As a Tesla owner since 2014 (now on my second), I have spent my fair share of time at Supercharging stations. One of the unspoken rules of etiquette that all who have a Tesla should know is whenever possible, do NOT park immediately next to another charging Tesla (also known as the "every other space" consideration). It's not because Tesla owners are anti-social (far from it). When it comes to charging and giving someone their space, there's a very real, scientific and practical reason. As Kyle Field of CleanTechica quoted Nick J Howe, author of “Owning Model S, 2nd Edition,” in 2016:
“The eight bay setup takes a 12kV, 750kVA feed from the utility, steps it down to 480V three phase on site, pushes that into 2000A switchgear which feeds four (one for each pair of bays) SuperCharger units at 480V/200A. Each unit contains 12 [Model S] 10kW rectifiers for 120kW.
For safety reasons the ‘pod’ that the car plugs into is not energized until the cable has done a handshake, so if something accidentally flattens a pod or the cable is cut there is no danger.
Each unit is 120kW and will load balance between two bays – if two cars are at the same SOC they’ll each get 60kW, whereas if one is empty and one is close to full it will split it 90/30. So…if you come into an SC station and there are several empty bays DO NOT park next to an existing car unless you first check the label on the SC – each one should be labeled 1A, 1B, 2A, 2B, etc. Avoid taking the same number if you can so you get the full 120kW."
So, now you know. When you kibbutz with a new friend across an empty slot, you'll both charge and get back on the road faster!
--Your friends at ChaDeMo2Go.com
“The eight bay setup takes a 12kV, 750kVA feed from the utility, steps it down to 480V three phase on site, pushes that into 2000A switchgear which feeds four (one for each pair of bays) SuperCharger units at 480V/200A. Each unit contains 12 [Model S] 10kW rectifiers for 120kW.
For safety reasons the ‘pod’ that the car plugs into is not energized until the cable has done a handshake, so if something accidentally flattens a pod or the cable is cut there is no danger.
Each unit is 120kW and will load balance between two bays – if two cars are at the same SOC they’ll each get 60kW, whereas if one is empty and one is close to full it will split it 90/30. So…if you come into an SC station and there are several empty bays DO NOT park next to an existing car unless you first check the label on the SC – each one should be labeled 1A, 1B, 2A, 2B, etc. Avoid taking the same number if you can so you get the full 120kW."
So, now you know. When you kibbutz with a new friend across an empty slot, you'll both charge and get back on the road faster!
--Your friends at ChaDeMo2Go.com
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