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I normally use the Thistle parking packages as find that to be the cheapest. I am about to ditch my hybrid and go full EV. Does anyone know where I can park with EV charging? Not sure how it works if leaving car for a week.
I’m pleased with myself for choosing EV but already having anxiety about charging it.A quick look at aph dot com shows a number of meet and greet providers offering EV charging.
Any reason you can’t top up just before you park? You don’t lose many kWH leaving the car for a couple of weeks parked.
If you really need the charge, your best bet is meet and greet. Most of them charge you car while you are away if you pay for that.
We have successfully left our Tesla Model S for 35 days in a Heathrow car park – left it fully charged and we still had lots of miles left. You do need to know how your car uses when idle, so do some experimenting.
No, you cant hog a charger
Usually if you try that you will be hit with an idle fee, by all means go for itLoads of fast chargers in close proximity to LHR. Make sure you charge up before parking or you’ve got >50 miles of range to get you to a charger on your return. Lots of meet & greet options offer charging but read the small print & reviews & you’ll see it’s not guaranteed or reliable so save yourself the hassle. My etron loses no discernible charge when parked for 10-14 days.
As I don’t even have the car until 1st March I can’t do a lot of experimenting before my first trip. I’ve never used a meet and greet and I think I’d be paranoid about that. I usually stay at LHR over night so I was hoping I’d find somewhere where I could charge it and then unplug before heading off. It’s reassuring that the charge should hold for a few weeks. I’ll just plan to charge it somewhere near LHR before I arrive.
Thanks all. Hopefully I will stop being terrified once I’m used to it.
Failing that we do have another car I could use but I suppose that’s defeating the object.Which car are you getting? If it is a Fisker, it won’t hold the charge, they are known to lose up to 5% per day while doing nothing.
It’s a VW I something, I only know it’s silver! Stereotypes exist for a reason 🤣
I usually stay at LHR over night so I was hoping I’d find somewhere where I could charge it and then unplug before heading off.
FWIW If you are staying overnight, the Renaissance Heathrow apparently has a charging station. No experience of it personally, still being diesel, but it could be an option?
Public charging is, in general, a horror show. I second the “rapid charge it before arriving” votes above – this is much less annoying that wondering whether your meet & greet operator has actually done it or not.
Give yourself plenty of time the first few times you set out to rapid charge – it’s not the most reliable of industries.
Zap map app is very helpful with reviews of each installation showing recent successes or problems.
Agree with all of the above. Arrive at LHR with the car reasonably well charged and you will be fine. Our VW EV loses virtually no charge when parked up for an extended period. Zapmap is good, as noted above. There will likely be LHR hotels with chargers, but I can’t help with that. I have done meet & greet parking at LGW which included charging the car, and that was fine, but I understand the concern with a new car!
Make sure the VW equivalent of Sentry mode is switched off (that is where the car is recording clips when parked for security reasons), that is a big battery drain.
There are very reliable and fast Tesla Superchargers minutes from Heathrow on Horton Road in West Drayton, I believe now open to non Tesla users, you likely need to create an account in advance.
If you drive a Tesla then don’t be like me and book it into Valet but forget to take a keycard! Doh!
We charged ours to 100% and it made it there and back fine, as others say, lost very little power during our trip
Also agree, charge then park. Having had 3 E.V’s none have lost any discernable charge in a lengthy park up. In fact if like my Polestar it will ‘go to sleep’ after a while. Which basically means remote options, pre-heat, etc. may not work the first time, and the power-up routine takes a bit longer.
Yes public charging is not always straightforward but like most things new to you, the concern is greater than the reality and you will find what works best for you.
PS don’t do as I did and curse a British Gas White van man for blocking a public charging place, BA economy snacks taste much better than the humble pie I had to eat, when he pointed at the hidden charging cable plugged into the rear.
I usually stay at LHR over night so I was hoping I’d find somewhere where I could charge it and then unplug before heading off.
FWIW If you are staying overnight, the Renaissance Heathrow apparently has a charging station. No experience of it personally, still being diesel, but it could be an option?
Have used these personally and it worked out great. Plugged in on arrival after a long drive, 25 mins to potter over, check in, dump bags in room. By the time I was back down at the car it was charged, moved to a normal space 5 yards away to free up the charger and straight to bed. 5 mins over to Long Stay in the morning and no anxiety leaving the car for a week knowing it’s charged.
Thank you all. I will take the advice and charge it before arriving at LHR or use the Renaissance .I can easily make time for this on the way and on return just want to get straight home. I’ve now got Zap Map so that will help. I did ask the Thistle but they don’t have any chargers.
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