Everyone I know with EVs charges from a regular household plug with a proper heavy duty extension cord with no problems.
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I think the potential difference between the guest using an extension cord and a homeowner [and I know you didn’t say homeowner but I’m guessing that the ‘everyone you know’ persons are at their usual place of abode, which I’ll reference as ‘homeowner’] using an extension cord is:
– The ‘every person you know’ homeowner presumably knows their home and their vehicle, what the instructions say, and that ‘every person you know’ will bear the cost if they don’t follow those instructions and the worse happens.
– The ‘every person you know’ homeowner can have a proper (amperage or gauge might depend on the vehicle) heavy duty cord (if so permitted by their vehicle’s instructions) of a proper length, for their vehicle, and members of their household will presumably be accustomed to where the cord is positioned.
– The ‘every person you know’ homeowner might, when they first plugged in their EV, stuck around, felt the cord, felt the outlet (for heat), made sure everything seemed to be working before they left their home or went to sleep or whatever. Maybe the guest not so much.
– Unless a guest has brought such a ‘proper’ cord of the correct length, the guest might use an improper cord. It might be a matter of debate what the proper cord is.
– A guest might have a different risk tolerance than the ‘everyone you know’ homeowner or the Host. For example, a guest might choose to disregard the manufacturer’s directions on using an extension cord (thinking ‘What could happen?’ and probably nothing will happen depending on what’s used and the particular vehicle) but a Host might not be willing to take that chance. Plus, how can the Host know that the guest is using a proper cord?
– A guest’s household, being new to the listing, won’t be accustomed to the layout of the cord and could trip and fall because of it. [Trips and falls might not be litigated in Mexico but they are in the U.S., don’t know about Australia. Could the Host be held liable for not having suitable signage for the guest to use? I don’t know.]
– If damage or injury results, the guest won’t have to live with the damages; the Host will, including loss of income that might be covered by Proper insurance but not all policies.
– Ascertaining who is at fault might be difficult, impossible or costly. The Host could be held partially negligent, which might decrease recovery or perhaps even bar it in some jurisdictions. The Host or insurer could be incentivized to accept a partial settlement, given the costs.
– The Host’s insurance premium might increase or the Host’s listing might even become uninsurable.
It’s this kind of thought process that leads me, a risk-averse Host in the U.S., to conclude that I probably wouldn’t permit Level 1 charging. Or if I did it would only be after a lot of research and editing of the rules, communications, discussion with insurer.
I understand that it’s very unlikely for a fire to occur, but each of us, we’re a population of one. If that unlikely accident happens to us it could be catastrophic. Why do healthy 25-year olds buy life insurance? Because stuff happens, and sometimes it’s not wise to play the odds.
As EVs are going to become more and more common, it might be a good investment for hosts who have lots of guests who drive to the listings to purchase a proper EV charging extension cord.
And no, my friends with EVs (who, yes, are homeowners) do not “when they first plugged in their EV, stuck around, felt the cord, felt the outlet (for heat), made sure everything seemed to be working before they left their home or went to sleep or whatever.”
Well, we agree on this with a friendly edit.
I wonder if such a Host should have a proper EV charging cord – not an extension cord even of the one I listed above because some manufacturers say not to use one, and the Host couldn’t know in advance and keep up on which vehicles can use an extension cord and which the manufacturer says cannot.
As for your friends with EVs who do not stick around and make sure that all is working OK
well, they chose to take and live with the risk, but some Hosts might reasonably choose not to. Or, at the least, somehow test a first use case to make sure that everything seems to be working, consult with an electrician, and consider subscribing (U.S.) to Ting,
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And no one I know has had their gas-powered car catch on fire. No disrespect intended, but just because no one you know has had a problem doesn’t mean the problem isn’t real. Is it frequent enough to worry about? I think that’s what @Pam1 is thinking about.
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Yeah, and not just frequency but IF something happens, what could be the loss?
And for what upside?
There’ll come a time – and maybe at some places that that time is now – when the marketplace will expect EV charging (though I would think Level 2).
But until that time, some Hosts might decide to take their chances with Level 1 charging and letting a guest use an extension cord, but other Hosts might prohibit it or do what it takes to make sure it’s safe.
Some Hosts have a new or renovated place whose wiring they’re sure is up to today’s code. Others have a much older home, with intervening buyers who’ve done DIY electrical projects, Each Host might see the risk differently.
Absolutely something to consider. I ran a safety group in an oil refinery for a few years, and we always asked “how likely” and “how bad” about every scenario before we made any mitigation recommendations. Even extremely unlikely events would get some recommendations if the consequences were extreme.
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It must be about eight years or so that I was ticked off here at this forum for using the word ‘dear’,
Evidently, it’s patronising. I’ve no idea because I call my other half dear all the time with no patronising intentions.
But if you mean it rudely or in a patronising way, please don’t. Thank you.
