Page 2 | AIBU charging electric car without asking at Air BnB

glassacorn · 20/08/2025 23:29

Not true. Tesla says to keep between 20-80% for optimum battery health in daily driving but even on long journeys, the guide says you shouldn’t be keeping the battery at 100% if you’re not going to be driving it shortly (keeping it sitting at fully charged regularly reduces long-term capacity, switches off regen braking, etc.).

NigellaAwesome · 20/08/2025 23:11

We have in our t&cs that EV charging is expressly prohibited by our insurers and there is a penalty of £200 plus usage for anyone found to be in breach. We haven’t needed to enforce it yet.

I think it is really cheeky of them to charge their car without asking.

LameBorzoi · 20/08/2025 14:00

Needanadultgapyear · 20/08/2025 06:48

Yup involved in the biofuel engine projection in motor racing. He’s been there done batteries etc - not impressed.

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You can't make an engine - which basically needs a lot of heat, pressure, and a lot more moving parts - anywhere near as efficient and reliable as a battery and motor. It's simple physics.

LameBorzoi · 20/08/2025 13:57

IsItSnowing · 19/08/2025 09:10

Tesla say to charge regularly on long journeys to keep it topped up.

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That's more fir charging speed - charging is faster when the battery isn't really full or empty

Original poster

Needanadultgapyear · 20/08/2025 06:48

Chompingatthebeat · 19/08/2025 22:20

He's in the motor industry and is anti electric cars ..mmm...

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Yup involved in the biofuel engine projection in motor racing. He’s been there done batteries etc - not impressed.

OP posts:

Chompingatthebeat · 19/08/2025 22:20

Needanadultgapyear · 15/08/2025 08:51

DH is in the motor industry and feels that they are an environmental disaster waiting to happen with battery disposal. His opinion is that biofuels are the long term future.
For Air BnB’s precluding charging of electric cars from 3 pin plugs is very normal as a host you can not confirm that the the 3 pin plug and wire is not damaged in any way. I am literal 5 mins if that from a super fast charging point at a fuel station with a coffee shop. Most of our lovely guests go have a coffee and charge their car.

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He's in the motor industry and is anti electric cars ..mmm...

Annoyeddd · 19/08/2025 22:06

We told the owners and they were okay with it

Nearly50omg · 19/08/2025 21:45

Annoyeddd · 19/08/2025 09:42

We were in an air BnB needed to charge as it has a small battery so were just putting on for a couple of hours around lunchtime every day (wouldn't show up on a smart meter as less than cooker). No fast charger close enough so trickle charging just enough to get us back to motorway

That’s theft. Pure and simple.

Annoyeddd · 19/08/2025 09:42

We were in an air BnB needed to charge as it has a small battery so were just putting on for a couple of hours around lunchtime every day (wouldn't show up on a smart meter as less than cooker). No fast charger close enough so trickle charging just enough to get us back to motorway

IsItSnowing · 19/08/2025 09:12

I'd be very happy that there was a supercharger nearby. I wouldn't run a wire through the window of a rental property.

IsItSnowing · 19/08/2025 09:10

TY78910 · 15/08/2025 10:45

My car manufacturer says it should be treated like charging a phone, don’t just plug it in when and where, do it for full charges only 🤷🏼‍♀️

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Tesla say to charge regularly on long journeys to keep it topped up.

VeryStressedMum · 19/08/2025 08:37

Needanadultgapyear · 15/08/2025 08:38

We have an annex, it must remain part of the main property for planning purposes and therefore can not be on long term let as a separate home. We offer it on Air BnB it is near a major tourist attraction and a main road connect several UK ports to central and North England.
Our insurance excludes specifically charging electric cars, we put this in our listing and we are 5 minutes from a super fast charging point. If people ask I politely explain that we do not allow electric car charging and point them to the super fast charger.
We had guests a few days ago and DH noticed a wire from a bedroom to the car. So he went round and asked if they were charging. They claimed they were only charging mobile phones, but the wire did disappear.

I feel like this is CFery, but in RL people have said oh well it’s only a few pence.

If it was a car charger you'd know exactly that it was, it doesn't look like a wire?

Dolphinnoises · 19/08/2025 08:01

We own an EV and wouldn’t dream of doing this. A charge is around £8 of electricity, it’s not like using a hairdryer!

I would suggest a firm notice in the flat itself, which also features the postcode of the local fast charger to make it easy for people to do the right thing.

Honest EV owners will be very grateful for that. Does your electrical provider have an app allowing you to see electrical use? If so you can check to see if any EV owning guests are creating a spike.

Jc2001 · 19/08/2025 08:00

lkjhgfdsa · 15/08/2025 08:42

Your insurance precludes charging electric cars? Bizarre!

In terms of electricity used, unless you put limits on all electrical devices used by guests I don't really think it's a big deal.

