[surly Bill]

Bullies should always be allowed to get their way. It's a Merkun tradition.

 

[surly Bill]

You have to be selective where you offer "free" outlets; you'd have people setting up house there and never leaving.
With our criminal minded culture in Merkuh, I think those charging stations that are just open spaces in a parking lot will fade away in some areas, in favor of gated area for charging. This would deter the "ICEing" as well as car break-ins and vandalism. The app on your phone would open the gate.

As for topping off house batteries at a charging station, those voltage converters would work, but with so many different voltages being used, your device would have to be adaptable or specific to the brand of station being used. The utility of such an option is limited, since most house systems are set up to charge from the van's own charging system and/or solar array. A triple source system is ideal, 120/140vac shore power, engine charging system, and solar array.

We've had the discussion about full-hookup campsites and using those to charge an EV, this idea of using an EV charging station to top off house batteries is just the inverse of that idea. Maybe electricity is just electricity, and what you do with it is up to you. Get billed according to the amount you get.

 

[surly Bill]

On a related note they spent a bunch of money to get the EV charger circuit put in their garage.
It's a house from the 50's so they had to do a bit of service upgrading.
It was all peachy for a few months then the county comes out to do an inspection and says there has to be a stanchion (a short pole) in front of the junction box for the EV charger.
There is a specific regulation for this in NY state.
So now only the Prius can fit in the garage with the door down. The Tesla only goes in halfway.
Which has my brother in law livid about his shiny black toy being out in the elements all winter.
Especially with that huge gnarly cherry tree next to the driveway.
Told them to get a Harbor Freight carport tent thing, but my sister is so scared of looking trailer trash.

This sounds like a house problem, not a car problem. Weren't the garages built in the 1950's large enough to fit the much larger cars being made in the 1950's? And didn't civilized people (then AND now) park in their garage rather than like animals in the driveway?
I'd get a correct sized house. Or at least have the garage remodeled to be able to fit a car in it. I'll never have a house that doesn't have a garage without a 10' tall door and 24' deep bay.

 

[surly Bill]

Might be the "main reason", at least the one the marketing departments are saying, but I suspect the actual reason is the same one it's always been: money. The "saving the planet" thing is just greenwashing.

Crude has reached peak, diminishing supplies are left in the ground, and countries a little behind Western Civilization are catching up regarding industry and personal wealth. As fossil fuel prices start climbing globally due to supply/demand, energy independence will involve non-fossil fuels. Thus, electricity. And consumers will flock to vehicles that are cheaper to operate, kind of like they did in the 1970's gas crunch. All these companies want to enter that market and establish themselves (Tesla is already the first company that comes to mind when you hear "EV"). And Merkuns demand large, overpowered vehicles, it is our Constitution Right and obligation. Thus, the stupidly uneconomic Hummer EV. And there will be many more just like it, eEscalade, eSuburban, eF650, etc etc. And they will all be big sellers, because these companies know their customers.

 

[surly Bill]

Letter of the law and intent of the law seldom perfectly overlap.

If the charging stations are strictly "pay to play" and there is a fee, I don't think there should be any restrictions on WHAT you're using the electricity you're buying for. The "free" perk charging stations intended for EVs are another matter. Does anyone know offhand if the 2-3 charging stations they are installing at Interstate rest stops are "free", or are they part of a network you have to join?
For RVs, there are a lot of "free" black tank dump sites everywhere, but I suppose that's to help stop people just dumping it on the ground, cuz that's how a lot of people roll. I don't see why there couldn't also be "free" house-battery charging stations, ostensibly to reduce the number and time people are running loud, smelly generators in campgrounds.

 

[surly Bill]

Since “paid for” electricity should be cheaper than running a generator, I don’t see the need to make any electricity “free” just to discourage generator use. And if generators are that bad for a given location, just restrict or prohibit their use and let campers deal with or choose whatever other options work best for them. People can be creative at finding solutions.

Giving stuff away too often leads to abuse and all kinds of unintended consequences. In my opinion government should set goals and let consumers and free markets find best solution whenever possible. And yes, I know there is no such thing as true free markets, but you know what I mean.

That's why I put "free" in quotation marks. There's always a catch. Kind of like the store you park sort of wants you to shop in their store and not walk down the block to a different one. "free parking".

 

[surly Bill]

Often the "free" government stuff is sponsored by some company that uses it as a tax write-off. Maybe the rest area stations are sponsored by, let's say...ChargePoint. And the instructions for use require you to download their app to access this "free" charging.
It's the drug dealer business model; First dose is free. You'll be back for more.