If move in direction of locked pedestals, wonder if cost effective for campground when installing this system to allow site user to checkin being locked out and selecting NO ELECTRIC rate and..... if want electric later during stay to locked. Maybe model like with internet that allows you to sign up by day plans. Maybe some system where pedestal wifi lock would automatically lock when selected unlock option (1, 2 3 days etc) expires. On the other side, I might not be a fan of wifi locking based on all the creative hacking.
I am probably missing out on becoming a billionaire. But here it goes. Easy solution.
There is a small touch screen interface. Credit card reader. Cash you have to talk to the owner at camp store. Not to dissimilar to a gas pump. Instead of pumping gas. You using electric.
Prepay a certain amount or scan your card when you arrive. When you leave you check out.
The meter reading would be displayed when you arrive and leave. Just like a gas pump. The amount per KWH is posted at the pedestal.
Nothing new just reusing already familiar technology in a campground.
Be careful of the can of worms. Cause you might get the same for water and waste.
It is essential that they would be disallowed unless paid for with reservation, too much consumption for the rv park to not charge for. Only EV charging should be extra cost, in an all inclusive full hookups rv space. Thank you.
Not an issue, never seen an electrical pedestal with an EV Charging port? That would be both an exception, and one that has to be clearly stated on any reservation site.
EV charging pedestals would included at a percentage of camping sites in new campgrounds. Right now EV owners are simply plugging a Class-2 EV charger into the 50-amp pedestal outlet, and their RV into the 30-amp outlet. Some are even pulling 50-amps from 2 different pedestals. It's the Wild West out there right now for EV charging.
I’ve seen measurement technology that links multiple pedestal kWh meters to a central server via WIFI mesh routers. So it’s completely automated and could be monitored by the RV owner in real time with an app. Of course, this would cost the campgrounds substantial money to install.
I suspect that the van campers with only a 20 amp hookup are for a metering system and the large class A motor home users pulling an EV and using the 50 amp hookup don't. There needs to be a fair system for both.
No, it is the camels nose inside the tent ploy to down the road keep raising fees. Just one fee All inclusive, or I and friends who RV agree, no go! A full hookups RV Space, with no add-on fees, is the only acceptable way to rent.
Sorry. I stayed there and was so impressed by the park, the layout and their solar system. Still, addressing the issue, when a person PAYS to stay at an RV Park with full hookups, trying to charge extra for electricity is not acceptable. As not charging for water or sewage or ANYTHING else. All inclusive or will never stay at such a park.
Flag City RV Park, Lodi, Ca may disagree with you on the amount of electricity produced by their huge solar panel array. Look at the arial of the park, and see how they did it.
RV spaces are getting more expensive all the time, some as expensive as a hotel room. However with a hotel room providing clean facilities, electric, heating and air conditioning, entertainment, free, coffee, and more. I will not pay more for any RV facility extra for electricity. That is a cost to do in business. Wiser and more efficient new RV parks are putting solar banks to provide the electricity.
Well, those solar panels do not make nearly enough electricity to provide campground power. What they do is help offset the peak power usage of the campground during high demand times so the power company doesn’t fine the campground with a peak demand surcharge which can cost them tens of thousands of dollars a month. Some campgrounds run big diesel generators during peak demand times to avoid this surcharge.
I agree with most of the suggestions except it would be nice if the owner only passed on his electricity costs. For example, I don't see why he would charge $.35 per kw hour when his cost is $.10? Also not everyone checks out at noon. Is the owner going to be available for checkout at 6AM?
Currently campgrounds are not allowed to markup their cost of electricity to you. That’s state law as far as I can see. But it appears they can add a service/hookup charge for EV charging. Much more to study…
I wasn’t able to watch the town hall but the summary was very interesting and thought provoking. All of the aspects mentioned seem important. That said, it seems like a bit much for a real world system that would need to be replicated at every campsite and flawlessly executed at the campground level. Has any such system been built and / or tested yet? I have seen charging stations at some campgrounds. It would be interesting to see some real data or at least a computer simulation and comparison of several alternative candidate systems. Also, a phased implementation approach might make sense. Try it out in one campsite, make incremental changes as what works and what doesn’t work is revealed in real use. It does seem like a vexingly complex problem in need of a solution. Is there an industry association like EPRI or IEEE that would be up to the task of doing a proper study? The DOE has the capability but I wonder if this is an area of interest at one of the national labs? I look forward to watching the video. Thanks Mike, for sharing this with us.
If move in direction of locked pedestals, wonder if cost effective for campground when installing this system to allow site user to checkin being locked out and selecting NO ELECTRIC rate and..... if want electric later during stay to locked. Maybe model like with internet that allows you to sign up by day plans. Maybe some system where pedestal wifi lock would automatically lock when selected unlock option (1, 2 3 days etc) expires. On the other side, I might not be a fan of wifi locking based on all the creative hacking.
