# EV charging question **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 2, 2023, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ev-charging-question/987979 "2023-08-02T21:41:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![md-2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9d8465/32.png) [@md-2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md-2000)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2023, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ev-charging-question/987979/21 "2023-08-04T02:36:30Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > **EV charging question** > > Shouldn’t this thread be merged with one of these threads? > > **Michigan AG announces charges against fake electors** > > **DOJ/Jack Smith Investigation into Trump and Election Interference, January 6th Insurrection (Indicted 08-01-23)** > > (Okay, I’ll let myself out. 😉 ) Yes, it answer’s the OP’s question directly. When the situation is that only 1/7 charged, and 6/7 not charged, things should proceed much quicker. (Thanks for holding the door for me…) ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2023, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ev-charging-question/987979/22 "2023-08-04T02:57:56Z")
Excellent! ---
**Author:** ![hibernicus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hibernicus/32/2802_2.png) [@hibernicus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hibernicus)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2023, 10:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ev-charging-question/987979/23 "2023-08-04T10:34:59Z")
Another possible source of confusion is the use of the term “charger” to refer to either the on-board charger in your car or to the charging station that you connect your car to. It is the car, not the charging station, that regulates the current, slowing down the rate of charge as the battery gets closer to full, in order to manage battery temperature and reduce degradation. The charging station will deliver whatever current the car draws, subject to a maximum capacity limit. This phenomenon is mainly relevant to DC charging or “fast” charging. When you connect to your AC charger at home, the charging rate will generally remain constant until the battery is very nearly “full”, after which the car will use any remaining time to rebalance the cells. ---
**Author:** ![hibernicus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hibernicus/32/2802_2.png) [@hibernicus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hibernicus)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2023, 10:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ev-charging-question/987979/24 "2023-08-04T10:41:28Z")
> [@Pleonast](#): > > I’m not sure what the fix is, though. When there’s only a limited number of charging locations, paying per minute will encourage people to free locations as soon as they have “enough” energy. Paying per energy unit does not encourage people to move on quicker. > > This will change as more charging locations become available. But right now? I think paying per minute puts the cost on the scarcer resource: time at a location. Ideally you need a combination of the two, if the fee is to be reflective of the cost to the provider. One approach (used in Ireland) is a per kWh fee in combination with an “overstay” fee that kicks in after 45 minutes. It’s not perfect though, because once you have incurred the overstay fee you can then stay as long as you like without further penalty. ---
**Author:** ![md-2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9d8465/32.png) [@md-2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md-2000)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2023, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ev-charging-question/987979/25 "2023-08-04T12:37:46Z")
Yes, Tesla has a “per minute” overstay charge. They change policies from time to time, so this may not be current, but… Once you are done charging, if you don’t diconnect in 5 minutes, there’s a per-minute charge for being plugged in. As I understood, this fee applies if more than half the stalls are in use. (Typical installation is 8 or more stalls). Also, the charger will boot you out at 80% if all the stalls are in use, I understand. Since I charge at home, I rarely worry about this. About 20 minutes at the supercharger is usually enough to get you to the next one. It’s slightly longer than a gas car fill up stop, not long enough for a restaurant sit-down meal. It’s convenient for a quick jog over to the nearby fast food place, a bathroom break. For the chargers in Target parking lots, you can get a quick shopping excursion done. > [@hibernicus](#): > > It is the car, not the charging station, that regulates the current, slowing down the rate of charge as the battery gets closer to full, in order to manage battery temperature and reduce degradation. Tesla is also good at this - the battery management is quite sophisticated, regulating charging speed and temperature and balancing input and output of the banks of battery cells to ensure best health. (There’s a few videos on YouTube of Teslas on the Autobahn doing over 120mph. After a while (half hour or so steady driving?), the battery gets too hot and the car automatically slows to about 55mph until the battery cooling system gets the battery temperatures back down - then it speeds up again.) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ev-charging-question/987979.md?page=1)