EV charger waiting time (queueing)

[Seeker]

I have nothing against electric cars although at my age I probably will never own one. I have never seen a car hooked up at the charging station at my local Tesco although I see many electric cars on the road, maybe they are charging at home?
What prompted these thoughts is this video (on reddit) from Sweden:
https://www.reddit.com/r/mildlyinfur...ion_in_sweden/

I counted 39 cars in the queue without the cars that were actually charging. I understand there were 2 chargers and assuming 30 mins each that is a long wait time.

Out of more curiousity I googled UK wait times which, with hindsight, is perhaps too vague to be meaningful.

"The time it takes to wait for an electric vehicle (EV) charger depends on several factors, including the location, the time of day, and the type of charger:

Some cities have shorter wait times than others. For example, Coventry has an estimated wait time of 1 hour and 30 minutes, while Sunderland's worst-case scenario wait time is 2 hours and 25 minutes."

I would be able to charge at home if I were to buy an ev but the the thought of having to wait even 30 mins for a charging spot would be annoying. If all the pumps at my local Tesco are in use, I leave and come back later and that's for a 3 or 4 minute wait (I may be impatient )

[Luckypants]

That video shows what can happen when you blindly follow suggested chargers. Note that all those cars are Teslas, which only use their own Tesla chargers for route planning in the sat-nav. There may be a non-Tesla charging hub nearby but those drivers are unaware. Queuing for an EV charger is an issue at peak times like bank holidays when everyone turns up at the same services at the same time (e.g everyone thinks "lets stop at Exeter Services for lunch") but generally is not a problem in the UK these days. However, due to a full charge taking 20-30 minutes the wait to get on a charger is a bit longer. Its been noted that at large charge sites with approx. 20+ chargers, the wait is not too long due to the turnover of each charger.

Like you, I wouldn't wait. I'd go to the next available charge site with available chargers. Most car satnavs will tell you where there are available chargers and there are no end of apps that will tell you if the car won't.

As to Tesco chargers, they have really got it wrong. The chargers Tesco installed at most branches are only 7kw, so charge slowly. In the normal time it takes to shop in Tesco (30 minutes?) little charge is added (5% in my car). With parking restrictions, no meaningful charge can be added. In addition, they ar quite expensive. Sainsbury are installing multiple ultra rapid chargers at their stores which will charge an empty EV to full in the time it takes to shop, so much more sensible. Asda will do the same in partnership with EG group when all the ownership issues are resolved (not EV related).

As you observe, many people charge almost exclusively at home as it is very much cheaper than public charging. There is no need to charge in the wild unless you don't have enough charge to get home or are on a long trip needing a recharge. Personally I rarely charge away from home but do 15K miles a year.

[Sir Trev]

My local Morrisons put in two charge points that always seemed to be blocked by grotty old Transits during some refurbishment work at the store. I only ever saw one EV using one. Then the chargers vanished, partly because the store wants to add a new access road in that bit of the carpark.

The Marstons pub next to Morrisons still has an EV point, which is free most times I walk past it.

[Luckypants]

Morrisons got it right with the choice of chargepoint speed when they put them in, 50kW which was state of the art for the UK then - 5 years ago. Their problem is the provider they chose to partner with (Geniepoint) who did no maintenance on the chargers and they were/are always broken. Morrisons got a reputation for being unreliable which persists. Geniepoint had some investment last year and started a refurbishment program, but put the prices up - now they are perceived as expensive and unreliable!

The Marston's pub charger is likely an Osprey one as they have a deal with them. Osprey are solidly reliable but expensive, so again people will avoid in favour of cheaper offerings unless on company fuel cards.

In my opinion, private owners shop around for lower prices or stick to home charging while the Tesla driving company car driver with a fuel card does not care about price. Company car drivers tend to be the ones public charging while out doing their job. There is no cost downside for them and the BIK saving is still significant.

[Luckypants]

To show what is being done to address queueing at popular charge sites, here is Exeter services charging facilities being expanded to 36 charging bays.

https://x.com/ElecHighway/status/1876572999320735881

I use Exeter as an example since it was in the news in summer 2023 due to long queues for charging. It was 6 50kW chargers then I think, now we have 36 150kW bays so charging is faster and more plentiful.

Last year Rugby services had bad queueing, due to it being known for plentiful charging. Last September the number of chargers was doubled by both Tesla and Gridserve to give a total of 64 charging bays. Even if queuing starts, the turnover from so many chargers will make for a short wait.

[Craig380]

Slight tangent, I know, but a few years ago I was at Warwick services on the M40, and noticed that a Prius was parked in one of the EV charging bays. It wasn't a plug-in Prius, either: I reckon the owner had assumed that as his Prius was a hybrid, he was entitled to park in the bay

[Luckypants]

EV owners using CHARGING bays as 'special parking places for EV drivers' boils everyone's blood when they need to charge. As EV bays often close to the amenity building or shop people without any consideration for others will park in them. The same type of people who park in disabled bays or parent/child bays.

[R1ffR4ff]

I think EVs are a Cul-De-Sac of technology :/

The way forward,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hYqS7BbiUZM


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5rk1RsT64o4

[Luckypants]

When they can efficiently create and transport hydrogen, I'll agree. I won't be happy going back to having to visit refuelling stations either, instead of refuelling on my drive while I'm asleep or doing anything else except having to supervise my vehicle while it fills up.