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Company Plug-In Parking Maxed Out

Discussion in 'EV (Electric Vehicle) Discussion' started by hill, May 4, 2012.

  1. hill

    hill High Fiber Member

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    For the first time in over a year that our company has provided 120v charging stalls exclusively for Plug-ins ... we maxed out:

    [​IMG]

    Two days ago, we got our 1st PiP (with green sticker, if you look closely) joining us in the reserved parking stalls ... and there are two other Leafs that (fortunately) didn't show up. Anyway, I found out the hard way that the 120v receptacles we are not wired properly. With 4 cars charging - POP - goes the breaker. Each receptacle ought to be on a dedicated circuit. Obviously they're not. Oh well, that's often the result when the lowest bidder gets the job. Anyway . . . 4 different models ... full house ... thought it looked cool.

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  2. inventor00

    inventor00 Active Member

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    They are putting a charging station (it will have 2 -240 cables) in at work in the next week or so, and there are 3 of us PIPs, but we play nice....
     
  3. fjpod

    fjpod Member

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    Although I am all in favor of opportunistic charging, there will never be enough infrastructure for people to be able to charge reliably other than at home...assuming you have a home where you can plug in. Even if Plug-ins go up one percent, there will be mass hysteria at "public" outlets for the foreseeable future.
     
  4. austingreen

    austingreen Senior Member

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    Nice. I wonder how much it would cost to just put outlets all along the wall and not dedicate the spots only to EVs? Does each outlet need to be breakered, or can a new much larger circuit be put in will high amp load. I like the fact that there are four different models of plug ins in 4 spots.
     
  5. Trollbait

    Trollbait It's a D&D thing

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    I would think you can put in a 40 to 60 amp circuit with just 15 amp outlets. The only issue I see is the wire gauge being to thick to safely connect to the outlets. Likely against code here, an English circuit could solve that. It uses a smaller gauge, but the circuit doesn't dead end at the farthest outlet. Instead it's a circle with another cable going back to the panel. Same amount of copper for the current. It's just in two cables instead of one.
     
  6. Skoorbmax

    Skoorbmax Senior Member

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    Neat pic. Also absolutely shameful that the electrician never considered the max amps running through that circuit and thus they can blow the breaker. That's really inexcusable incompetence.
     
  7. KK6PD

    KK6PD _ . _ . / _ _ . _

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    Why not at all, it's called the Lo Bid Estimate got the job! :rolleyes:
     
  8. austingreen

    austingreen Senior Member

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    Just my guess, but the person that speced the work probably just said we need 4 outlets, instead of saying we need 4 outlets to charge EVs that may take 20 amps each. The electrician should have asked though.:)
     
  9. austingreen

    austingreen Senior Member

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    IIRC the wire should cover the full current of the breaker. I don't know if the individual outlets are allowed to handle 80amps though.:D
     
  10. Flying White Dutchman

    Flying White Dutchman Senior Member

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    if they al would be with.. that would make this pic even better:)
     
  11. Trollbait

    Trollbait It's a D&D thing

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    Oh, I know it's not code here, but when was the last time you looked behind the drywall.;)
     
  12. ccdisce

    ccdisce Active Member

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    The Plug-in Parking where I work is reserved for the Security Golf Cart.
     
  13. RichardAK

    RichardAK Member

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    I like the photo in the original post.

    Hmmm, we have the infrastructure installed i.e.one 15A outlet per parking space, each individually breakered (for engine heaters) but no plug-in or electric vehicles for sale.

    Too bad...
     
  14. hill

    hill High Fiber Member

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    Mass hysteria ... that's funny. You WERE joking right? You do understand that the trickle charger pulls about the same power as some hand-held blow driers for your hair? Same with your micro wave oven power. Most other appliances too. Sooooo ... micro wave ovens continue to grow in numbers ... and big screen TV's ... and toaster ovens ... never mind all the juice necessary to go to new trac homes ... never mind all the tilt up business complexes. Boy that's gona be a lot of mass hystaria. Good thing we got plug-in's to throw under the bus. ;)
    Or ... charge locations can install 4 solar panels per plug. The efficiencies of new PV panels now days put out about the same amount of juice used for trickle charging. Or, we can go to plan 'B'. Plan 'B' is, to do something ONLY after cheap carbon fuels spiral ever downward. Oh ... wait ... we passed that point, and still no hysteria. Heck, by the looks of all the masses prepping to head to the river pulling toy haulers and ski boats, we can't even get the masses whipped into mass hysteria for that reality.
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  15. ProximalSuns

    ProximalSuns Senior Member

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    It is one of the limitations of EV's. They have to be able to round trip. Range and refuel are their limiting factors.
     
  16. fjpod

    fjpod Member

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    My point was not that EVs consume a log of juice, but that very soon, there will be a lot more plug-ins than there are public charging outlets. Folks wont be able to depend on getting an electrified spot. Home charging will be the only reliable method. Even so, my next car will be an EV.
     
  17. daniel

    daniel Cat Lovers Against the Bomb

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    "Never" is a long time.

    So your prediction is that charger installs will not keep up with sales of EVs?

    I think the opposite is the case: There needs to be a critical mass of EVs before charger installs really take off. Once that mass is reached, the market will kick in.

    I don't expect there to be enough chargers to depend on public charging in my region any time soon. But in a decade I expect things to be different.

    Back in the days before fuel-injection, there were public parking lots in North Dakota with a 110-v. outlet at every spot, because cars parked long enough to get cold in winter would not start without plugging in their block heater. I foresee a day (maybe 10 years from now, maybe 20) when there's a plug at every parking spot, or at least lots of places where every spot has a plug. But it might not be an EVSE. It might just be an outlet, and the car has the EVSE, or the driver carries a portable EVSE.
     
  18. fjpod

    fjpod Member

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    I don't believe stores, companies, etc. are going to put in sufficient chargers for people to use for free. I know never is a long time, but let's say Sears puts in a dozen chargers or two dozen...there will always be a shortage and congestion around them, if they are free.

    Daytime opportunistic charging would also put stress on the electric grid in places like NYC or Brooklyn, and go contrary to the concept of using electricity at night when utilities basically throw it away.

    PHEVs and EVs are here. I just feel that for a very long time, the only way to charge them reliably and will be at home.
     
  19. hill

    hill High Fiber Member

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    Most folks go store shopping for maybe 90 minutes ... and shop no farther than 15 miles from home ... so shopping at stores really doesn't require charging ... much less free charging. Most EV owners don't expect free charging any way. But like ICE drivers ... no one wants to get gouged for fuel. So - if you did charge at a store ... even for 2 hours - drawing (for example) 5 or 6 kWh's ... at a cost of 50ยข per kWh ... that'd be $3. Basic economics 101 teaches most everyone is willing to pay a fair price, and only pay $10-$20 if they're wealthy, or it's the only game in town ... i.e; the circumstances warrant paying more (like an emergency ... or if you needed a 15 minute quick charger to get you down the road right NOW). Capitolism ... it's never 'pure' ... but even so - when it works, prices adjust to what the market can/will bare.

    [​IMG]

    And thank you to all the folks above, who reminded me of all the 120v outlets in cold weather parking lots. I used one last winter when we traveled from Kalispell to Missoula. It kept our Lexus 400h block nice & warm while we took care of business. Imagine that ... businesses took care to provide that ... with no one holding a gun to their head. ;)
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  20. Flying White Dutchman

    Flying White Dutchman Senior Member

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    so with capitalism the criminal kills the citicen and gets al the money and with socialism the poeple get al the money but get killed by the criminal?
    sound like the bank crisis where in today ;-)