I am probably missing out on becoming a billionaire. But here it goes. Easy solution.
There is a small touch screen interface. Credit card reader. Cash you have to talk to the owner at camp store. Not to dissimilar to a gas pump. Instead of pumping gas. You using electric.
Prepay a certain amount or scan your card when you arrive. When you leave you check out.
The meter reading would be displayed when you arrive and leave. Just like a gas pump. The amount per KWH is posted at the pedestal.
Nothing new just reusing already familiar technology in a campground.
Be careful of the can of worms. Cause you might get the same for water and waste.
It is essential that they would be disallowed unless paid for with reservation, too much consumption for the rv park to not charge for. Only EV charging should be extra cost, in an all inclusive full hookups rv space. Thank you.
Not an issue, never seen an electrical pedestal with an EV Charging port? That would be both an exception, and one that has to be clearly stated on any reservation site.
EV charging pedestals would included at a percentage of camping sites in new campgrounds. Right now EV owners are simply plugging a Class-2 EV charger into the 50-amp pedestal outlet, and their RV into the 30-amp outlet. Some are even pulling 50-amps from 2 different pedestals. It's the Wild West out there right now for EV charging.
Who’s going to read the meters; is it an honor system? With people coming in at all hours and going out at all hours who will do that?
I’ve seen measurement technology that links multiple pedestal kWh meters to a central server via WIFI mesh routers. So it’s completely automated and could be monitored by the RV owner in real time with an app. Of course, this would cost the campgrounds substantial money to install.
I suspect that the van campers with only a 20 amp hookup are for a metering system and the large class A motor home users pulling an EV and using the 50 amp hookup don't. There needs to be a fair system for both.
No, it is the camels nose inside the tent ploy to down the road keep raising fees. Just one fee All inclusive, or I and friends who RV agree, no go! A full hookups RV Space, with no add-on fees, is the only acceptable way to rent.
Should that include charging your EV?
Sorry. I stayed there and was so impressed by the park, the layout and their solar system. Still, addressing the issue, when a person PAYS to stay at an RV Park with full hookups, trying to charge extra for electricity is not acceptable. As not charging for water or sewage or ANYTHING else. All inclusive or will never stay at such a park.
What if a park offered you a rebate if you used less than the average amount of kWh?
Flag City RV Park, Lodi, Ca may disagree with you on the amount of electricity produced by their huge solar panel array. Look at the arial of the park, and see how they did it.
I'll take a look, but I bet it wasn't cheap. Do you have a contact there I can interview?
RV spaces are getting more expensive all the time, some as expensive as a hotel room. However with a hotel room providing clean facilities, electric, heating and air conditioning, entertainment, free, coffee, and more. I will not pay more for any RV facility extra for electricity. That is a cost to do in business. Wiser and more efficient new RV parks are putting solar banks to provide the electricity.
Well, those solar panels do not make nearly enough electricity to provide campground power. What they do is help offset the peak power usage of the campground during high demand times so the power company doesn’t fine the campground with a peak demand surcharge which can cost them tens of thousands of dollars a month. Some campgrounds run big diesel generators during peak demand times to avoid this surcharge.
I agree with most of the suggestions except it would be nice if the owner only passed on his electricity costs. For example, I don't see why he would charge $.35 per kw hour when his cost is $.10? Also not everyone checks out at noon. Is the owner going to be available for checkout at 6AM?
Currently campgrounds are not allowed to markup their cost of electricity to you. That’s state law as far as I can see. But it appears they can add a service/hookup charge for EV charging. Much more to study…
A complex system/procedure will be rife with misunderstandings and protestations.
The solution must be simple with few or no conditions on if it will apply.
It will take quite awhile to determine what works best
I’m a big believer in the KISS principle of keeping it simple. This is starting to get interesting…
Oops meant "later in stay to be unlocked"
I wasn’t able to watch the town hall but the summary was very interesting and thought provoking. All of the aspects mentioned seem important. That said, it seems like a bit much for a real world system that would need to be replicated at every campsite and flawlessly executed at the campground level. Has any such system been built and / or tested yet? I have seen charging stations at some campgrounds. It would be interesting to see some real data or at least a computer simulation and comparison of several alternative candidate systems. Also, a phased implementation approach might make sense. Try it out in one campsite, make incremental changes as what works and what doesn’t work is revealed in real use. It does seem like a vexingly complex problem in need of a solution. Is there an industry association like EPRI or IEEE that would be up to the task of doing a proper study? The DOE has the capability but I wonder if this is an area of interest at one of the national labs? I look forward to watching the video. Thanks Mike, for sharing this with us.
CMP-7 (Code Making Panel 7) of the NEC has already discussed this with me.