Do you have some kind of objection to electric cars? I think they are increasingly going to become the norm so I'd be looking at alternative insurance providers when you come to renew.

I have a problem with electric car drivers who charge their cars on other people's coin without even asking.

Elbowpatch · 19/08/2025 07:52

LameBorzoi · 18/08/2025 08:00

That is true, but faulty wiring is faulty wiring, and should be fixed regardless.

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Sometimes faulty wiring only makes its presence known when it is subjected to a very high load for a prolonged period. Like when charging an electric car, for example.

LameBorzoi · 18/08/2025 08:00

EasternSkies · 16/08/2025 09:22

That’s vehicle fires.

The insurance issue here is a fire within the house caused by wiring / plugs etc not suitable for EV charging.

My workplace burned down due to a visitor plugging in a dodgy cheap generic phone charger.

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That is true, but faulty wiring is faulty wiring, and should be fixed regardless.

LameBorzoi · 18/08/2025 07:54

Also, I know there's a charger just down the road, but in practice, that's a real pain. A big advantage of having an EV is that I don't have to go out and "fuel up".

LameBorzoi · 18/08/2025 07:51

CruCru · 17/08/2025 09:01

This is a tricky one though. These are people paying for a service - telling them they will be immediately evicted for something some (not all) people think is normal is likely to put a lot off (even if they don’t have an EV).

I have a car charger at home and there’s an option to put an access code on it. The OP could get a similar one installed. If paying guests want to charge they can ask for the access code and get it added to their bill.

Edited

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I think this is a good idea. A clothes dryer pulls as much electricity as an EV - air con can pull a lot more! As an EV driver, there is no way I'd rent a place that said that about the smart meter, because I'd be too scared to use any appliances.

CruCru · 17/08/2025 09:01

EasternSkies · 15/08/2025 10:12

I would tell guests (in the ‘no EV charging’ clause) that you check the smart meter and any unauthorised charging will result in their immediate eviction.

Why should you incur a £1k installation charge because of entitled CF guests?

This is a tricky one though. These are people paying for a service - telling them they will be immediately evicted for something some (not all) people think is normal is likely to put a lot off (even if they don’t have an EV).

I have a car charger at home and there’s an option to put an access code on it. The OP could get a similar one installed. If paying guests want to charge they can ask for the access code and get it added to their bill.

Genevieva · 17/08/2025 08:25

LameBorzoi · 16/08/2025 08:39

Because some insurance companies don't gouge or use any excuse to avoid paying out.

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True.

BalladOfBarryAndFreda · 16/08/2025 09:25

If it is abundantly clear in the paperwork that EV charging is not permitted, then you are not being unreasonable (though you are totally hysterical about the actual fire risk of EVs).

Doitrightnow · 16/08/2025 09:25

We have an electric car and have asked Airbnbs before if we can charge there and pay for the electricity (usually about £5-£30 over the course of a holiday). They've always said yes.

BUT, one of the places didn't have the right electrics. We plugged in (3 pin) and after a short time the socket and cable were scaldingly hot. Definitely a fire hazard. We never charged there again and it put us off using unknown sockets.

I wouldn't dream of charging without permission.

We do allow people to charge at our Airbnb if they pay for the electricity. Certainly not going to offer it for free.

EasternSkies · 16/08/2025 09:22

lkjhgfdsa · 15/08/2025 18:54

“Thatcham Research, the UK motor insurers’ research centre, conducted research from 2018 to 2020. They found that 0.001% of plug-in hybrids and 0.003% of range extended electric vehicles were the subject of fire claims. That was lower than the 0.007% of petrol vehicles and 0.011% of diesel vehicles.”

https://www.portskillsandsafety.co.uk/about/news/statistics-on-vehicle-fires-comparing-electric-and-non-electric-vehicles/#:~:text=Non%2Delectric%20vehicles%2C%20however%2C,those%20responding%20to%20EV%20fires.

The fires are more intense I grant you but they are also significantly less likely to happen. That's 1 in 100,000 plug in hybrid cars it happens to. Very rare.

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That’s vehicle fires.

The insurance issue here is a fire within the house caused by wiring / plugs etc not suitable for EV charging.

My workplace burned down due to a visitor plugging in a dodgy cheap generic phone charger.

Waterbaby41 · 16/08/2025 08:55

EV owner here. Not unreasonable not to have a charging point at your annex given the proximity of fast charging. Having a charge point installed (safest option and should be okay with your insurance) is expensive a d would take you a long time to recover the outlay. Just make it crystal clear in your terms and in the house information that EV charging is not allowed, meters are checked, any misuse will result in a £100 charge. (Similar to warnings about dogs not allowed/breakages etc etc). I would be very tempted if anyone is seen to be charging just to turn the power off!! Good luck.

LlynTegid · 16/08/2025 08:49

The insurance reason is enough. YANBU. Much as I think your annex should be such that it can be rented out as a year round home.