Charging Education: Drivers desperately need it

[eleven24]

Had a long road trip this past weekend, and with it several DCFC stops. It was a nice day, so people were outside their cars chatting. Being I had to wait for slot to open up, I walked over and joined in.

First was a really nice woman who just got a new Chevy Bolt. Seeing that she was at 88%, I casually said "oh good, looks like you're almost done". She said "Yep, another 12% but I can't figure out why it's going so slow when I'm on a 350 charger". She had no idea her car had a maximum charge speed because, as her salesman told her, she can use any speed charger.

This is when the driver of a Mach-E walked over and said "hope you don't mind, but I heard you talking about slow charge speeds on the 350 charger. I'm getting the same thing - it started off great but now I'm down to around 30 kw."

He was at 84% SOC.

I then spent a few minutes explaining how each car has a specific max charging speed and that it wouldn't matter if they plugged into a 150kw or 350kw charger. Then explained the whole charging curve, and how to best manage it when on a road trip - as in stopping the charge when you have enough to get to your next destination. Especially when there are other cars waiting.

I was telling the driver of the Mach-E, who was probably somewhere in his 70's, that the best way to minimize charge times is to look at the estimated battery percentage on arrival at your next stop, and then unplug when you feel it's a safe buffer to continue. I told him that for me, I base it on how many options to charge there are on the route ahead & make sure I have enough charge to go to the second charger down route in the event there are issues with the first one. This is when I hopped in his car and showed both he and his wife how to add chargers, see percentages, and plan their route home.

Here's the kicker - his car was a demo car from the Ford dealership he owns. They were both super appreciative of my help, and jokingly asked if I could follow them home.

The point of this post is this - if you pull in to charge and get aggravated by someone sitting at 90% and still charging while people are waiting - it could simply be they believe they have to charge to 100%. Dealerships are not educating the consumer at all, and for that matter neither are manufacturers. It certainly wouldn't be hard to display info in the car as people are charging explaining things like max charge speed and the charging curve. Offering tips on screen on charging.

In this case, the woman in the new Chevy Bolt lived less than a mile away - yet she was charging to 100% with 3 cars waiting. When I told her that the max charge speed of her car was 50kw and a half mile away was a ChargePoint 62.5kw charger that she would probably never have a wait for and would still get the same charge speed, she was ecstatic. Said she always came to this one and waited.

All of the people I chatted with were extremely nice and personable people - they just had no idea on how EV charging worked.

Adding chargers to the infrastructure is great, but education of the public on EV charging is just as important.

Sponsored

 

[KevinS]

There should be added charge for length of time above 80% or 90%, not just per kWh. That'd get people moving and also educate them about the charging curve.

 

[eleven24]

There should be added charge for length of time above 80% or 90%, not just per kWh. That'd get people moving and also educate them about the charging curve.

I don't know if it would change anything. At least not with the people I chatted with as both of them thought they HAD to charge to 100%.

Of course, there are people who knowingly disregard others waiting to charge. For these people, I do think time based charging - not kw based charging - would eliminate some of that. Here in PA it's time based, and hey if you want to pay the same as it took to get from 10% to 80% as it will take for you to go from 80% to 100%, so be it.

 

[KevinS]

I don't know if it would change anything. At least not with the people I chatted with as both of them thought they HAD to charge to 100%.

Of course, there are people who knowingly disregard others waiting to charge. For these people, I do think time based charging - not kw based charging - would eliminate some of that. Here in PA it's time based, and hey if you want to pay the same as it took to get from 10% to 80% as it will take for you to go from 80% to 100%, so be it.

I don't think there's a panacea to this issue, especially since variability in methods of pricing even on EA exists. Charging companies could also do customers a favor by putting up charging facts on the screens while you're waiting to get to the desired level of charge.

And also encounters like yours. It takes a village in the absence of industry leadership on the issue.

 

[eleven24]

I don't think there's a panacea to this issue, especially since variability in methods of pricing even on EA exists. Charging companies could also do customers a favor by putting up charging facts on the screens while you're waiting to get to the desired level of charge.

And also encounters like yours. It takes a village in the absence of industry leadership on the issue.

I've often thought the same regarding the displays on DCFC chargers, but then I thought - they don't want people to unplug early. Especially in states where charging in time based.

