Charging etiquette - visiting people

[SomeIrishGuy]

I’ve an id.3 on order, my first electric car.

What’s the etiquette for charging when you visit people, (i) if they have a charging point, or (ii) using a three prong standard plug.

Is it rude to ask if you can plug in?

Do you offer money if you do, how much?

Should you leave it plugged in over night if you’re staying for the night?

Basically, is there an emerging ‘standard practice’ for such things?

[Utumno]

Think of those electrons as petrol or diesel in a jerrycan.

Then ask yourself how you would behave.

[ItshardtobuyId3]

I’ve wondered about this a bit but don’t think I’d ask unless it was a last resort unless the person I was visiting had their own electric car. It would perhaps be a bit like visiting someone and asking if you could siphon some fuel out of their car to a non EV owner.

If they had their own EV then I doubt it would seem quite such a strange thing to ask. If I did ask I’d offer money over the cost of the electricity I’d use.

If I was going on holiday and renting somewhere I would definitely use the granny cable though not sure what the etiquette is around that either.

Like you I don’t have mine yet and will be interesting to see what others think.

[DickieBoy]

Think it all depends on the relationship and also how far someone has travelled or how badly they needed a charge.

[SteveJ180]

My mother in law's neighbour has a PODPOINT and as they're good friends of hers, they insist that we use it and won't hear about payment. However I'm conscious that it's costing them a few quid each time, so we've taken to giving them a bottle of wine each time as a thank-you. You could even do the maths on the cost of the charge and buy the bottle of wine accordingly!!

[Deleted User 314]

We do the wine thing too. It resonates with everyone, or chocolates, chocolates always work.. our policy is always to leave something behind vs. offering cash.

[Deleted User 192]

I would never expect to be able to get a charge at my destination, I would plan to use a rapid either en route or on the way home.

But if one was offered and it was suitable, I would definitely offer a meaningful gift or cash.

But, there is no unwritten rule or standard, just good old fashioned politeness.

[DumfriesDik]

Free charge when you visit me. But then, I am the only one getting an BEV in my cohort.

[Warminster id]

I would never expect to be able to get a charge at my destination, I would plan to use a rapid either en route or on the way home.

But if one was offered and it was suitable, I would definitely offer a meaningful gift or cash.

But, there is no unwritten rule or standard, just good old fashioned politeness.

I agree with you Scott.
Plan the journey so you don’t need to worry about it

[shire-dweller]

Is it rude to ask if you can plug in?

Yes it is rude, of course, it is a no-no. It is also rude to accept straight away if offered to plug in. Their first offer should be declined with a simple "Thanks but it is not needed, I have already made the plans to charge on the way back." If they insist it is not a problem, it would still be rude to accept it. You should then provide more details about the charging plans and why it is not needed: "No, really, I have this charging card that offers me a discount at this Ionity place in the motorway and the app did all the range calculations and it is all fine, do not worry about it!" If they insist for a 3rd time, perhaps starting to show impatience at your repeated refusal -- "Why would you bother with Ionity when we have this charger on the driveway? Please just connect and be free of the worry!" -- only then it is OK to accept the offer. "All right, if you really think it is OK then let's connect it."

For the avoidance of doubt, this ritual must be observed every time. "For the past 10 years, they have always offered 3 times, only for me to refuse twice and accept at the 3rd offer. The other day I even forgot the name of the public charging station (my memory isn't what it used to be...) but they reminded me of it, because they had heard my explanation so many times. Do I really have to keep refusing twice before accepting it?"
Why, yes, you do.

Do you offer money if you do, how much?

Only if you want to make clear that you are not friends with them and they are not welcome at your place, and if they are relatives, it is a declaration of disownment. "Jane, if these 5 pounds are not a clear enough message, let me be spell it out for you: You will not be mentioned in my will* and you are not welcome at my funeral!"
* The ID.3 is going to Oxfam.

Gifts such as wine, drinks, food should always be brought, regardless of car charging.

[Deleted User 314]

I would never expect to be able to get a charge at my destination, I would plan to use a rapid either en route or on the way home.

But if one was offered and it was suitable, I would definitely offer a meaningful gift or cash.

But, there is no unwritten rule or standard, just good old fashioned politeness.

I agree with you Scott.
Plan the journey so you don’t need to worry about it

Totally agree, you'd not do that with petrol so why with leccy?

Entirely academic for us anyway, we don't know anyone with an electric car that we visit and if we did, we'd always arrive around 60% SOC cos that's how we plan trips due to the distance between chargers.

[simonrg]

My logic appears to be the other way around to everybody else.

I would normally charge at home, so why when I am away would I not charge at "home". Plus it seems to the best way to practically let people see how simple / trouble free an electric vehicle is and how yes it is different to an ICE vehicle.

As normal for BEV planning is key and obviously just polite, so I ask in advance to see if it is possible / alright, nobody has said no yet.

So if staying with friends / family then I know whether it would be easy to charge with them or not (outside socket or not), and if renting a holiday home look at details then ask owner normally before booking.

In both cases I offer to pay for the kWh of electricity I use at a price that is above the normal unit charge, so 20p/kWh in UK or 0.25 Euros in Ireland. Making it a transparent business transaction rather than the taking / giving of a gift.

Needless to say friends and family refuse payment so compensate in other ways and holiday home owners normally initially refuse but after I explain that my car charging is like petrol and staying in a holiday home I would not expect to get free petrol, they accept.

In all cases people have been really interested in the process, how easy it is, how cheap it is when I tell them how far I can go on the £10 of electricity I have used, how convenient it is not having to go to petrol stations etc.. People normally then think about how an EV could work for them, especially when I explain they could install a 7kW charger, so they wouldn't need to leave their EV plugged into a 3 pin socket all night, then tell me how their next car will be an EV.