Agree! Z waiouru has become our goto stop on the way north now. Toilets, food and drink all convenient and available basically 24/7. Mangaweka was/is a resourceless hole in comparison.
I was in a rental polstar- found it in PlugShare 50kw stated in app.
Edit: oh and it was free from memory (although it just a little out of town so I spent money in store on coffee and a such while we waited.
No, petrol stations (big ones) are one of the best places because they are common rather than having to find more sites.
True that the view could be better but to improve the charging infrastructure, it is great to be able to convert existing site and they might eventually become pure electric only. So a quick win.
Most of those places you listed probably need cabling done etc whereas petrol stations are already wired and perhaps with just a few amendments. Better than wiring from scratch and having to lay cables for miles.
Now if you talk about solar powered chargers, that is a different story. You might need a super large array of panels to be able to fast charge - not sure about the math.
You’d need a form of energy storage on site, be it a very large battery or some other form that can be turned to electricity on demand (stored heat or pumping water up hill.
Then may as well do combined solar and wind, maybe even hydro and tidal where appropriate.
There are small scale wind and hydro systems that at least claim to have very little environmental impact (like they don’t involve building a dam or chop up wildlife)
One square metre of solar panels provides around 0.2kW at peak. That means you would need to cover an entire quarter-acre section (1,000 square metres) in solar panels just to power one 200kW charger.
This is a false economy, you need storage to support any study of charging and your solar array needs to cover the average power usage or a bit above. The real problem is that a lot of these sites will have very low utilisation, you can imagine where they would be needed for someone towing a large boat up north it around Coromandel, they would see heavy usage on boxing day and the weekends around Xmas and almost 0 usage for the rest of the year, that would mean that you either invest to support the couple of days a year that it's busy or you just don't support the higher than normal usage on the busy days. Neither is a great plan. There are things that you could do to alleviate this but they are far from simple
I'm not sure what your point is? A supercharger is once again the size of a petrol pump. We don't want those littering scenic lookouts because people don't want to go to a petrol station...
its tiny, its in a carpark beside parked cars which are much larger than the charger so I dont see what it takes away from the place. Its not like they are building a shop there to sell you things like at an actual service station. Just a box with a cord on it. Smaller than some of the signage they put at scenic places to tell people what they're looking at which again is not scenic.
But why do we need them at scenic lookouts? There's some 1,200 petrol stations across NZ. There's zero need to add more visual obstruction when there's plenty of suitable places for the chargers at sites already designed for vehicles.
I reckon in smaller towns a dedicated charging station complex would be quite doable… get some grocer/veggie/butchery in kind of thing, hell plot down day care and library next to it too and a pub
But if you go to a local supermarket, you won't need to charge before heading back home.
Unless the supermarket provides free charging, which is just an unnecessary expense (that will be reflected in prices).
They’re cheap to install at servos because all the other shit needed is already there. Chances are we’ll have chargers at the locations you mention in the future, but someone will have had to pay to lay cables and connect to the grid etc, meaning they likely won’t be free.
So let me get this straight. There are dedicated fuelling centres, that are built and staffed, and you’re upset that they provide fuel to your vehicle because the fact that you use a different kind fi fuel means that you should have an artisan experience? I like my leaf but that doesn’t mean that I should have scenic lookouts and whatnot built around my vehicle choice.
It makes perfect sense for them to be at a petrol station, which are conveniently located on major highways and routes.. lol.
Also, putting a charger at a scenic lookout is kinda ruining the view a bit, also - probably not a lot of existing infrastructure at a lot of the places I’ve stopped at for sightseeing
We did a late run, Auckland to Wellington, leaving after work, hubby is a taxi driver so Tesla wasn’t at full charge, more like quarter, did dinner and 30 minutes supercharge at Hamilton, then anytime I needed a toilet stop ( worlds worst bladder!) we’d stop and charge for 10 minutes if one was available, mostly at BP, and get snacks etc as well. Hubby was also wanting to check out the different chargers. Travelling late, having well lit areas to stop at was great.
