Which Charging Station Is Best For Your Electric Vehicle?
Which Charging Station Is Best For Your Electric Vehicle
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When you buy an electric vehicle (EV), buying and installing a charging station will now be part of the process. All approved chargers by the various manufacturers will be compliant with SAE J1772 standards for electric vehicles and electrical connectors.
Once you buy an electric vehicle, you are going to need to install a charging station in your home. Customers who want to arrange for their own installation will have to sign a waiver.
The Chevy Volt will come standard with a 110 volt charger which will allow you to charge directly from your home wall outlet.
The 2 new electric vehicles have significant differences in the size of their battery packs. Chevrolet considers the Volt to be a hybrid vehicle which can be plugged in. GM describes the car as an extended range EV (electric vehicle) with a smaller battery. Nissan considers the LEAF to be strictly an electric car. It has a much larger battery, 2-3 times the size of the Chevy Volt. Although the Volt has a 16kw battery, rarely be used to full capacity. In order to increase the battery life, the LEAF will need to use over 80% of its 24kw. The LEAF will need to be charged into a standard 110 v outlet for an entire day to become fully charged. Installation of a rapid home charger will cost about $2,200.
Unless a surprisingly large number of the initial buyers of the Volt and the LEAF, opt for professional installation of the rapid 240 v charger, demand is expected to be fairly low until 2012.
With the release of these new electric vehicles, several companies have entered the EV charging market. AreoVironment is one of the first companies to build and install the rapid home charging units for EV's. Because they were the first one to have a product on the market, they were selected by Nissan as their installation company. To date, most of the other manufacturers of charging equipment have been focused on industrial applications.
These are the current major players in the charging station market.
ECOtality
ECOtality was one of the first manufacturers of EV charging equipment. Some industrial equipment such a s forklifts have used electric chargers to power their operations for a long time They have used their experience to market the Minit-Charger for both residential and commercial charging applications. ECOtality is managing a massive undertaking called the EV Project. The plan is to install thousands of charging stations in the 5 states where EV's will be released first. ECOtality will also install charging stations made by other companies. Although ECOtality makes level 1 and level 2 charging stations, they do not manufacture rapid DC chargers. ECOtality just released their newest line of level 2 and commercial charging stations. These new stations are modern and sleek and may update their conservative image.
SPX
SPX has been selected by Chevrolet to be the exclusive service provider for the purchase and installation of the Chevy Volt 240 Volt rapid home charger. The purchase and installation of the Volt rapid home chargers will be coordinated by SPX. The level II 240 V charging station will fully charge a Volt in about 4 hours. SPX will work with homeowners to ensure their home electrical system is adequate to support installation of the 240 volt chargers.
AeroVironment
Nissan chose AeroVironment as the exclusive installation contractor for the LEAF EV. AeroVironment is best known for residential installations, but they manufacture and sell both Level 2 and fast DC chargers for commercial use. They are an established company that made unmanned aircraft for the military for a long time. They built the original charger for the precursor to the EV 1, the Impact, built in the 1990's. They also developed the charging stations for the EV1, so it is only natural that they would manufacture the new versions of charging stations.
Coulomb technologies is one of the better known EV charging manufacturers. Coulomb is rapidly building out their membership Charge Point network which will allow their members to pull up to any of their stations and begin charging immediately. So far the majority of the 300 stations installed so far are Level I, but now they are beginning to install Level II chargers as well. Clipper Creek
Clipper Creek is not so well known, but they have been selling chargers for many years. The design of their equipment is not as modern and sleek as some of the newer styles. They work more with industrial fleets than with businesses or homes. Clipper Creek chargers can be installed anywhere. They are responsible for the Tesla Roadster home charging stations. These are only available as Level II chargers and are available in several different configurations. General Electric
The most recent player in the car charging station market is GE. They just introduced their new Watt Station charger. This first release is designed for commercial installations, however they will introduce a residential model in the next few months. The Watt Stations has a modern design. Well known designer, Yves Behar is responsible for the sleek, modern design of the Watt Station. This is the first charging station that incorporates Wi Fi.
PEP Stations
Ford has begun working with a company called PEP to develop rugged charging stations for rough usage. These chargers are made of concrete and stainless steel. They are mostly sold to municipal and commercial locations. This company is relatively unknown so they don't have a track record yet. Since they are made from quality automotive grade materials, they should be strong and robust. Another company called, Better Place, is known for their battery switching techniques. Better Place is installing charging stations in Denmark and Israel. To date, they do not make a residential model. However, it is possible that they will introduce a model designed for residential charging.
Leviton
Another company is the giant electrical supply company, Leviton. They are well established and have many service engineers. Leviton is including a 10 year warranty on their "Evr-green" home and commercial charging stations. Leviton has also introduced a standard installation method that is the industry's first pre-wired plug in system for their Level II chargers. This system will enable consumers to make their homes "plug in ready" before they purchase any electric car. This prewired system has a starting price of less than $200, not including installation and is meant to lower installation costs and reduce installation times. The prewired kits are required to be installed by an installer certified by Leviton, but once the system has been installed, the Level II charging station can later be easily added by the consumer.
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