# How does public-available charging of electric vehicles work?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-public-available-charging-of-electric-vehicles-work/999613>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [March 30, 2024, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-public-available-charging-of-electric-vehicles-work/999613 "2024-03-30T19:19:54Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
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**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\
**Post date:** [March 30, 2024, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-public-available-charging-of-electric-vehicles-work/999613/2 "2024-03-30T19:47:43Z")

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> [@Tripler](#):
>
> What are the units of billing? By kilowatt? By time?

I don’t have an EV, but I can answer this one because I looked it up a while ago.

There are two types of billing, energy based (by the kilowatt-hour) and time based. I believe most are energy based.

> [@Tripler](#):
>
> ETA: Is there a time limit on how long you can park at one of these stations while you charge?

Tesla chargers are energy based, but they will start charging you for time connected once your vehicle is fully charged. This is to discourage you from just leaving your car on the charger any longer than necessary so that someone else who needs to charge their vehicle can use it instead.

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