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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Visitors Electric cars charging at your house?

123 replies

Reallyreallyborednow · 26/07/2022 13:03

so random thought yesterday after receiving my electric bill.

couple of close friends/family have electric vehicles. These are fairly short range, so need charging after an hour or so.

when they come to visit it’s about 40 mins, so they drive, plug into my electric to recharge while visiting/we go out in my car, so they can get home.

never really thought about it before, but one is coming soon as we’re driving a couple of hours to visit an attraction that’s nearer me. So no doubt they’ll drive the electric car and want to charge it, and I’ll have to drive to the attraction as mine is petrol and they don’t have the range.

are electric car drivers bu to ask if they can charge at someone else’s house? It seems U to say no, but I wonder how much it’s costing me to charge their car for a day.

although I add these people do have a petrol car, they just choose the EV, no doubt because it’s cheaper. No malice or bad intention, I think they see the request for a plug to charge their car as no different to charging phone etc, and it’s not as if there’s anywhere else.

OP posts:
declutteringmymind · 26/07/2022 13:42

They're classic CFs.

FawnFrenchieMum · 26/07/2022 13:42

wallpoppy · 26/07/2022 13:37

I would let guests charge their car, of course I would! They're guests! I also feed them and water them and give them free rein over snacks and drinks, especially if they're staying overnight. They can use my toilet and shower, they can turn the radiator up in their room if they're cold or open a window if they're hot, they can wash their clothes and use my laundry supplies. They can have a piritin or a nurofen if they need it, tampons, pads, plasters, whatever.

I would probably draw the line at sharing my toothbrush but I do have a couple of extras from a multi-pack purchase so I would of course give them one if they forgot theirs.

Maybe it's a cultural thing but I would die of shame before I would begrudge anything a guest in my home needed. It's so weird to me that so many British people don't feel the same way.

I feel like invited guests over and offering all of the above is a bit different to heading out for the day with someone but them leaving their car at yours to use your card instead.

wallpoppy · 26/07/2022 13:43

And as a guest in someone else's home- I would fight them for the bill if we went out for a meal together, and would always offer to cover petrol if we went somewhere together in their car (and in fact I would probably just get out of the car and go inside to pay without asking and giving them the chance to say no)- and I would offer to pay just out of courtesy if I needed to charge my car, but I would also think they were very weird and stingy if they took me up on it (the car charging, not the restaurant bill or the petrol). I can't imagine any of my friends doing that, not because they are all rich and don't care, but because they are not weird and stingy.

wonkylegs · 26/07/2022 13:44

@sleepyhoglet
It is not a fire risk for short top up charges with a proper 3pin car charging cable it's a theoretical fire risk if you regularly do long full charges (18hrs) or use a 'cheap' off market charging cable as they can overheat.

If it's a short too up charge trickle charging via a 3pin plug it wouldn't cost much for a couple of hours - it becomes more expensive if you have a proper fast charger and it's a full charge.

Personally I would always offer to pay if I used someone's house charger though (well except my inlaws as they have pv)
It can depend on the set up as our car is very cheap to charge at our house as we have a solar panel and battery set up as well as a night time tariff so it can vary from free to a couple of quid for a full charge.

Wnikat · 26/07/2022 13:45

I always pay for any electricity I use to charge my car. Would be weird not to.

BlueRabbitWasNaughty · 26/07/2022 13:47

Ours costs about £8 to fully charge up to 200 miles. As others have said, if they're just plugged in to a normal 3 pin plug, it will charge so slowly that it's almost not worth their while and will cost pennies.

However they are rude not to offer you money for it and to always assume you will drive from yours... when they ask if it's ok to plug in, make sure you reply by telling them to get the coffees/ lunch in return.

Darkstar4855 · 26/07/2022 13:48

If they were guests and it only cost a few quid then I’d be ok with that. However the thing about leaving their car charging at yours while you drive them about is definite CF territory and they should be offering money towards charging/your petrol.

CapMarvel · 26/07/2022 13:48

If it's a one off using a granny charger it's going to cost probably about a fiver for an overnight charge? I wouldn't begrudge that, but whether I have gone anywhere with the EV I've always asked for permission and offered to pay to cover the cost of the power.

If you have a dedicated wallbox and people are using it regularly I would probably ask for them to cover the cost of it though, it's pretty cheeky for someone to expect someone else to cover the cost of their travel.

BalloonsAndWhistles · 26/07/2022 13:50

I don’t see what the problem is here. You just text your friend and say either:

  1. ‘no problem with charging the car, I’ve calculated it’s £xxx for a full charge. When you get here, you can transfer me the money and then plug in’
  2. ’I’m afraid I don’t allow anyone to use my electricity to power their EVs’.
If you use option two, maybe you could suggest a place nearby with a charging station.
xogossipgirlxo · 26/07/2022 13:52

I wouldn't mind them charging their cars as long as they pay me for it 😬

CheGuevaraandDebussy · 26/07/2022 13:53

IcedOatLatte · 26/07/2022 13:31

Someone I know with an electric car told me that his electricity bill was over £100 a month higher, he drives a lot for work so it's a big saving on the petrol cost but it isn't pennies. It was more than he was expecting it to cost but I don't know what kind of charger he's using

Show quote history

Doesnt matter what charger he's using, he'll be charged a unit rate whether he's using a 3 pin or 7kWH wall box. The only difference will be the charging time.

wallpoppy · 26/07/2022 13:54

@BalloonsAndWhistles the problem is that both of those options are weird, selfish, and anti-social, but if you're OK with being weird, selfish, and anti-social then fill your boots!

