DC Fast Charging At A Mall Can Be Convenient, But Use It Wisely

[@marvinranaldson3457]

Destination Chargers are So underrated. Level 2 chargers are more than enough

[@RunnerWil]

I was just there, that was so busy but the chargers actually worked unlike the ones here in NY I use. I got full speed. If anyone is looking for these it's parking garage C

[@teardowndan5364]

Being "courteous to other people" shouldn't be a factor for fast-charging. Fast-chargers should have 12+ dispensers all capable of at least 150kW per MW of available site power and simply route power between them as needed so nobody needs to freak out when a few cars break 80+% SoC, just use one of the other 20 dispensers and enjoy your 50-350kW fast-charging depending on how much power everyone else is pulling out of what is available.

[@dianewallace6064]

Thanks for the shout out, Max. Driving 300 miles on New Years Day. I'll comment on it. So far we charged well 100kv speed at an EA in Hillsborough North Carolina.

[@jm9371]

Idling needs to have some kind of a charge for sure. No excuse for hogging DC chargers. Sometimes I rely on one of these being vacant within a reasonable time, only to have some clown stay plugged in for an hour after the charge is complete.

[@gregpochet4812]

Agreed. DCFC is not a great option for malls. I don't need to charge in under 30 mins when I am shopping. And that location(I live in this area) in the garage is bad. That part of the garage is very busy as it is near the main entrance.

[@dmob10]

The two malls near me both have level 2 charging. It’s roughly 8 in total and 2 near each anchor store or entertainment venue. Going with Chargepoint or Volta for shopping centers make sense. Even the Targets have Chargepoint with the Tesla superchargers. I regularly will top off as I do a quick target run with Chargepoint. There is one mall further away that has EA chargers but it’s only 4 which are always full during the day. Which I think will keep mass adoption of EVs lower until the switch to NACS.

[@PeaceChanel]

Thank You for All that you are doing for our Planet Earth.... Peace.. Shalom.. Salam.. Namaste 🙏🏻 😊 🌈 ✌ ☮ ❤

[@JackRussell021]

I used to live walking distance from that location, but I have never charged there - we moved out just before I got my first EV. I generally dislike malls for charging because people tend to just use the chargers for general parking when the mall is busy.

[@kenyattaclay7666]

As a resident of NOVA the people in that part of NOVA aren’t necessarily worried about how much they are being charged. However I do agree with everything you just said because for the average person the cost would be insane. I would also add that especially at that location you aren’t going to get off the expressway to try and find those chargers because driving in that Arlington & Alexandrea area on 395/495/66 is a nightmare & is the worse part of the entire Beltway. They only really need level 2 Al any mall but especially one like Tyson’s Corner.

[@accountability2000]

Not sure if I totally agree that people in Northern Virginia don't carry about rates (I do for example), but I understand your point. Ironically, the higher end mall, Tyson Galleria, next to Tyson Corner, shown in the video, has a lot of level 2 chargers, some that are totally free and require no app.

[@kenyattaclay7666]

@@accountability2000 fair point, maybe don’t care is a bit of an overstatement. However I was just trying to convey that it’s an extremely affluent area where everything is so expensive that paying for parking on top of charging just isn’t that big of a deal in that area because finding free parking is difficult until you get south of Springfield. I know that whenever I go into DC I mostly take the Metro because parking at Franconia Springfield & paying for the Metro is significantly cheaper than parking.

[@GregHassler]

On my Rivian a couple hours of level 2 charging is about worthless. I would only usually be in a mall for 30-40 minutes and DC fast charging is perfect for that use case. Maybe they'd be better off putting in more but lower power DCFCs, but the dwell time at a mall is too short for level 2.

[@ab-tf5fl]

Any time you set up level 2's in a congested parking lot in the middle of a city, the inevitable result is the level 2's getting clogged up by drivers who have home charging and are plugged in solely for the EV parking space adjacent to the charger, not out of any real need for the electricity. The chargers may superficially appear well-used to people walking by, or to a operator looking at usage statistics. But, so long as all or nearly all drivers using the charger live locally and have home charging, the actual public service provided by the chargers is essentially zero. This is especially a problem when the chargers are free (e.g. never, ever depend on Volta chargers for this reason), but even if the charger is paid, plugging in purely for the parking space just means using the charger as a glorified parking meter, and after subtracting the home charging rate from the public charging rate, the effective parking fee is often less than $1/hour. The only way to ensure that the chargers are being used by people who actually need the electricity is if the per-minute cost of using them is high enough to deter people who don't need the electricity. And the only way to charge a high enough amount per minute without ripping people off who really are parked for the electricity is to increase the charging speeds, which means DC fast chargers, not level 2 chargers.

