TDINutz said:
Furthermore camping out overnight in front of a two hour parking limit charging station for two, four, or more hours or overnight charging station when other people need to recharge might be considered inconsiderate. Perhaps you should consider a motorhome for your travel needs and sleeping needs on the road?
Here in New England I'd hazard a guess that EVs are not nearly as popular as they are in California. However there are still a moderate number of charging stations that are often under-subscribed, especially those out in the suburbs. Case in point: there's a supermarket nearby that has 8 GE WattStations for public use. There is no posted time limit, and of the 8 spaces, I've never seen more than 4 of them being parked in at a time, and almost always those that are there are all ICE cars.
I don't see a problem with parking in an EV spot for more than an arbitrary self-imposed time period, as long as (1) there is no such actual limit posted, and (2) there are no other plug-in vehicles that are waiting to charge. In my area of the country that's often true.
Have you never taken a long solo road trip, and found that at 3am you just can't keep your eyes open? Pulling over at a rest-area for a nap in your car is a time-honored tradition, and frankly is the safe thing to do. This can easily be accomplished without a motorhome BTW
I'm sure that if you ask 100 different EV drivers what their driving habits are, you'd get 100 different answers. I don't find it out of the question that someone like CyberPine might want to attempt a longer-distance road trip that might require multiple charging stops. In fact, to me that sounds like a great adventure. I don't think it's a bad thing at all to try to plan such a trip. I've had many longer road trips back in the ICE-powered days where I've had to pull over for a nap; why not do the same thing in an EV, and top up the charge at the same time? As long as you're not blocking access to a charger that another plug-in owner needs, it seems reasonable to me. Even if there is a posted time limit, one could always post a note on the window or at the charge port, saying "If it's after 3:00 and you need the charger, feel free to wake me" ... I'm sure that would be perfectly acceptable charging etiquette.
CyberPine said:
Do all of the above while parked at a charging station? If even possible, would A/C draw from the plug before the battery?
I've tried using the A/C while plugged into a charger. Unfortunately when you're plugged into a charger, the car won't let you turn on the "ignition". It *will* turn on in accessory mode, so you can operate the Infotainment, power windows, climate control fan, etc... however the A/C compressor itself won't appear to run even though the yellow "A/C" indicator is on... oh well
I believe there is a way to use CarNet to turn on climate control while your car is plugged in - but I don't know if that can be done while you're inside the car, and don't know if any of the other accessories (e.g. infotainment) can be used or not.
