As famous Australian writer Dorothea Mackellar wrote we are “a sunburnt country, A land of sweeping plains, Of ragged mountain ranges, Of droughts and flooding rains”, and yet it is extremely rare to visit an electric car charging site in our country that has some decent shelter from burning sun/pouring rain with a place to sit and rest.
The only two examples I’ve seen during my EV road trips are Chargefox Barnawartha North and Evie Taylors Lakes, both pictured below.
The installation of many of these charging station locations is partly funded by government grants and as part of the rules for these grants there should be a mandatory requirement for fixed shade.
Of the two types of shelter above I prefer the one at Chargefox Barnawartha North because sturdy metal construction will last longer in our harsh weather compared to a shade umbrella.
If seating is hard to provide at an electric car charging station then decent shelter is a good minimum requirement to win a government grant.
While we were charging at NRMA Holbrook recently a storm blew in with heavy rain and strong winds. I know my family really appreciated the big roof and deep eaves at the council building right next to the charger.
If you’ve used a charging station that has decent shelter and or seating please share where it is.
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