The other day I pulled up in our mighty Tesla Model 3 to use the QESH charger at Helensvale Train Station in Queensland. It was pouring down rain and, of course, the charger had no cover — which wasn’t a major issue. I hopped out and performed a short L-shaped sprint, started charging, then jumped back in the car to wait for a break in the rain. When the rain eased, I walked a few hundred metres and crossed the road to the Westfield shopping centre to grab some groceries.
Some of the differences between the two scenarios are unavoidable due to the nature of the almost polar opposite technologies. Though, I can’t help thinking that, in comparison, there’s some short-changing of the design of many DC fast charging stations. Few petrol-vehicle owners would ever have to exit their vehicle in the rain due to the convenience of most petrol stations having suitable cover, for example.
At a fossil fuel station, it’s not uncommon to have over 60 pumps available to suit the different types of fuel and not make people wait. If a pump is out of order, the pump in the next bay is likely available for use.
I think most EV-adopting trailblazers would agree — charging our EVs at home via an AC charging station in our garage or our apartment car park is the most ideal scenario. But for those who don’t have that option, or need a top-up during the day’s journey, we’re clearly best served to ensure we have our proverbial ducks in a row: Plan for charging requirements well ahead of time.
That’s quite a list of boxes to tick, for the foreseeable short-term future at least, until we reach a point when we see widespread proliferation of well-thought-out EV charging solutions. When we consider thereport released this week by the EV Council, that day is not too far away. The report states: “Based on the announced funding from state and federal government programs, Australia will see the deployment of 700 fast charging locations over the next 5 years.
In Australia is all ev charging spots protected like handicap spots. Even level 1 and 2 charging. By law that is. I don't recall petrol pump spots being protected by law.