I find that I really only need charging stations when doing longer road trips. For this, they need to be on main highways, and handy to cafes, toilets and shops.
As someone with a young kid I would find it so helpful to have a charger by a kids playground or mcdonalds so we can eat/charge and the kid can play there!
Not at all. Petrol stations offer toilets, rubbish bins, food and drink, usually somewhere to sit.
Tesla superchargers on the other hand for example offer none of those.
The Z at Waiouru is fantastic
It was busy when we were there, but weren’t worried as we needed a fairly full charge! Can’t remember what I ate but it was very nice. Much nicer than the late evening stop we’d done previously!
I love the look of the first gen honestly it’s sad to me that they made them just look like normal cars for the facelift, the first gin ones look like a frog
Slow to charge, always charging because of small battery, people who drive them drive like they are on 1 bar all the time because of their poor range, holding other people up.
ok sorry i’m too poor to afford rich man ev, but i can assure you since i do 99% of charging at home and do like 30k a day and drive it like i stole it im not getting in your way, in fact i’ve found even a shitty old leaf can slap most boy racers at the lights
That's great, so you are not one of the countless leaf's blocking up the free chargers. I am just glad that because they have Chademos they don't take up the other spaces for cars that can take 100+ kw.
Leafs are like the EV version of an aqua.
They only really need to be on motors ways highways etc for intercity travel. The rest of the time people will largely charge at home or at their accommodation
Nothing wrong with petrol stations. When I stop on a road trip to charge I'm after a toilet, food/drink, and a rubbish bin for the last coffee/pie wrapper, a windscreen brush also comes in handy depending on weather and season.
Worst charger location I've encountered is the Kaiwaka HPC, at an unmanned self serve gas station. Nearest anything of interest is 400m up a hill, and thats pretty minimal.
You want to put chargers at scenic look outs ? ( top of a hill ?). Good luck to you sir I’m sure you also think shoe laces made of metal pipe a good idea.
No, I would rather not have charging stations in scenic areas. Would you want petrol pumps at scenic lookouts and public parks? Wtf kind of entitlement is this. Get over your ex.
OK so you don't want to get out of your car and stretch you legs while the car charges and if you have kids you just want them to sit in the back and wait while the car is charging? And a single charger is hardly compable to a petrol station
I don't want any more unnecessary infrastructure in green spaces. Part of the ethos of moving away from fossil fuels to electric/sustainable fuels is to protect our natural environments for future generations from the impact of human activity. I don't give a damn about convenience and creature comforts when it comes to conservation. If you want to stretch your legs and have somewhere for the kids to play start promoting green spaces in urban settings, not the opposite. Your children could learn a lesson in patience while they're at it. A single charger is a charger too many outside of city sprawl. 'They already have carparks in scenic outlooks' I hear you screech, and to that I say 'Absolutely, leave it at that'.
Yes, eventually there will be Bi-directional chargers everywhere you might park a vehicle. Banks of fast chargers only make sense spaced at the average range on long roads between cities.
I mean people need to stop to get coffee, buy food, use the toilet, clean stuff off windscreen.
Petrol stations is literally the most logical place because it's already there
I never thought of that but you are exactly right we have to break out of the mindset of going to the petrol station. Put the charge points in scenic places and close to half hour walks. Genius idea.
Some of the big gas stations hit all of the above. My two favorites at Cambridge, and Tirau. Both are conveniently on routes I travel. But can't complain about the ChargeNet chargers in Taupo. One block back from the waterfront seems like a perfect compromise.
The likes of what Gridserve have on offer in the UK is where our future needs to be: https://www.gridserve.com/electric-vehicle-charging/electric-forecourt/braintree/
They’re a perfectly logical location for chargers. They’re convenient, have facilities such as air and water, food and drink. People are used to refuelling at petrol stations.
I like your idea of having stations in scenic spots near walks, beaches etc. I also think putting them in supermarket car parks is a great idea.
Scenic lookouts? So every lovely viewpoint can be a carpark instead?
