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Buying An Electric Car? You Might Want To Order Your Charging Station Now. |
5 Comments |
| By Michael d'Estries in Energy, Transportation | January 3, 2010 | ||
2010 will most likely go down as the year electric cars were (once again) made available to the public through Big Auto. Both Nissan and Chevy have plans to release the Leaf and Volt respectively — and both focus on getting energy from being plugged in. (Although the Volt can charge its battery utilizing its small “range-extender engine”, but then what’s the point of having an electric car?)
If you’ve got the deep pockets for one, the most conventional way of charging the vehicle will be to simply plug it into an ordinary wall socket. Charging a Nissan Leaf would take up to 16 hours, and charging a Volt would take eight. If you’re in a hurry, however, the best thing to have on-hand in the garage is a “quick charger” — which pushes a much more considerable amount of juice to your car. Instead of 8 hours, you can now have a fully charged Volt in under 2.5 hours.
Unfortunately, having a quick charger installed in your garage is not something just anyone can do. From CNN Money,
“The equipment has to be fully approved, installed by a competent professional, and in most cases, a city or state inspector will have to approve it all.”
In some instances, users had to jump through hoops that amounted to a month or more of waiting for the right installer/inspector to visit their home. “But the broader market of car buyers are likely to be turned off by any additional hassles”, said Charlie Vogelheim, executive editor of Intellichoice.com to CNN. “They all become detriments to making the sale,” he said. “That’s the type of thing that slows it down going into the mainstream.”
Companies like Nissan and Chevy are attempting to alleviate such potential issues by working with city and state governments now — so that later in 2010, when new customers attempt to order quick chargers and get them inspected, they’re not met with blank stares. As Sebastian Blanco, editor of Autobloggreen added, “Little setbacks will not be enough to hold back the tide of people who really want these cars.”
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Sean Maslow said,
As if there were no “additional hassles” involved with internal combustion engine cars. Say for instance oil changes and smog checks and tune ups and coolant flushes and air filter changes and transmission services. Ever had a broken timing belt? That’s not a hassle at all…yeah, right! Do you like smelling like gas after a fill-up? Do you like all those petroleum-based drips in your garage? Waiting a month for a quick charger is nothing compared to all those “additional hassles” which will COMPLETELY GO AWAY with an EV. I definitely want to buy an electric car. Sign me up!
Don Francis said,
No worries. Starting as early as 2nd quarter of 2010, UL listed with the SAE J1772 compliant connector level 2 EVSE (electric vehicle supply equipment) will be available for purchase from ClipperCreek. Since the SAE J1772 connector is compatible with both the Nissan Leaf as well as the GM/Chevy Volt, those who plan on purchasing a new EV/PHEV/EREV in late 2010 or early 2011 can get the work done before the rush once the vehicles become available at your local dealership. Any competent electrician can install the necessary 240 volt wiring and install the EVSE equipment in your garage or carport in a day. Now is the time to work through the local electrical permitting and inspection issues before the rush begins.
pat said,
How much is the price point, on either of these vehicles. are they comparable to a regular car
Neutron Flux said,
Dido Don Francis! I have started the permit approval process and not only did I get a blank stare & was told by my City that it was a violation of the California Building Code section 230.2 to have a second electric meter installed on my home. They apparently are not familiar with subpart D allowance for alternate rate schedules. Anyone considering going with the 240 VAC charger (most) should start their local permit process now. I am currently in the appeals phase with my City. After having received a copy of the CBC portion from my State Assemblyman’s office so I could determine what if any footing the city was on to find none. The other issue was with my utility. The meter planner was not yet up to speed on Electric Vehicle rate schedules or meter installs. Understandable since they are not yet in wide use. I am working with my utility to help remove these issues for the rest of you. Their are at least two other utilities in this state. If you have any problems contact their Consumer Affairs Office for Assistance. Definately look up & check out the TOU-EV-1 rate schedule. You don’t want to upgrade anything till you know its impact & cost and all the options so work with your utility on what is available. I will be using a second dedicated meter & panel for my PEV to receive a discounted rate & prevent driving up my tiered rate on my home, which is tied into my solar panels & keeps me at or below tier 2 most of the time. You don’t want to be in tier 3 or 4 trust me! PS the new SAE J1772 standard for charging plugs was adopted on 14 Jan 10. So you might need to give companies a few months to redesign their products to meet all new requirements. Don’t go with equipment that meets old standard if your City inspector is going to shoot it down. Make sure what you buy meets all the new requirements adopted Jan 14, 2010 by SAE & approved by UL. A small subpanel with meter spot will cost you under $60.00 at Lowes. Not sure what chargers will run since no one is really selling yet to new standards. Some charger MFG’s may require install by their own trained or company reps. find out details before you buy in case you have an electrician friend who can do it on the cheap for you. I would imagine a permit with city should be under $160.00. Save your receipts for everything in case their are rebates or tax write offs later.
Charging an Electric Car « Greenbeard said,
[...] these dedicated units, however, requires that the homeowner take the necessary steps to contact the utility company, have electricians install the units to ensure they are properly [...]