to charge an EV at AirBnB?

[1805]

We have booked an air BnB which does not stipulate it has a car charging point.
I said we should use our electric car to get there, then use the 3 pin plug cable (through a window probably) to give the car a trickle charge overnight.
DH says we should pay to use a public charger. I reckon it would cost around £7 to charge it up overnight. £15 on a public charger.
WWYD? Charge or not charge?

We are not making a massive profit - just sharing our home. All airbnbs are not the same.

We’ve done this - just tell the host and pay for it. We paid, it was no problem. We told them to contact us if it cost any more than the estimate we worked out together and they never did so it must have been fine.

Charge but be prepared to pay extra for it.

I thought I read that you're not supposed to use domestic leads and plug sockets. I dont even like the phone left on charge

Just to clarify, we would be using the original manufacturers cable provided with the car for exactly this use. We know not to use a domestic extension lead with it, and to not coil the cable up when in use. We sleep with the window open anyway, and the property is single story, so we'd use a plug in the bedroom.

The window being left open means it would be a no for me.

Do places stipulate that you cannot sleep with a window open?

We havent got an EV but we sleep with windows open

Whats the issue?

Your host will be paying all sorts of fees and if you are only there a night or two then there are changeover costs too. I’m not a host but a friend is and they don’t make much on a £60 one night booking by the time costs and time have been accounted for. Take off the money to charge it and that’s really unfair.

please ask if you can do it and pay for it. Otherwise it’s just wrong. Just because it doesn’t say you can’t charge your car doesn’t mean you can. It doesn’t say leave the taps on all night or the oven on the entire time you were but that would be wrong too.

I’ve always checked with the owner before and arranged to pay a bit extra to cover charging. I check at the time of booking and I generally don’t book anywhere which doesn’t offer charging.

You’d leave your phone and other devices plugged in all night so why not this

I’ve got an EV, I’d do it especially given the prices some Airbnbs charge per night…
I also know from experience that having to find a public charger on holiday is a massive pain.

What is the fire risk?!?! Our car came with a cable to use with a normal 3 pin plug!

Nonsense. I think you'd notice someone charging an electric car fron your spare room.

Do places stipulate that you cannot sleep with a window open?

Probably not, but I wasn't suggesting they did.

The open window is my reason for not charging overnight in this situation.

I think it’s ok if you get permission. If you don’t, then absolutely not.

Do it and leave a tip for the energy useage. I dare say you won't miss a tenner and then your conscience is clear.

@Maltybiscuit

no it really isn’t. Purpose designed cable. Stop chatting shit.

This isn’t normal use surely!

TV, fan and long showers just normal everyday use

using their electricity to pay for your travel costs - that’s a nope from me

My son got an EV - used the cable supplied and burnt out 2 electric sockets before believing it was an issue. He then had to start taking his car elsewhere and charging until they had their proper external EV socket fitted.

The local Tesco had a free charging point (earlier this year) but not sure if they are still free or have a max charge time now. I know all new Aldis are having EV chargers fitted but again - no idea of cost.

You can use as much electricity as you want (unless there are t&cs that stipulate otherwise) and surely hosts must account for that. A few years ago I stayed in a cottage in winter and went on long muddy walks with the dog everyday. What with all the dog towels and our clothes we had the washing machine and tumble drier on every day. I would never put the tumble on every day at home.

I wouldn’t worry about the £7, you could always just tip the owner, but I would worry about leaving a ground floor window open all night, seems like an invitation to burglars? Unless you have some way to lock the window while charging, or can get the cable to first floor.

I'd message in advance, and offer to pay for the electricity used. Either give them an estimate of the cost, or offer to do meter readings at the start and end of your holiday and work it out that way.

Don't do it without asking first.

Would you expect the owners to pay your fuel costs for the week if you had a petrol car?

Also not all wiring is suitable for EV charging so yes it can be a fire risk.

I do allow it but I had a separate socket installed which is rated for EV charging and we charge an additional £30 a week for its use

Every thread I read about EVs, people emphasise that finding public chargers in deepest, darkest wilds of the country is easy and they're everywhere.

And here you are saying you need to use someone's domestic electricity supply because its a 'massive pain' finding a public charger?

Well I think you should offer to pay for the electricity used, as at the moment it’s not the norm and won’t be factored into their costs. In general the things provided by an Airbnb host are for your benefit / comfort / convenience in the property. You wouldn’t take home the the dishwasher tablets and toilet roll (would you?), or siphon out some heating oil to chuck in your diesel car?

If you’re you’re worried about doing it then ask. If you ask and they say yes, then that’s fine. If you’re worried about asking in case they say no, then you know you shouldn’t be doing it.

for the poster above that said it’s okay as they’d leave phones and other devices plugged in, the level of power consumption is off the scale different. An iPhone charger is about 5Wh. An EV plugged can draws up to 3kWh, so 600 times as much. Even at 2kWh that’s 400 times as much as a phone, or 200 times as much as an iPad. Every hour.