110v outlet in public parking lot

[Tomx]

My company has 6 to 7 L2 charging stations set up out side of the office building and they are always occupied (till 4 or 5 pm).

I am wondering why can't the employer just put some 110v outlets there? It should be cheap or even close to 0 cost. What do you guys think? Did I miss anything? Should I talk to my employer on this?

Tom

 

[adric22]

M
I am wondering why can't the employer just put some 110v outlets there? It should be cheap or even close to 0 cost. What do you guys think? Did I miss anything? Should I talk to my employer on this?

When you say 0 cost... Do you not believe it will cost money to run however many feet of new copper wire to each 110v outlet? And if you plan on more than one car charging at a time on 110V, then you will need a separate run and separate breaker for each plug. Then of course there is the electricity usage, which may be minimal for a single charge, it could really add up if charging every day and multiple people charging every day.

 

[Tomx]

Understand. All I am trying to figure out is the cost difference between L2 and L1 charging stations. Actually I am talking about just 110v outlets without the EVSE. Shouldn't it be much cheaper than L2 charging station?

Tom

 

[Mtown0031]

Sounds like the other personnel there are not sharing. L2 should charge any car by lunch. Why don't you ask around and see if someone will move their car during lunch or a break?

 

[cwerdna]

Sounds like the other personnel there are not sharing.

Yep. At my work, we have an internal voluntary (not so voluntary now) list of EV/PHEV owners, their plates and cars. We're very good about sharing and vacating spots upon request. Previously, our parking garage was so full, it was a big waste of time to free up a spot w/o a request first as it could take 10-15 mins just to find a new spot, and too many spots would be freed.

We also now have an EV valet service to go along w/valet parking (because of fullness at work). In some cases, the cars are taken to another lot that's a few mins away.

L2 should charge any car by lunch.

It depends on the starting SoC, the speed of their on-board charger, the max output of the EVSE and desired ending SoC. At my work, we have quite a few cars w/only 3.x kW OBCs: '11 and '12 Leafs, quite a few Volts and 2 Spark EVs. The Leafs seem to pull ~3.7 kW at 208 volts while the Volts seem to only pull ~3.1 kW. If one of those is low or at 0% SoC, it can take quite a while to fully charge.

And, Leafs toward the end of their charge (close to 100%) can spend quite a bit of time in the taper (balancing?) phase. If one only charges a Leaf to 80%, there's no taper and the charging rate is fairly constant until it's abruptly stopped.

 

[LakeLeaf]

My company has 6 to 7 L2 charging stations set up out side of the office building and they are always occupied (till 4 or 5 pm).

I am wondering why can't the employer just put some 110v outlets there? It should be cheap or even close to 0 cost. What do you guys think? Did I miss anything? Should I talk to my employer on this?

Tom

You might have better luck approaching your company about just installing some additional L2 stations. The company lawyers might find that the best alternative for more charging capacity. Weird how "products" sometimes trump practicality when you get the suits involved.

 

[walterbays]

All I am trying to figure out is the cost difference between L2 and L1 charging stations. Actually I am talking about just 110v outlets without the EVSE.

http://innovation.luskin.ucla.edu/c...esidential-electric-vehicle-charging-stations

 

[LeftieBiker]

The cost could be reduced by installing a weatherproof sub-panel, with one incoming circuit, that could handle either a bunch of 120 volt outlets or a mix of those and a couple more L-2 stations. No need to run circuits for every outlet from the main building. Still a significant expense, but if all the EV/PHEV owners offered to chip in $100 each...

 

[Stanton]

Heck, I'd settle for ONE L2 EVSE at work. 2k people, 3 Leafs (so far), and ZERO charging facilities.

 

[LeftieBiker]

Have you tried offering to pay for a couple of charging stations or 120 volt outlets?

 

[jstack6]

Buy a Tesla and you won't have to charge at work....

Or see if work can put in some Charge Point that have metered 120 v charging. It fast enough for most and the company won't feel they are giving anyone a free charge.(Some employers are touchy) they give free coffee but not a charge.

You could even see if there are local EVSE companies that have deals and will put some in free or low cost. If it's free the company should see the light. It could even be covered by Solar and make money.

 

[Reddy]

Here a very good article from IEEE regarding the benefits of L1 (120V) plugs at work:
http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=7909&p=174320#p174192