Naunet · 26/07/2022 13:54

wallpoppy · 26/07/2022 13:37

I would let guests charge their car, of course I would! They're guests! I also feed them and water them and give them free rein over snacks and drinks, especially if they're staying overnight. They can use my toilet and shower, they can turn the radiator up in their room if they're cold or open a window if they're hot, they can wash their clothes and use my laundry supplies. They can have a piritin or a nurofen if they need it, tampons, pads, plasters, whatever.

I would probably draw the line at sharing my toothbrush but I do have a couple of extras from a multi-pack purchase so I would of course give them one if they forgot theirs.

Maybe it's a cultural thing but I would die of shame before I would begrudge anything a guest in my home needed. It's so weird to me that so many British people don't feel the same way.

Maybe because they’re not guests, they’re just all getting together for a trip out.

OP, maybe suggest meeting them at the venue in future.

OhMerde · 26/07/2022 13:57

I'd say to meet them at the attraction. I'd go out of my way to not let it happen (depending on who they were) but then I'm tighter than cramp if I get a whiff of someone being a cf.

TeeBee · 26/07/2022 14:02

Thunderpunt · 26/07/2022 13:24

EV owner here, we charge overnight every night on a fast charge and my monthly bill is around £70. I would say on a 3 pin plug charge for 40 minutes you are literally looking at pennies.
What @CheGuevaraandDebussy says is all correct.
Also would like to see source for PP saying 3 pin charger is a fire hazard?

My partner has an EV. The times he has used a 3-pin plug charger, he has blown the electricity twice (requiring an electrician trip) and also burnt through an electricity outlet. Anecdotal, I appreciate, but he won't be charging that way at my house.

Has has a short-range vehicle (so 65 miles max), and with the increase in electricity costs, costs around £8 for a full charge.

SpaghettiNoodle · 26/07/2022 14:06

We have one of the lowest range EVs on the market, and often drive to and from my parents an hour away (40 miles ish) without charging.

If we look like we won’t make it we stop for ten mins at a services for a quick top up - but most often there’s no need.

I would not think of asking to charge at someone else’s house, especially given all the recent cost of utilities. Plus if I’m just using your mains plug it’s unlikely to have a material impact on range unless I’m charging for 4+ hours.

It’d probably cost about a £10 to charge my car fully (assuming a 25p pkwh rate), so if I did have to change I would definitely offer to pay!

diddl · 26/07/2022 14:07

So they're driving to yours, "filling up" at yours & using your petrol to get to the event!

diddl · 26/07/2022 14:08

Is there a reason they can't charge on the journey rather than at yours?

Caspianberg · 26/07/2022 14:11

For the future when more people have home electric chargers, you can get different types. Ours has two meter systems on it, so we can basically use one ourselves, and let guest log in to the 2nd. The exact kw and cost will be calculated then. Guests can then just pay the exact amount used the same as if they went elsewhere.

sunglassesonthetable · 26/07/2022 14:18

*I don’t see what the problem is here. You just text your friend and say either:

• ‘no problem with charging the car, I’ve calculated it’s £xxx for a full charge. When you get here, you can transfer me the money and then plug in’
• ’I’m afraid I don’t allow anyone to use my electricity to power their EVs’.
If you use option two, maybe you could suggest a place nearby with a charging station.*

These are such an awkward unfriendly texts they made me laugh. I would never send them!

Of course I would let close family and friends charge at my house.

They would do the same from for me.

I'm pretty sure money would be offered. Whether I accepted it or not depends on how high the cost of electricity goes.

As EV become more usual I suppose a whole new etiquette will develop around this.

Shellingbynight · 26/07/2022 14:20

I don't think the OP is saying they are only charging the car at her house for 40 minutes? I took it to mean that the drive over is 40 minutes, and when they arrive they put the car on charge for the duration.

Primatrying · 26/07/2022 14:22

We have an EV. We do not expect to charge it at anyone's house except my parents (who offer).

We have asked to charge it at Air BnBs before, and offered to pay of course. It's always been with the 3-pin and we can tell exactly how much energy we've used. It has never been more than £10. Not mega-bucks but we don't expect to get it for free. We view it the same as petrol - we don't expect other people to pay our petrol for us.

We did come across ONE plug that got super hot when we tried to use it. It also charged so slowly as to be useless, even if we'd left it overnight. We stopped using it immediately. We've never had that problem before or since, I don't know what it was about that plug which was causing the danger.

Blanketpolicy · 26/07/2022 14:22

https://pod-point.com/guides/driver/cost-of-charging-electric-car

It appears it costs quite a bit and not "pennies".

rookiemere · 26/07/2022 14:25

We have just got a hybrid. It only does 30 miles on the E-battery, but that's more than enough for most of our journeys, and makes a good reduction on petrol needed for longer ones.

We haven't been in the scenario yet where we've asked anyone else if we can use their electricity for charging, but I expect we will be.

As we use a standard plug, we think the cost of charging is around £1.50 but we're still trying to work it out properly.

Of course it's too small an amount to offer someone, so I'd probably offer them £5 but then I'd need to work out if it's cheaper- and probably more polite- not to bother charging and just use petrol instead.

diddl · 26/07/2022 14:33

Shellingbynight · 26/07/2022 14:20

I don't think the OP is saying they are only charging the car at her house for 40 minutes? I took it to mean that the drive over is 40 minutes, and when they arrive they put the car on charge for the duration.

Maybe not-but if they look into it they may not need to charge at Op's at all.

Or they could take the petrol car to make sure that they can do the journey!

I mean no one asks to take petrol from someone's car because they haven't enough to get home!

(Yes I know it's not quite the same)