If it works for books could it work for EV chargers?
Let strangers charge for free
Little Free Libraries make it easy to share books. Could Little Free ‘Lectrons boost sharing of under-used home and business EV chargers?
I am circulating this modest proposal to get feedback — a more detailed version with a draft set of sharing guidelines is available as a Google Doc and you can comment on it there or, of course, here.
The mission is simple — encourage and support people and organizations with EV chargers they installed for their own vehicles to share those facilities for free with other local EV users and visitors.
Businesses and home-owners, especially those with off-street parking, can fairly easily purchase and install a level 2 charger for their own use. But there are many who have or would like to get an EV without such easy access — those who rent, for example, or who don’t have their own dedicated parking space. Anyone making a longer journey and travelling away from the main highway charging networks might also find they need a top-up, whatever setup they have at home.
Governments at all levels are working on solutions for the medium term (for example encouraging workplaces and apartment buildings to install chargers, adding them to public parking lots and in malls) but there are a lot of under-used chargers that could help to fill gaps — especially in under-served areas. Moreover, simple residential chargers cost a lot less to buy ($500) and install than more complex commercial ones (offering the same charging speed) businesses and organizations are required to acquire if they want to receive government subsidy.
The average Canadian driver travels around 15,000km a year — 41km a day — but can charge enough to travel that distance on a Level 2 charger in ten hours or less. Those who work from home (like myself) or who have the opportunity for workplace charging may only need to use their chargers a few hours a week. As with books you are not currently reading, why not share access to your charger when you don’t need it?
Perhaps the thought of the cost of charging others puts you off, but when I looked closely I realized it is much smaller than you might think. Using electricity at domestic rates to charge a fellow EV driver would cost me only about $1/hour. You can’t find yourself suddenly running up an unexpectedly high bill — no vehicle can draw more power than your charger permits.
Fortunately, PlugShare has for years provided the infrastructure to let other EV users know that their home and business chargers are available for others to use — you can do this for yourself in a few clicks. Clearly in the early days of EV adoption it was used often by “early adopters” in exactly the way I would like to see now. However, in recent years as interest has exploded it seems to be focusing mainly on indexing commercially-operated chargers and networks.
The important gap to fill is a lack of “off the shelf” model guidelines for potential charger sharers on their site or elsewhere. Knowing what to ask and what to look out for would go a long way to help individuals and small scale users feel more comfortable taking the step to offer their charger. Branded signs indicating that a free charge is available from a fellow EV owner would make visitors feel more welcome and help break down the social barriers to asking for a charge in time of need.
How it could work
- Register your EV charger on PlugShare and indicate in the descriptive text that you are a “Little Free ‘Lectrons” pilot participant (the branding may change!) with a link to your own “rules of the road” — here’s my own profile as an example.
- Put a sign near your charger to explain to potential users that you are willing to share your charger — and to publicize the LFL concept.
- Read and make suggestions on the draft guidelines for guest EV users in this document. Adapt them to your own use to indicate how and under what conditions you are willing to share your charger. Share that information on your Plugshare profile and/or near the charger itself.
Get in touch!
I was surprised that an initiative like the one I am proposing did not seem to already exist. Please let me know if one does, of course, or if you are an organization which could fit a mission like this into your larger mandate, let me know if you would like to help develop it further. Those with legal knowledge who could help with the language of my draft guidelines, and anyone with the design and marketing skills to help brand an initiative like this — in particular who could make a fun logo for signs participants would put up near their chargers, please reach out.