[@chiplangowski3298]

Who cares who is using them? The level-2 chargers are provided to people shopping at the establishment. Just because you don't have a home charger it doesn't mean that anyone/any business needs to provide you one.

[@FameyFamous]

I’ll be happy to pay per minute if I’m still taking the space when I’m fully charged. But while I’m charging, the only fair rate is per kilowatt. (I drive a Bolt. I’m biased.)

[@dianewallace6064]

Rivian app tells you that you are done charging. Thank you for this content. I say return to your car after it charges and repark it if you are shopping at the mall but I do take your point. Happy 2024!!!

[@AlbertMark-nb9zo]

Level 1 charging is 110v at 15 amps. 110x15 =1.65 kW at max. In one hour 1.6kWh. Level 2 charging is around 220V at 30 amps. Or 6.6 kWh in an hour of charge. Level 1 and 2 charging uses the cars inverter to convert to dc for the battery. Each kWh, gives and average range of 3 miles. You spend around and hour or 2 at the mall. Maybe more. A level 3 charger, gives 50kW to 400kW of direct dc to your EV. It requires an expensive inverter at the station. Level 2 charging is less stressful on your battery. At a mall, level 3 charging is kinda overkill.

[@Tazdeviloo7]

I hope level 2 and DC chargers get more appropriately placed for the next round. Anywhere where you usually park for more than 30 min like a mall should be mostly level 2. Conversely, all the supermarkets wth only level 2 dont make sense. It's not even worth plugging in for the few percent gained during a 1/2 hour shop.

[@BillB33525]

There's an EA station @ A Premium Outlet Mall near by where drivers hook up to a charger and go to the stores. Have seen cars idling after 100% charge. A line developed due to cars charging to 100% and idling. EA should activate expensive idling charges.Porsche charges the driver after 30 minutes.

[@sonictech1000]

The mall wants you to stay and shop for a while. Telling customers to leave the mail and re-park would just encourage them to go elsewhere.

[@ElectricBrian]

Malls should have free level 2 charging, and have like 50 charging spots. Free to charge but with idle fees, or fees over 4 hours is fine with me.

[@dandydoc8386]

If poor cellular service in parking garage, app notification of full charge may not work. There should be high idle fees with short grace period for all, including those of us with free charging.

[@iMaxPatten]

Still does for me, the chargers may be hardwired into internet?

[@burfoerste]

I think low power 25-50 kW DC chargers make most sense in locations like malls, grocery stores with charging times 1-2 hours. I usually don’t bother myself to charge at level 2 chargers. They are only reasonable in home/work locations.

[@glenngore6609]

Those EA “DC Fast Chargers” are not de-rated at all. 50 kw is the normal rate of CCS-related fast-charging in the US from Electrify America. And from other providers such as EVGo and ChargePoint. It makes absolutely no difference what it says on the charging unit, “Ultra” or “Hyper” mean nothing, all one can reliably expect to get is 50 kw. I don’t think I have ever been to an EA site that offered anything above 50 kw. Tesla is the only provider who reliably offers high charging rates in the US.

[@GregHassler]

I don't know what car you're in but EA and EVgo definitely have chargers capable of putting out 200+ kW. That's why he's saying it's de-rated, if there is a problem with the unit / cooling system, they will self limit to 50kW. It's more common than it should be, for sure.

[@glenngore6609]

I have an Ioniq 5. I was at the Electrify America station in Weatherford, OK the other day. It is my local DCFC site, so I use it when I need a fast charge to make a longer journey. There are 6 units: 2 Hyper, 2 Ultra, and 2 regulars. One of the Hypers and the 2 basics were out of order, as they have been for months now, despite my having seen a technician there on multiple occasions. I visited with the guy once a while back and he told me they just cannot keep the ABB units running with any sort of reliability. The remaining Hyper said it was limited, but I tried it anyway and only got 50 kw. I tried the Ultras but they were only putting out 50 kw as well. I have had the same experience with other EA locations in the region. The one place that has worked at advertised capability was the EA site in Denton, TX. Side note: We do not have EVGo sites in Oklahoma@@GregHassler

[@TuomasLeone]

I haven't found this to be the case at all. I've reaptedly and at various EA, EVGo, and ChargePoint chargers up and down the east coast all at speeds well in excess of the 50kW that you're claiming. CCS has nothing to do with the charging speed in this case. Perhaps you should contact your local service department for your vehicle if you're experiencing these types of problems.

[@glenngore6609]

There are some EA sites where all dispensers are working, but there are a lot where there are real problems, with all but one down and that one remaining only puts out 50 kw. The same can be said of any provider. None of them are perfect.@@TuomasLeone