What I would prefer is if EA prioritized the current charge speed over the SOC of the car on their display screens. I already know the SOC - I'm sitting in the car looking at it.

 

[kodiakng]

agree on the need for more education. we're still in the late-stage early adopter and pre-mass market phase and sorely need the education. dealers especially.

i've met a few folks who just want it to work and not know the details - we'll get there for these folks but it will take a loooong time.

one aspect i've seen twice now in my less than 10 DCFC sessions: Chevy Bolts are being rented to new and unsuspecting users and causing some backlash from folks that are interested in EVs but not educated. both folks i've talked to that had rented a Bolt said it was thrust on them at rental time so they weren't clued in on how to charge at all. they were quite frustrated with the entire charging process - finding a charger, slowness of charging (one was between 80-90% when i was talking to her), and (shocker) the reliability of the chargers.

we have a long way to go but each interaction is a chance to help.

 

[eleven24]

agree on the need for more education. we're still in the late-stage early adopter and pre-mass market phase and sorely need the education. dealers especially.

i've met a few folks who just want it to work and not know the details - we'll get there for these folks but it will take a loooong time.

one aspect i've seen twice now in my less than 10 DCFC sessions: Chevy Bolts are being rented to new and unsuspecting users and causing some backlash from folks that are interested in EVs but not educated. both folks i've talked to that had rented a Bolt said it was thrust on them at rental time so they weren't clued in on how to charge at all. they were quite frustrated with the entire charging process - finding a charger, slowness of charging (one was between 80-90% when i was talking to her), and (shocker) the reliability of the chargers.

we have a long way to go but each interaction is a chance to help.

I'll go back to an addage I use to compare a Tesla and the Mach-E. The Tesla is tech first, car second. The Mach-E is a car first, and tech second.

In my real world experiences, having just moved from 30 months with a Tesla to the MME, the Tesla drivers I've chatted with almost always understood charging curves and every facet of their vehicle. In my brief real world experiences with CCS drivers, I'm finding the opposite.

Neither group is being educated on charging by their respective auto manufacturer; rather, their knowledge on charging is directly tied to how tech savvy they are. Tesla drivers, by nature, chose the car that is tech first, car second. So it's reasonable to assume that's why they understand charging a bit more.

For now, at least.

 

[kodiakng]

definitely agree.

In my real world experiences, having just moved from 30 months with a Tesla to the MME, the Tesla drivers I've chatted with almost always understood charging curves and every facet of their vehicle. In my brief real world experiences with CCS drivers, I'm finding the opposite.

i think tesla garnered a huge portion of the tech savvy early adopter market along (including the subset of rabid fans) and ford/gm/volvo/etc are in the battle for the next, and harder to convince, set of consumers.

as you're noting, the next phase will require a much higher level of education effort to make it work.

 

[thekat03]

I'll go back to an addage I use to compare a Tesla and the Mach-E. The Tesla is tech first, car second. The Mach-E is a car first, and tech second.

In my real world experiences, having just moved from 30 months with a Tesla to the MME, the Tesla drivers I've chatted with almost always understood charging curves and every facet of their vehicle. In my brief real world experiences with CCS drivers, I'm finding the opposite.

Neither group is being educated on charging by their respective auto manufacturer; rather, their knowledge on charging is directly tied to how tech savvy they are. Tesla drivers, by nature, chose the car that is tech first, car second. So it's reasonable to assume that's why they understand charging a bit more.

For now, at least.

My husband and I are rather techie, and chose car first, tech second. I did so because I would rather leave the car bits to people who know how to make and repair cars. I am not a car person, but can figure out how to find chargers and plan a route, factoring in charging speed, reductions in efficiency due to cargo load, etc. My dealership is over an hour away, but that's still probably a third as far as the nearest Tesla service center.

 

[lwilliams0514]

Had a long road trip this past weekend, and with it several DCFC stops. It was a nice day, so people were outside their cars chatting. Being I had to wait for slot to open up, I walked over and joined in.

First was a really nice woman who just got a new Chevy Bolt. Seeing that she was at 88%, I casually said "oh good, looks like you're almost done". She said "Yep, another 12% but I can't figure out why it's going so slow when I'm on a 350 charger". She had no idea her car had a maximum charge speed because, as her salesman told her, she can use any speed charger.

