2023-07-31 10:40:44
After the charging station sticker, there is now also the charging station avoider: tourists who charge their electric car in the socket of their holiday home or camping site. Easy and free, I think. But it really is not possible, says Chris van Haarlem of recreation company ‘Aan het water’ in Heeg, Friesland. “I sometimes have discussions regarding this with tenants. You don’t get diesel from the tank of someone else’s car, do you? Then they look at you strangely.”
His company rents out holiday homes on behalf of the owners. One of them saw on his app that his smart meter peaked bizarrely high in a week. “Does the guest have an electric car?” he asked me. And yes, the tenant turned out to plug his car plug into the socket. Our house rules state that this is not allowed.”
Dangerous
Campsite owners and recreational entrepreneurs notice that many guests do not connect their electric car to a charging station. Maybe they charge at home, but that is undesirable on holiday, says Margriet Huisman of camping site ‘t Plathuis in the Groningen fortified town of Bourtange. “It costs us a lot of extra electricity, which guests do not pay for. And it’s also dangerous. The whole thing can catch fire here, because our electricity network is not built for it.”
Last weekend, her son Tjerk pulled a blue camping plug from a cable of an electric car, which was plugged into a socket outside. “The guy thought the plug was stolen, but I said I pulled it out. Charging is prohibited with us. That is also on our site, but he had not read it.”
Highest density of charging points
Good communication, that prohibition, Jan Ybema of the recreation and water sports sector Hiswa-Recron advises the entrepreneurs. “We have the highest density of charging points in Europe in the Netherlands, so there is always one nearby. Make guests aware that charging in a cottage cannot be safe.”
Providing your car with power at your campsite is ‘indecent’, says Paul de Waal of Bovag, the trade association for car dealers, among others. And it can be dangerous. “Holiday homes may not always contain the heaviest power groups, which can cause fuses to blow. A thin cable from a half-coiled reel can become very hot. So use a sturdy cable anyway and not such a silly extension cord.”
Sjors den Tije of the Association of Electric Riders, who stands up for their interests, is familiar with the phenomenon of sneaky socket chargers in houses and on campsites. “It wouldn’t occur to me to do that, because you’re taking advantage of the situation anyway,” he says. “You don’t get gas from someone’s tank, do you?”
Investment
He does, however, advocate more charging points. The Netherlands now has more than 500,000. Not every recreation company has one. They are missing at Camping Vrijhaven in Heeg, where one in five guests arrive with an electric car. “The demand for charging stations is there, but the investment is now too high for me,” explains owner Karin Veldhuizen. Incidentally, she does not see many illegal chargers. “They will be there, but I don’t walk around like a police officer here. When I see it, I talk to people regarding it. Charging is not allowed here. That is also stated in our terms and conditions.”
Where charging is allowed and even facilitated is in the new holiday park ‘Wetterhaghe’ in Heeg. Of the eighteen brand new holiday homes, eleven have their own charging station in front of the door. Recreational entrepreneur Chris van Haarlem: “The homeowners often have their own electric car. That charging point is an extra service to their tenants. They receive a card and pay for their consumption. The landlord determines the price per kilowatt hour.”
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Car sales are picking up once more in Europe, but the market share of electric cars is faltering.
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