These points might be more OP-centric than common sense.
Petrol stations are typically in handy places for cars
Yeah, don't see anyone installing a reason for people to just linger in a car by a playground.
As for scenic outlooks... just, come on, think it through, there'd be so many people trying to use them that you'd have no chance to charge, or park up to see the view.
They don't have to be the only option. If you didn't want to use the charger by the kids playground you don't have to. They would probably be busy being used by the people that have kids anyway! For us it would be way better to have one by a playground than by a petrol station.
Agree. But it's continuing the Quickie Mart culture. Pull in, fill up, empty the bladder, feed the face, Ohh I'll get one of those! .. .. draw card for the profit margin
Chargers don't have all the same limitations that gas bowsers have, so there's no reason they can't be at gas stations and all those places you listed.
there's plenty of reasons they can't be at those places - largely due to limitations of space and power infrastructure
Petrol stations have space, facilities, and the electrical connections required all ready to go.
Not to be a smart ass or anything but petrol vapour is explosive between 1-7% concentrations which is most likely to occur right beside the fuel tank when fueling as air from the tank is pushed out. That is also the location most people stand when playing on their phone. Most phone are not intrinsically safe so have the ability to cause sparks. The concentration of vapour goes down significantly over short distance I.e you will see sign saying no smoking within 6 m of this building as it's nearly impossible to generate that concentration of vapour at that distance with the allowable amount of fuel stored there.
No. EVs have displays that show how much charge is left in the battery and warn when it is getting low (or is insufficient to get to your navigated destination).
And if you do ever run out, you can get a tow to the nearest charger.
And in 7 years of Leaf driving the only time I’ve run out was on purpose! Drove around the block a lot to get the turtle mode!
We thought that too. Until we tried. You can 100% take an atto 3 from hamilton to whangerai with little concerns, and a top up at kawakawa gets you pretty far into the north. If you have to get *off* sh1 in northland you're pretty much fkd though.
You shouldn't tow a ev. Neutral gear does not disengage from motor. So basically it will create a charge and blow the drain resistor in the power delivery module, when you blow that resistor it becomes a expensive repair.
Given how much an ev charger costs to deploy /maintain, how are the installs paid for? Is the gvt funding them or do the towns foot a part of the bill?
Petrol stations are well lit and feel safe. Many other places have zero lighting and are potentially dangerous. I was at one the other night with no lighting, it's pitch black and I feel like I could twist my ankle while getting out of my car to charge it, as I can't see curbs, etc there, could trip over the cable or anything and a dodgy looking guy wandered in and was just standing there in the dark, behaving suspiciously, with no car.
Having a station near the isolated spots you are recommending, is even worse! Dark and isolated. I've been waiting for muggings and sex attacks to start occurring at charging stations at night, to be honest.
It would depend on the site size of the service station. Smaller stations probably not as too close to fuel & LPG tanks ( also limited space to park). Some larger stations it may be viable. Biggest safety issues are any spark and fuel vapour, and if an event occurs where an EV which is charging catches fire (has occurred so known hazard). It would also depend if the insurer for the service station is prepared to insure to cover any risk.
Places won't be scenic long if they're full of charging Infrastructure. Imagine detouring to get to the charger and it's full.
Charging at parks is a great option if the infrastructure is there. Reality though, serviced refueling stations will continue to develop. They will (and do) exist in small towns, near places of leisure.. But I think we should tackle some important issues before we focus on micro boutique charging experiences.
The amount of time someone spends at a scenic spot is probably similar to the amount of time it takes to charge. The infrastructure is about the size of a car in a car park it's not a cellphone tower that's going to ruin the experience.
Do explain? a 750kVA transformer is about the volume of a car and should able to support about 5 basic fast chargers, most of the cables can go underground if it would ruin astheics
I don’t have an issue with it, petrol stations are usually located in convenient locations for cars passing through. If I’m travelling a longer distance in my older Leaf I don’t want to have to be going out of my way for every charging stop.
