Charging at an airport.

I have trip coming up and got to thinking what is the charging protocol when parked at an airport (being an owner for 1 month)? At Vancouver (YVR) long term parking there are 10 Charge Point stalls at the long term parking. I'm going to be away for 4 days. When I arrive at the airport I will be at approximately 40% charge. When I get back I'll need approximately 60% to get home. I'm assuming that the majority of people there pull in, plug in, and go away leaving their EV to sit at 100% for the duration of the trip. I see two issues with this, first, waist of a charging space that is only used for a small percent of the time occupied, however there's not much one can do about that unless there was a cost effective valet service. And two, the car sits at 100% charge for the duration of their trip, not a big issue for for my trip, 4 days in cool weather but not ideal.

In these setups does Charge Point allow you to set a timer, either on the EVSE or in the car? I'm making an assumption that if I set the timer on the car to be done around the time my plane lands that the EVSE will time out or something like that before it even starts.

Anyone have experience with this?

I don't know about your area in Canada, but ChargePoint in my area has rates which depend upon their contract wth host. The ones I have used range from free for a certain period of time (4 hours while shopping at the outlet mall host) to relatively high charges per hour while charging with a lower rate per hour while connected (parked) without actively charging at other retail locations. I would never keep a charging station tied up while traveling even if there was no cost.

Since you have an SV with 6 kW onboard charger, I suggest you plug in when you return and have a nice meal while your car gets enough charge for your trip home. An alternative would be to arrive early and plug in. Then check in for your flight, have a nice meal, and move your car to an appropriate parking place before boarding. The 6 kW charger should only take an hour or two to add enough charge for your return trip. I have used charging stations in the short-term parking area at the terminal when dropping off/picking up someone if I needed additional range.

In the Houston Intercontinental airport, affordable parking lots are several miles from the terminal. Most, but not all, have charge stations. The ones I've used are free and usually have several level II AC charge controllers. It is expected that you leave the EV hooked up during your trip. I guess when EVs become more popular here, that could change, but for now there have always been more stations than utilized (usually 1 or at most 2 other vehicles - with 6 charge stations). Looking forward to my next EV - that has the range available to not worry about such things!

Bottom line for me is to always call the exact lot and check on availability and functionality (are they working?).

I would investigate off site parking that has valet service. You simply tell then when you are returning and how much of a charge you want and they take care of it for you. Up until last month, Seatac had no QC facilities and only 120 volt unattended options. I am with you on the opposition to the charge it up and let it sit a few days ideology.

But with the QC lot being at the cellphone lot, it makes it a very convenient 15 min stop to gain the charge you need.

I cannot imagine that chargepoint allows a car to be taking in a charging space will a driver goes off on a vacation. That is so inconsiderate.

1) Plug it in to 70 % before you leave, and then park it.

2) Park it, When you get back, charge it . go home.

easy

powersurge said:

I cannot imagine that chargepoint allows a car to be taking in a charging space will a driver goes off on a vacation. That is so inconsiderate.

1) Plug it in to 70 % before you leave, and then park it.

2) Park it, When you get back, charge it . go home.

easy

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Chargepoint has any say? The ones around here (most of them anyway I think) are completely controlled by the host. I guess we need to know more details about this situation since it sounds like they obviously do.

DaveinOlyWA said:

I would investigate off site parking that has valet service. You simply tell then when you are returning and how much of a charge you want and they take care of it for you. Up until last month, Seatac had no QC facilities and only 120 volt unattended options. I am with you on the opposition to the charge it up and let it sit a few days ideology.

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We have this at DFW airport: if you valet, they will charge your car the day you return. The only downside is the price of valet is higher, but if you traveling on business...

It's silly to provide level 2 charging in any long term (multi-day) parking. Level 1 (even 120V outlets) would serve the need much better.

jlv said:

It's silly to provide level 2 charging in any long term (multi-day) parking. Level 1 (even 120V outlets) would serve the need much better.

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I guess that depends. Valet parking claims to charge the cars while you are away. That implies that they need to rotate cars in and get them charged in anticipation of return. A bank of Level 1 chargers might be cheaper, but would require far more of them to get the cars charged in time.

martyscholes said:

jlv said:

It's silly to provide level 2 charging in any long term (multi-day) parking. Level 1 (even 120V outlets) would serve the need much better.

Click to expand...

I guess that depends. Valet parking claims to charge the cars while you are away. That implies that they need to rotate cars in and get them charged in anticipation of return. A bank of Level 1 chargers might be cheaper, but would require far more of them to get the cars charged in time.

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A bank of 50 NEMA 5-20 outlets is tiny a fraction of the cost of installing 4 EVSEs. So yet, you could get far more of them.

jlv said:

A bank of 50 NEMA 5-20 outlets is tiny a fraction of the cost of installing 4 EVSEs. So yet, you could get far more of them.

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.
Am I mistaken in thinking that this would be a 1,000 Amp service connection ?

I agree btw with your larger point that L1 has a smart place to play in EV charging infrastructure at places like airports; and perhaps workplaces.

SageBrush said:

jlv said:

A bank of 50 NEMA 5-20 outlets is tiny a fraction of the cost of installing 4 EVSEs. So yet, you could get far more of them.

Click to expand...

.
Am I mistaken in thinking that this would be a 1,000 Amp service connection ?

I agree btw with your larger point that L1 has a smart place to play in EV charging infrastructure at places like airports; and perhaps workplaces.

Click to expand...

A 400A commercial service connection at 208Y/120 volts 3-phase would work with some extra capacity for lighting.

GerryAZ said:

SageBrush said:

jlv said:

A bank of 50 NEMA 5-20 outlets is tiny a fraction of the cost of installing 4 EVSEs. So yet, you could get far more of them.

Click to expand...

.
Am I mistaken in thinking that this would be a 1,000 Amp service connection ?

I agree btw with your larger point that L1 has a smart place to play in EV charging infrastructure at places like airports; and perhaps workplaces.

Click to expand...

A 400A commercial service connection at 208Y/120 volts 3-phase would work with some extra capacity for lighting.

Click to expand...

.
Well then, I still have not grasped basic power calcs. Why is your solution not 400*208 watts ?

The long term lot I use has 10-15 spaces that have 5-20s that turn on at night plus a similar number of Tesla wall connectors. You simply park there and don't worry about the length of time. They also have a small number of L2s in their valet lot. The OP needs to check with the lot that they are using, as the site owner will set the rules, not Chargepoint. If they have plenty of capacity, then parking long term isn't a problem.

Tying up a charger for duration seems wasteful . I know DFW has high capacity chargers L3 in every direction outside the airport. Spend $6, charge up for 30 mins and you are good to go.