Valdemar said:
drees said:
Definitely. Tesla made the right call by installing more plugs per location as it improves efficiency of the stations as a whole while minimizing risk of a user being stranded or finding all stations busy.
He-he...
Yeah, they obviously need more stations there. It's the busiest in the world, only has 6 stalls pushing 58 MWh/month. Just two more stalls would cut your odds of finding them all busy in half. They need about 10 stalls there to nearly eliminate having to wait or to add a couple more SuperCharger locations to the area. Hawthorne isn't the only location that needs more stations, but it's definitely the worst off right now.
http://www.teslamotorsclub.com/showthread.php/23540-Capacity-of-Superchargers-Using-an-Erlang-B-Model?p=635959&viewfull=1#post635959" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
When
San Juan Capistrano opens up (should be done very soon now) that should take a good amount of pressure off Hawthorne. Looks like they have another one in Los Angeles that they will be opening soon, too.
walterbays said:
There is pressure to maintain their reputation to win new customers, but that could be viewed as much a PR issue as a maintenance and construction issue.
I too am skeptical of an "all you can eat" program like this, but Tesla has always viewed the SuperChargers as a marketing expense. Why else would they build a SuperCharger network across the country so early in the game?
Most of those stations are very, very rarely used at this point in the game. It will be years and years before most of those are utilized anywhere near the extent that the ones near populated areas are.
abasile said:
Still, they don't offer anywhere near the reliability and availability of a SuperCharger site, nor should I expect them to. Their main business is selling cars and servicing ICE vehicles; EV charging is more of a sideshow, and with demand charges, a costly one.
If you're going to go through the trouble of installing a QC, IMO you probably should be making best efforts to keep them available. I still think most of the issue comes from people simply not understanding that while a single QC can be useful, it is very difficult to rely on when you demand 99% uptime.
A single station simply can't provide the level of reliability. And it seems that the only company installing public charging stations who understands that is Tesla.
Blink? No - half-assed dual-plug QC is lucky to have one plug that works. At least they usually have 2-3 L2 plugs, but with one typically in a handicap spot that cuts down on availability significantly.
AeroVironment? No - They only installed a single QC + L2 at every location in the north west.
eVgo? No - Like AV, they only install a single QC + L2 at every location.
Nissan? No - Single QC and perhaps a couple L2 stations. Restricted hours. Inconsistent dealer policies.
ChargePoint? Only recently came out with a dual-head charging station. Not really their fault, they rely on hosts to pay for their overpriced equipment.
Nearly everyone has backup charging at home in the form of a L1 EVSE. And I bet a lot of you upgraded that L1 EVSE so that you can charge at L2 rates when needed.
It seems like everyone is simply aiming to provide the bare minimum and not willing to step up and install some infrastructure that can be relied upon. Until that happens, EVs will never go mainstream.
When you go to a gas station, typically there's 4-10 independent pumps. if that fails, there's usually another station across the street or down the block. That's the type of redundancy and availability that charging stations ultimately need.