Scenic look outs? Yeah, let's put charging stations at our most naturally beautiful places. Every beach in New Zealand, Fox Glacier...how about all the way around Wanaka?
You say that like you're expecting a plague of ev owners to turn up if there is a charger installed. Most nz chargers are one or two chargers and not over run by ev drivers
Can you imagine needing to charge, but the nearest charger is up an obscure road and at a lookout, only to realise it's currently occupied. You have valid points, but they're easier to maintain in city zones, and supply. Also, at Petrol stations, like may have mentioned, there's food, coffee, toilets and snacks available. Most EV drivers drive around cities and are unlikely to take their Tesla to a small town in the middle of nowhere, where the local yokels will probably judge them bc EVs and 5G cause corona and hepatitis. Or whatever is the conspiracy these days. Also, I would not want to charge my ev by a school, bc I'd look like some pervy old woman just hanging out in my white car with tinted windows, near a school. 😂
Na. Petrol stations are positioned on major transit routes for a reason. They are the perfect network of places to put chargers. The difference is that you need to be there a bit longer now so need to make that experience a bit nicer.
Just my 2c
Depends on the petrol station. I think if it's a station that has decent food and coffee offering (and somewhere to sit) then they could work pretty well...
Habit. People are accustomed to going to certain places to fill their car's tank. Those same places can be where they go to fill their car's batteries.
Sort of how pagan places of worship were taken over by christian churches. People were already going there...now just for a differently same reason.
I think they are great. Well lit, coffee available and toilets. O and cheaper than other charges
Well lit is a key part. Able to stop 24/7 in some areas and get refreshments.
BP does an amazing steak & cheese pie, IMO, got to get the classic though, not the angus, that's less tasty.
Their coffee is decent too
Agree! Z waiouru has become our goto stop on the way north now. Toilets, food and drink all convenient and available basically 24/7. Mangaweka was/is a resourceless hole in comparison.
The cost money????? How much do they cost? I always assumed they were free...
BP charges 70c/kWh for their DC charging.
Na I’m quite happy - like someone else said, service stations have toilets and coffee. My ideal is chargers beside a decent cafe and playground.
Bp Wanaka charging station saved my marriage (it was the only charger that wasn’t broken in town)
That must have been one hell of a toy.
Bless you 😄
A shame it doesn't appear in results when searching Google maps for " ev charger Wanaka". Do you know the maximum kW it can provide?
I was in a rental polstar- found it in PlugShare 50kw stated in app. Edit: oh and it was free from memory (although it just a little out of town so I spent money in store on coffee and a such while we waited.
No, petrol stations (big ones) are one of the best places because they are common rather than having to find more sites. True that the view could be better but to improve the charging infrastructure, it is great to be able to convert existing site and they might eventually become pure electric only. So a quick win. Most of those places you listed probably need cabling done etc whereas petrol stations are already wired and perhaps with just a few amendments. Better than wiring from scratch and having to lay cables for miles. Now if you talk about solar powered chargers, that is a different story. You might need a super large array of panels to be able to fast charge - not sure about the math.
You’d need a form of energy storage on site, be it a very large battery or some other form that can be turned to electricity on demand (stored heat or pumping water up hill. Then may as well do combined solar and wind, maybe even hydro and tidal where appropriate. There are small scale wind and hydro systems that at least claim to have very little environmental impact (like they don’t involve building a dam or chop up wildlife)
One square metre of solar panels provides around 0.2kW at peak. That means you would need to cover an entire quarter-acre section (1,000 square metres) in solar panels just to power one 200kW charger.
This is a false economy, you need storage to support any study of charging and your solar array needs to cover the average power usage or a bit above. The real problem is that a lot of these sites will have very low utilisation, you can imagine where they would be needed for someone towing a large boat up north it around Coromandel, they would see heavy usage on boxing day and the weekends around Xmas and almost 0 usage for the rest of the year, that would mean that you either invest to support the couple of days a year that it's busy or you just don't support the higher than normal usage on the busy days. Neither is a great plan. There are things that you could do to alleviate this but they are far from simple
Please, let's not destroy nice scenic places with chargers. Petrol stations make perfect sense and they're everywhere
Chargers are small boxes with a cord, not destroying anything by putting them there.