This is when the driver of a Mach-E walked over and said "hope you don't mind, but I heard you talking about slow charge speeds on the 350 charger. I'm getting the same thing - it started off great but now I'm down to around 30 kw."

He was at 84% SOC.

I then spent a few minutes explaining how each car has a specific max charging speed and that it wouldn't matter if they plugged into a 150kw or 350kw charger. Then explained the whole charging curve, and how to best manage it when on a road trip - as in stopping the charge when you have enough to get to your next destination. Especially when there are other cars waiting.

I was telling the driver of the Mach-E, who was probably somewhere in his 70's, that the best way to minimize charge times is to look at the estimated battery percentage on arrival at your next stop, and then unplug when you feel it's a safe buffer to continue. I told him that for me, I base it on how many options to charge there are on the route ahead & make sure I have enough charge to go to the second charger down route in the event there are issues with the first one. This is when I hopped in his car and showed both he and his wife how to add chargers, see percentages, and plan their route home.

Here's the kicker - his car was a demo car from the Ford dealership he owns. They were both super appreciative of my help, and jokingly asked if I could follow them home.

The point of this post is this - if you pull in to charge and get aggravated by someone sitting at 90% and still charging while people are waiting - it could simply be they believe they have to charge to 100%. Dealerships are not educating the consumer at all, and for that matter neither are manufacturers. It certainly wouldn't be hard to display info in the car as people are charging explaining things like max charge speed and the charging curve. Offering tips on screen on charging.

In this case, the woman in the new Chevy Bolt lived less than a mile away - yet she was charging to 100% with 3 cars waiting. When I told her that the max charge speed of her car was 50kw and a half mile away was a ChargePoint 62.5kw charger that she would probably never have a wait for and would still get the same charge speed, she was ecstatic. Said she always came to this one and waited.

All of the people I chatted with were extremely nice and personable people - they just had no idea on how EV charging worked.

Adding chargers to the infrastructure is great, but education of the public on EV charging is just as important.

YESSSSSSSS! This right here! And not just for MME owners. Soooooo many people trying to charge to 100%. Get to 80 and get off the charger lol. If people did that, the charging would go SO MUCH SMOOTHER for all involved. And also, have the damn app ready before you go. Many times people are fiddling with the app for 10 min before they even charge!

Ok ok ok..... climbing down off my soapbox.... I got triggered by this post lol

 

[Blue highway]

It would be helpful to have a list of "pro tips" for charging at DCFC stations... along the lines of "Please don't charge above 80% here"... but that is never going to happen. I expect this stuff to be learned through osmosis over the next decade or longer.

I will take a long time because DCFC will the the exception, not the rule. The less often things are done, the longer the learning curve.

 

[generaltso]

In this case, the woman in the new Chevy Bolt lived less than a mile away - yet she was charging to 100% with 3 cars waiting. When I told her that the max charge speed of her car was 50kw and a half mile away was a ChargePoint 62.5kw charger that she would probably never have a wait for and would still get the same charge speed, she was ecstatic. Said she always came to this one and waited.

Did you also tell her about home charging?

 

[superdave80]

If you are near chargers that have this issue of people constantly charging to 100%, perhaps some signs above the charger screen explaining the 80% charging rule would help things along?

 

[Glen Boise]

Some advice I give people considering going to BEV's is do your homework. The tech is different so you will need to learn new habits. Like you no longer fill up your battery unless you really need it for your trip. It is not good for the battery. Also, electrons do not flow as easily a gasoline. Especially when it is cold out. The time to charge from 20% to 50% is less than charging from 80% to 100%. So do not bother topping off the battery. Also, you can charge at home if you equip your garage with the proper circuits. It may take 6 or 8 hours, but if you are parked for the night then it does not matter.
One thing I have noticed is there is the new "Out of Spec guide" channel trying to teach new and future BEV owners about the basics.

 

[eleven24]

Did you also tell her about home charging?

I did. She said her salesman told her all she needs to do is plug into a regular outlet every night and when she gets up in the morning she'll have a full charge.

A regular 20A outlet.

That was another topic of discussion that left her wanting to go back to the dealership and tell the salesman (her words) he had no idea what he was talking about.

Sponsored