Sometimes, technology doesn’t fulfill its promise. But, other times, it isn’t the tech that let’s you down, it’s the people using it. So one electric vehicle charging company company is experimenting with cutting off people who linger, attempting to “fill ‘er up.”
Fast charging can be stressful for a car’s batteries, though. So, to protect batteries from damage, charging speeds slow way down once batteries get beyond 80% full. In fact, it can take as long, or even longer, to go from 80% charged to completely full than to reach 80%. Meanwhile, lines of electric vehicles wait behind almost-full cars.
Electrify America, one of America’s biggest charging companies, is experimenting with a solution to the problem of charger hogs who can make it slow and unpleasant to travel in an EV. At 10 of the busiest EV fast charging stations in California, Electrify America has enacted a strict limit. Once a car’s batteries are 85% charged, charging will automatically stop and the driver will be told to unplug and leave or face additional 40-cent-per-minute “idle time” fees for taking the space.
Charger access has been a sore point among EV owners for years . But it’s becoming a more critical issue because, even though the rate of EV sales growth is tapering off, the number of EVs on the road that need charging is still increasing. Electric cars are still pretty new to most owners, and their “refueling” habits are based on what they’ve been used to from driving gas cars, said Robert Barrosa, president of the EV charging company Electrify America. People go to a gas pump to “fill up,” and many will treat a charger the same way. Many new EV owners may not even be aware that there is always a drastic slow-down in charging speed past 80%.
There can also be other legitimate reasons a driver may want to charge to 100% at a fast charger, said Barrosa. For instance, they may be taking a long trip to someplace where they know there will be few chargers. Or they may be driving an EV with relatively little range, like a Fiat 500e or Mazda MX-30, so they need to cram in all they can. Cases like these are why Electrify America probably won’t institute an overall charging cap at charging stations near major highways, he said.