several restaurants. EV charging (except specifically for long distance travel) is less about "Let's sit here while the car charges" and more "Let's plan a thing we were probably going to do anyway at a place that also has EV chargers". Obviously that gets a lot easier as more chargers get installed. Electrify America is installing fast chargers in a large number of Wal-Mart parking lots across the US.
- neogodless 7y ago
  I don't want to sound like a broken record but... how many times do you go to fill up your car with gasoline, and you think "Where can I go/what activity can I fill my time with so I can get gas?" (At worst, you think, what gas station is on the way?) It makes perfect sense that in this less than ideal scenario where chargers are sparse and inconvenient that you change up what you do for entertainment to center it around car chargers. But it has to stop being a requirement for it to make sense for "everyone" to switch from gas to EV.
  - stetrain 7y ago
    Sure, charging an EV is not the same paradigm as filling a car with gas. I'm just not sure it needs to be. If every Target, Walmart, and Whole Foods had a bunch of EV chargers that could charge your car to 80-90% in 30 minutes that would handle the charging needs for a lot of car owners. For "everyone" to have EVs we will need chargers at apartments and work places, or for fast chargers to get into the 80% charge in ~5min range. That problem is not solved yet but is being tackled from both sides.

AshleyGrant 7y ago

A) It doesn't take an hour to charge an EV unless you're charging past 90%, which isn't typically done as it hurts the battery. B) You're bored b/c you have to stand next to the pump waiting for it to finish. This isn't a problem with EV charging. Go get a coffee or read a book.

dmitrygr 7y ago
Not everyone has time to "get a coffee or read a book" when the car runs empty. Some people live years without a free hour to "just go read a book", for example: anyone with young kids.
- badwolf 7y ago
  Charge while you go grocery shopping? While you're at work?
- samcheng 7y ago
  I've found that those same young kids also don't tolerate long periods in the car very well. The periodic stops to charge work pretty well - you stop, plug in the car, then take them to grab a bite to eat and blow off some steam. (Then you end up having to go unplug the fully-charged car long before they finish eating!)
- AshleyGrant 7y ago
  The day we ordered our Tesla, my wife and I (without kids) stopped at a truck stop on the way to the Tesla store that we end up stopping at on most of our trips out of town. We did the following: a. Fueled up the car from about half a tank to full b. Used the restroom. c. Bought two fountain sodas We timed the stop from when we parked to when we got back in the car. It was fifteen minutes. I would expect that any family that stops at that stop is there at least that long, if not longer. --- Going back to in-town charging though.. You need to realize that all you need for a charging station is a parking lot, and you can leave the car while it charges. Put DC fast chargers in a grocery store parking lot, and people can charge while they do their weekly shopping. I doubt anyone with young kids is spending less than 30 minutes at the grocery store each week. So instead of getting a coffee or reading a book, they can go buy cereal and frozen chicken nuggets.

vanilla_nut 7y ago

I'm surprised that coffee shops/bookstores haven't started to target this demographic yet. Buy a coffee, an hour or two of quick charging, and read a book for a couple of hours in a comfy seat while your car charges. Considering how many people will go to those establishments already, it seems like a pretty easy hook (and probably has a lot of demographic overlap).

human20190310 7y ago
I think coffee shops prefer that most people pay their money and move along a lot more quickly than that. It's likely that the reason you can't find a seat in most coffee shops already is because it isn't profitable to provide a two-hour seat to everyone.
- wutbrodo 7y ago
  Plenty of coffee shops have built their business around providing a place that's comfortable to relax in: free Wi-Fi, power outlets, lots of comfortable seating. Sure, all else held equal, they'd prefer that people move through quickly, but they'd also prefer to charge triple the price. The reason they don't, and the reason they do provide for customers hanging around, is that it's a way of attracting business (and prevents loss of business to competitors who try this strategy). The parent comment's suggestion seems more in less in line with this general approach.

gist 7y ago

Exactly. I simply don't get this. All of that effort when it's (for lack of a better way to put it) 'not ready for prime time'. Other comments include running an electric extension cord out the window and other hacks. A cord out the window be serious. Imagine for a second of what compensating good could be done for the world if people put the same time, thought or effort into something else with more immediate (and urgent payback).

stetrain 7y ago
I agree that running a cord out the window is ridiculous, but planning a ~40m charging stop at a place that has shops, restaurants, grocery stores, etc. like my local chargers doesn't seem so inconvenient. I can personally choose to buy an EV, I can't personally choose to convert the power plants in my state to nuclear. Obviously supporting multiple policies that improve emissions and sustainable energy is the way to go, and supporting one does not mean I don't support the others.
RandallBrown 7y ago
It's not any extra effort to plug your car in at the grocery store while you're shopping. In fact, it's often less effort because the electric charging spots are often closer to the doors. Then you don't have to make an extra stop or trip just for gas. It sounds way better than the current situation with gas.
- gist 7y ago
  Extra effort? You have the anxiety of wondering if the spot will be open or not. Also as the method becomes more popular it would make sense that the spots will not be increased immediately and therefore will not be open. And of course the grocery store is only one place you go and how many people go there regularly enough to use it for charging and how many spots do they have or will have? > It sounds way better than the current situation with gas. Seriously? Where do you live and where would you get gas? This is a non issue for most people.
  - RandallBrown 7y ago

stetrain 7y ago

Both of my local Tesla chargers are in the same parking lots as grocery stores. One is also near a movie theater and several restaurants. EV charging (except specifically for long distance travel) is less about "Let's sit here while the car charges" and more "Let's plan a thing we were probably going to do anyway at a place that also has EV chargers". Obviously that gets a lot easier as more chargers get installed. Electrify America is installing fast chargers in a large number of Wal-Mart parking lots across the US.

neogodless 7y ago
I don't want to sound like a broken record but... how many times do you go to fill up your car with gasoline, and you think "Where can I go/what activity can I fill my time with so I can get gas?" (At worst, you think, what gas station is on the way?) It makes perfect sense that in this less than ideal scenario where chargers are sparse and inconvenient that you change up what you do for entertainment to center it around car chargers. But it has to stop being a requirement for it to make sense for "everyone" to switch from gas to EV.
- stetrain 7y ago
  Sure, charging an EV is not the same paradigm as filling a car with gas. I'm just not sure it needs to be. If every Target, Walmart, and Whole Foods had a bunch of EV chargers that could charge your car to 80-90% in 30 minutes that would handle the charging needs for a lot of car owners. For "everyone" to have EVs we will need chargers at apartments and work places, or for fast chargers to get into the 80% charge in ~5min range. That problem is not solved yet but is being tackled from both sides.