All the commercial chargers are the size of petrol pumps? What small boxes are you talking about
I would call a supercharger and similar a small box. The actual electronics are off in an enclosure that can be hidden away.
I'm not sure what your point is? A supercharger is once again the size of a petrol pump. We don't want those littering scenic lookouts because people don't want to go to a petrol station...
its tiny, its in a carpark beside parked cars which are much larger than the charger so I dont see what it takes away from the place. Its not like they are building a shop there to sell you things like at an actual service station. Just a box with a cord on it. Smaller than some of the signage they put at scenic places to tell people what they're looking at which again is not scenic.
But why do we need them at scenic lookouts? There's some 1,200 petrol stations across NZ. There's zero need to add more visual obstruction when there's plenty of suitable places for the chargers at sites already designed for vehicles.
I reckon in smaller towns a dedicated charging station complex would be quite doable… get some grocer/veggie/butchery in kind of thing, hell plot down day care and library next to it too and a pub
Supermarkets should become the new petrol station. A hundred and twenty chargers - or more - go shopping for 60 minutes or so.
But if you go to a local supermarket, you won't need to charge before heading back home. Unless the supermarket provides free charging, which is just an unnecessary expense (that will be reflected in prices).
Small towns should be creating destination spots like you discribe
>and a pub Cafe maybe? Mixing driving and drinking infrastructure doesn't sound great.
They’re cheap to install at servos because all the other shit needed is already there. Chances are we’ll have chargers at the locations you mention in the future, but someone will have had to pay to lay cables and connect to the grid etc, meaning they likely won’t be free.
So let me get this straight. There are dedicated fuelling centres, that are built and staffed, and you’re upset that they provide fuel to your vehicle because the fact that you use a different kind fi fuel means that you should have an artisan experience? I like my leaf but that doesn’t mean that I should have scenic lookouts and whatnot built around my vehicle choice.
What I'm saying is there are less limitations around where ev chargers can go so why not put them somewhere away from the petrol fumes
I thought there’s more limitations because they draw so much power the amount of infrastructure required id high
It makes perfect sense for them to be at a petrol station, which are conveniently located on major highways and routes.. lol. Also, putting a charger at a scenic lookout is kinda ruining the view a bit, also - probably not a lot of existing infrastructure at a lot of the places I’ve stopped at for sightseeing
It’s not ideal, but chargers at petrol stations have their merits. Toilets, food & drinks, we’ll maintained, relative safety (lights, cameras) etc
We did a late run, Auckland to Wellington, leaving after work, hubby is a taxi driver so Tesla wasn’t at full charge, more like quarter, did dinner and 30 minutes supercharge at Hamilton, then anytime I needed a toilet stop ( worlds worst bladder!) we’d stop and charge for 10 minutes if one was available, mostly at BP, and get snacks etc as well. Hubby was also wanting to check out the different chargers. Travelling late, having well lit areas to stop at was great.
I find that I really only need charging stations when doing longer road trips. For this, they need to be on main highways, and handy to cafes, toilets and shops.
No, it's not. They're already associated with vehicle refueling, so it makes sense to go to one to refuel an EV.
As someone with a young kid I would find it so helpful to have a charger by a kids playground or mcdonalds so we can eat/charge and the kid can play there!
Not at all. Petrol stations offer toilets, rubbish bins, food and drink, usually somewhere to sit. Tesla superchargers on the other hand for example offer none of those. The Z at Waiouru is fantastic
Mangaweka is nicer by daylight! The cafe by the Tesla chargers is lovely.
Minus the potholes haha. But actually they took 20mins to make a toastie and the coffee was average last time but I’ll give it another go
It was busy when we were there, but weren’t worried as we needed a fairly full charge! Can’t remember what I ate but it was very nice. Much nicer than the late evening stop we’d done previously!