For sure, anecdotal evidence is just that- it doesn’t mean something isn’t real.
But there’s also no reason to be alarmed because one reads about some EV cars catching fire, which is also anecdotal.
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Well, Dear – oh, I’m just kidding – whether ‘alarmed’ is the word or just ‘newly aware’ that some small percentage of EVs catching fire while charging alerts a Host to that possibility.
Then a quick reading on the subject reveals that some ways of Level 1 charging are unsafe, that there’s some disagreement on whether extension cords should be used, that some manufacturers say not to use extension cords for their vehicles and the result is a Host has concerns.
It’s more than anecdotal. There have been EV battery recalls on fire risk : Chevy Bolts (140,000), Jaguar I-Pace, Kia Soul Eve, Hyundai (two recalls) on its Konas and Ioniq-Evs, Chrysler on its Pacifica; some cities (two (Scranton PA is one for certain models) in U.S. per this article) have banned EVs in parking garages or underground garages, and more in U.S. and foreign cities are considering banning EVs from underground parking garages because of the fire risk that could collapse the structure, some HOAs, some shipping companies won’t ship them, are banning them, (not an exhaustive list, just a quick Google search that surprised me, maybe you too). Anyway – who knew? – it’s more than anecdotal.
{Of course, our Host parking is at least 30’ away from a combustible surface, not in or near our garage. And we don’t have a multi-story or underground garage — but I bet Mitt Romney is thinking twice about charging EV cars in his garage! 
]
So, a Host can be reasonably concerned, depending on the many variables of their property, their risk tolerance, marketplace pressures (or not).
Maybe even alarmed.
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Gosh, if only there were, I don’t know, some sort of online search engine where you could ask a question and instantly get 5 million answers. But until that day…
There are all kinds of reasons that hosts don’t want one kind of guest or another and no charging of EVs has been discussed here previously as being an electricity user that hosts don’t want to deal with. Regardless of the reason, prohibit them and move on, you weren’t asking for our approval, just thoughts.
My thought is that all new technologies are viewed with suspicion and a degree of fear. It is said that nature abhors a vacuum and for some reason lots of people like to fill in the blanks with something negative. The entire business of doing Airbnb adds and element of risk to homeownership and it seems to me that most people have no idea what’s actually dangerous from an actual risk assessment perspective is. So no matter what people tell you, you aren’t comfortable with it and don’t want them there. Nothing wrong with that. Not every host has to offer every thing.
This reminds me of the fear people have of self driving cars. I can’t wait until they are everywhere. Can they be worse than humans? In the US, there’s over 2 mil accidents, 40k deaths and 5 mil injuries and hundreds of billions in economic losses. Yet the vast majority of people hop in the car and drive without one trace of fear. Others, like drunks and old people will actually argue that “they are fine to drive” and blithely go on and put people in danger.
It’s a crazy, mixed up situation.
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My Tesla mobile charger plugs directly into a 50 amp outlet I installed at my listing for guests and myself to use. The spot is in the sun, sometimes it gets too hot and the charger will simply turn off. It will not charge if the car senses its too hot. Not sure, car may be communicating with the charger or what but it just works. On hot days, with that south facing plug it may turn itself off.
I ask my guests to only charge after 9PM because the electric rates go down for me then so as a result of that they never experience the charger shutting off.
I get bookings I may not have because of that 50 amp Nema 14-50 outlet , the last guy had a Rivian truck. Most good mobile chargers will plug into it.
RR
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I have a Level 2 charger too, though I don’t know if I will get bookings because of it.
I’m confident of its safety – though nothing in life is guaranteed – because it is a dedicated circuit and all installed by a licensed electrician from a company with many 5.0 Google reviews.
But if someone wanted to charge their vehicle from an outlet with an extension cord in this 60+ year old house I wouldn’t be so confident of the safety.
I don’t know how much of that is the OP’s concern (and I am grateful for @Pam1 's post because I didn’t realize at all that some EVs had this issue). Because of the reported battery issues she might be concerned even with a dedicated Level 2 charger arrangement. If so, I get that even though I am comfortable with it. And after reading about the battery issues I’m glad that the charging is not in the garage.
I’ve had this vision of aliens looking down on Earth’s highways and finding out that the vehicles are all controlled separately and saying, “What? You mean all those vehicles are being driven by individuals, who may or may not be paying attention, with no central coordination? That’s insane- how do they not just crash into each other all the time?”
Well, we can all agree on one thing here. Gas powered vehicles parked at a house are not likely to spontaneously combust in the driveway overnight, while EVs that are left charging overnight with an extension cord DO have that probability. And this is what we are talking about.
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I do not think we will ever all agree on anything here!
RR
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You may be right about that. But again, a gas vehicle parked in a driveway overnight is not going to spontaneously combust on its own. Anyone is free to disagree with facts if they want to.
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