Electric car charging etiquette

As electric vehicle (EV) adoption continues to increase in New Zealand, it’s becoming more important to understand how to charge your EV in public charging points in a way that’s considerate towards fellow EV drivers. After all, EV charging etiquette is a new concept for many owners. 

To help you out, we’ve compiled six helpful dos and don’ts.

  1. Don’t park in a charging space without using the charger

This applies to everyone, whether you’re an EV driver or a petrol-powered vehicle driver, you shouldn’t park in front of a charging station, even if it’s ‘just for a few minutes’. Nothing would be more upsetting for an EV driver than to see another car parked in the space and not using the charger when they need a charge. 

If you’ve finished charging before your errands are done, move your car to another parking space so other EV drivers can use the charging station. 

  1. Don’t hog the charger

Most public charging stations have a 30-minute limit, so you know how long you’ve got until you need to move on to let someone else have a turn. Despite this, no one is keeping tabs on the time, and the system doesn’t automatically shut off after 30 minutes. Unfortunately, this means a lot of people end up going beyond 30 minutes, whether it’s on purpose, or they’ve simply lost track of time. 

Be mindful that other people need to use the charger and set a timer on your phone so you can move your car once 30 minutes are up. After all, it’s good manners!

  1. Don’t mistreat the connectors

When you’ve finished charging, always hang up the connector in its port. Aside from damaging the device and causing potential health and safety issues, a connector left dangling or dropped on the ground can hinder the next driver.

  1. Check-in or leave a note

You don’t have to sit in your car the whole time it’s being charged. You’re more than welcome to leave and run some errands or grab a coffee. The key to doing this is to leave a note with your phone number on it, so others waiting know what you’re up to and that you’re coming back. This also allows them to plan their time while they wait for the charger to be freed up. 

You can also use an app, such as Plugshare, to let others know when you’ll be back. This also lets the venue owner know how often the charging station is being used. The more often it gets used, they greater the motivation to continue to maintain the location and possibly add more charging ports to meet demand.

  1. Don’t unplug others

As tempting as it might be to unplug the charger from someone’s car after 30 minutes, don’t. This is not only rude (even if they’ve broken the 30-minute rule) but you don’t know the circumstances about why the car is still being charged. In most cases, the connector will stay locked in place until the driver returns, but some chargers have an emergency stop button which can override this. Remember, you wouldn’t want someone to unplug your car while it’s charging, so do unto others…!

  1. Be kind

As frustrating as it can be when you pull over at a charging station, only to find an internal-combustion engine (ICE) vehicle in the spot, don’t leave passive-aggressive notes or wait for the owner to return so you can start a shouting match. Instead, leave a polite note explaining why they need to move their car. This sets a positive example of what EV drivers are like.