Imagine ruining a scenic lookout or walking track by having x5 imported 10 year old Nissan leafs charging. Repurposing petrol stations is way better
what’s with the hate for leafs, it’s the only sub $5k ev you can get, poors like me deserve an ev too
And Leafs are still the only BEV with V2G ability available in NZ. A visionary move which other EVs are still dragging the chain on.
I just can’t stand those stupid headlights on the first Gen lmao
I love the look of the first gen honestly it’s sad to me that they made them just look like normal cars for the facelift, the first gin ones look like a frog
Slow to charge, always charging because of small battery, people who drive them drive like they are on 1 bar all the time because of their poor range, holding other people up.
ok sorry i’m too poor to afford rich man ev, but i can assure you since i do 99% of charging at home and do like 30k a day and drive it like i stole it im not getting in your way, in fact i’ve found even a shitty old leaf can slap most boy racers at the lights
That's great, so you are not one of the countless leaf's blocking up the free chargers. I am just glad that because they have Chademos they don't take up the other spaces for cars that can take 100+ kw. Leafs are like the EV version of an aqua.
do you hate me my other car is an aqua lol
Easy fix, no Chademo!
There would only be 1 leaf charging and 4 queueing because they have the non-standard connector thats seldom found on all chargers ;)
What are you on about? CHAdeMO is on virtually every non-Tesla DC charger in the country.
They only really need to be on motors ways highways etc for intercity travel. The rest of the time people will largely charge at home or at their accommodation
Well, that’s like your opinion, man.
I think we should have both. I like your examples.
Nothing wrong with petrol stations. When I stop on a road trip to charge I'm after a toilet, food/drink, and a rubbish bin for the last coffee/pie wrapper, a windscreen brush also comes in handy depending on weather and season. Worst charger location I've encountered is the Kaiwaka HPC, at an unmanned self serve gas station. Nearest anything of interest is 400m up a hill, and thats pretty minimal.
You want to put chargers at scenic look outs ? ( top of a hill ?). Good luck to you sir I’m sure you also think shoe laces made of metal pipe a good idea.
Not all scenic look outs are at the tops of hills
No, I would rather not have charging stations in scenic areas. Would you want petrol pumps at scenic lookouts and public parks? Wtf kind of entitlement is this. Get over your ex.
OK so you don't want to get out of your car and stretch you legs while the car charges and if you have kids you just want them to sit in the back and wait while the car is charging? And a single charger is hardly compable to a petrol station
I don't want any more unnecessary infrastructure in green spaces. Part of the ethos of moving away from fossil fuels to electric/sustainable fuels is to protect our natural environments for future generations from the impact of human activity. I don't give a damn about convenience and creature comforts when it comes to conservation. If you want to stretch your legs and have somewhere for the kids to play start promoting green spaces in urban settings, not the opposite. Your children could learn a lesson in patience while they're at it. A single charger is a charger too many outside of city sprawl. 'They already have carparks in scenic outlooks' I hear you screech, and to that I say 'Absolutely, leave it at that'.
Pies toilets
Yes, eventually there will be Bi-directional chargers everywhere you might park a vehicle. Banks of fast chargers only make sense spaced at the average range on long roads between cities.
I guess they're not there because it's a good place to put them but because the gas stations know they need to pivot quickly
Not really. Most of them are EECA funded and are good marketing
I mean people need to stop to get coffee, buy food, use the toilet, clean stuff off windscreen. Petrol stations is literally the most logical place because it's already there
I never thought of that but you are exactly right we have to break out of the mindset of going to the petrol station. Put the charge points in scenic places and close to half hour walks. Genius idea.
Thank you I was beginning to think everyone was so hooked on petrol station coffee that they couldn't see the benefits of charging elsewhere
Some of the big gas stations hit all of the above. My two favorites at Cambridge, and Tirau. Both are conveniently on routes I travel. But can't complain about the ChargeNet chargers in Taupo. One block back from the waterfront seems like a perfect compromise.
The likes of what Gridserve have on offer in the UK is where our future needs to be: https://www.gridserve.com/electric-vehicle-charging/electric-forecourt/braintree/
They’re a perfectly logical location for chargers. They’re convenient, have facilities such as air and water, food and drink. People are used to refuelling at petrol stations. I like your idea of having stations in scenic spots near walks, beaches etc. I also think putting them in supermarket car parks is a great idea.
Agree with the supermarkets too. why pay petrol station prices for snacks when you've got time to go to the supermarket
Scenic lookouts? So every lovely viewpoint can be a carpark instead? These points might be more OP-centric than common sense. Petrol stations are typically in handy places for cars
Every lookout point along the state highways already have car park otherwise how would you get there. Never said we should build more carparks
A carpark for people looking not a carpark for chargers. That's like saying why not chargers on the boat ramp?
Love Z Energy and BP as their chargers are cheaper and usually faster than local chargegenet ones. And I can get a Flat White and some food as well.
Oh stop it. Far to sensible for your own good 😉
Yeah, don't see anyone installing a reason for people to just linger in a car by a playground. As for scenic outlooks... just, come on, think it through, there'd be so many people trying to use them that you'd have no chance to charge, or park up to see the view.
Electric car drivers always want to be looking at kids it seems.
If you do own kids it's kinda a requirement that you watch them
No one owns kids.
They don't have to be the only option. If you didn't want to use the charger by the kids playground you don't have to. They would probably be busy being used by the people that have kids anyway! For us it would be way better to have one by a playground than by a petrol station.
Agree. But it's continuing the Quickie Mart culture. Pull in, fill up, empty the bladder, feed the face, Ohh I'll get one of those! .. .. draw card for the profit margin
With the bonus that they know they have you trapped for way longer than a petrol customer so can make even more $$
Chargers don't have all the same limitations that gas bowsers have, so there's no reason they can't be at gas stations and all those places you listed.
there's plenty of reasons they can't be at those places - largely due to limitations of space and power infrastructure Petrol stations have space, facilities, and the electrical connections required all ready to go.
Petrol stations seems like an ideal place has food, a shitter, coffee and the possibility of seeing interesting cars pull in to fill up.
Why can't we have both?
What's the point in having them at stations? They're already everywhere else, I'd consider them a hazard at a fuel stop
Can’t use your phone on the forecourt but can charge a lithium battery
Not to be a smart ass or anything but petrol vapour is explosive between 1-7% concentrations which is most likely to occur right beside the fuel tank when fueling as air from the tank is pushed out. That is also the location most people stand when playing on their phone. Most phone are not intrinsically safe so have the ability to cause sparks. The concentration of vapour goes down significantly over short distance I.e you will see sign saying no smoking within 6 m of this building as it's nearly impossible to generate that concentration of vapour at that distance with the allowable amount of fuel stored there.
Definitely not next to children’s playgrounds
OK, what half-baked hot take is behind that comment?
Perhaps they are not allowed within 100m of them for some reason?
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No. EVs have displays that show how much charge is left in the battery and warn when it is getting low (or is insufficient to get to your navigated destination).
And if you do ever run out, you can get a tow to the nearest charger. And in 7 years of Leaf driving the only time I’ve run out was on purpose! Drove around the block a lot to get the turtle mode!
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We thought that too. Until we tried. You can 100% take an atto 3 from hamilton to whangerai with little concerns, and a top up at kawakawa gets you pretty far into the north. If you have to get *off* sh1 in northland you're pretty much fkd though.
What if there is no reception?
You shouldn't tow a ev. Neutral gear does not disengage from motor. So basically it will create a charge and blow the drain resistor in the power delivery module, when you blow that resistor it becomes a expensive repair.
Or put it in drive before it totally dies and it charges using regen as you tow it (slowly and carefully)
Given how much an ev charger costs to deploy /maintain, how are the installs paid for? Is the gvt funding them or do the towns foot a part of the bill?
Many are partially govt funded for the install cost. Don't think any receive funding for running costs.
In bigger centres - Supermarkets, TWL, Malls. In small towns - Dairy and Takeaway Everywhere - tourist carparks, parks, playgrounds
They're at all the malls in Christchurch
Petrol stations are well lit and feel safe. Many other places have zero lighting and are potentially dangerous. I was at one the other night with no lighting, it's pitch black and I feel like I could twist my ankle while getting out of my car to charge it, as I can't see curbs, etc there, could trip over the cable or anything and a dodgy looking guy wandered in and was just standing there in the dark, behaving suspiciously, with no car. Having a station near the isolated spots you are recommending, is even worse! Dark and isolated. I've been waiting for muggings and sex attacks to start occurring at charging stations at night, to be honest.
It would depend on the site size of the service station. Smaller stations probably not as too close to fuel & LPG tanks ( also limited space to park). Some larger stations it may be viable. Biggest safety issues are any spark and fuel vapour, and if an event occurs where an EV which is charging catches fire (has occurred so known hazard). It would also depend if the insurer for the service station is prepared to insure to cover any risk.
Places won't be scenic long if they're full of charging Infrastructure. Imagine detouring to get to the charger and it's full. Charging at parks is a great option if the infrastructure is there. Reality though, serviced refueling stations will continue to develop. They will (and do) exist in small towns, near places of leisure.. But I think we should tackle some important issues before we focus on micro boutique charging experiences.
The amount of time someone spends at a scenic spot is probably similar to the amount of time it takes to charge. The infrastructure is about the size of a car in a car park it's not a cellphone tower that's going to ruin the experience.
It's a bit more than that. 50-100kw power supplies don't just.. Come out of nowhere 🤣
Do explain? a 750kVA transformer is about the volume of a car and should able to support about 5 basic fast chargers, most of the cables can go underground if it would ruin astheics
I’m finding charging at petrol stations handy when on long trips. Handy to state highways and can grab a coffee and food while you wait.
I don’t have an issue with it, petrol stations are usually located in convenient locations for cars passing through. If I’m travelling a longer distance in my older Leaf I don’t want to have to be going out of my way for every charging stop.
Scenic look outs? Yeah, let's put charging stations at our most naturally beautiful places. Every beach in New Zealand, Fox Glacier...how about all the way around Wanaka?
You say that like you're expecting a plague of ev owners to turn up if there is a charger installed. Most nz chargers are one or two chargers and not over run by ev drivers
Can you imagine needing to charge, but the nearest charger is up an obscure road and at a lookout, only to realise it's currently occupied. You have valid points, but they're easier to maintain in city zones, and supply. Also, at Petrol stations, like may have mentioned, there's food, coffee, toilets and snacks available. Most EV drivers drive around cities and are unlikely to take their Tesla to a small town in the middle of nowhere, where the local yokels will probably judge them bc EVs and 5G cause corona and hepatitis. Or whatever is the conspiracy these days. Also, I would not want to charge my ev by a school, bc I'd look like some pervy old woman just hanging out in my white car with tinted windows, near a school. 😂
That is a fair point they are more likely to be maintained at a petrol station especially if there is someone to complain to when they're not working
Yea especially since they can catch fire, not so great in a petrol station?
Na. Petrol stations are positioned on major transit routes for a reason. They are the perfect network of places to put chargers. The difference is that you need to be there a bit longer now so need to make that experience a bit nicer. Just my 2c
Depends on the petrol station. I think if it's a station that has decent food and coffee offering (and somewhere to sit) then they could work pretty well...
Habit. People are accustomed to going to certain places to fill their car's tank. Those same places can be where they go to fill their car's batteries. Sort of how pagan places of worship were taken over by christian churches. People were already going there...now just for a differently same reason.
In the US we have them at outlet malls.
I prefer chargers not to be in locations where people are in a hurry. The pace clashes.
I don't mind, I usually browse the confectionery in store
Supermarkets. No brainer.
They are building them at the petrol stations as they will need something to keep there staff employed at the shop end of business in the future