NC Leaf Owners

[sarahnc]

Has anyone done any driveway parties with Plug-in-America or EV get togethers? Would love to see a LEAF/EV rally to show of our electrics to the community and raise awareness or do a group visit to establishments who have installed chargers such as whole foods or North Hills just to let them know they didn't install nearly enough charging stations!

I'd be interested in a Triangle meet-up at an L2 establishment with other LEAFers in the area. Meeting at a dealer seems like cheating...how about a non-dealer business. What are our choices? North Hills, Cary McD's, Raleigh Convention Center downtown? Any others?

 

[harryjpowell]

I think we can all join into the Cars & Coffee show at Brier Creek. The Meetup group "RTP Car and Bike Events" organizes this. We will be headed out there this Sat, Jan 7th. We'll try to park right in front of Chil's where we were last month.

Here's a link to their Meetup Group http://www.meetup.com/RTP-Car-and-Bike-Events/

"Meets first Saturday of every month. Exotic sports car fest. See all the calendar / poster cars in person. Lamborghini - Ferrari - Porsche - Cobra's - Vettes - Maserati - Viper - BMW and so many more beautiful cars displayed by those who love these cars."

Come on out and we'll try to make a presence!

 

[lpickup]

I think we can all join into the Cars & Coffee show at Brier Creek. The Meetup group "RTP Car and Bike Events" organizes this. We will be headed out there this Sat, Jan 7th. We'll try to park right in front of Chil's where we were last month.

Here's a link to their Meetup Group http://www.meetup.com/RTP-Car-and-Bike-Events/

"Meets first Saturday of every month. Exotic sports car fest. See all the calendar / poster cars in person. Lamborghini - Ferrari - Porsche - Cobra's - Vettes - Maserati - Viper - BMW and so many more beautiful cars displayed by those who love these cars."

Come on out and we'll try to make a presence!

Sounds like a great idea. Saturdays are tough for me and this Saturday in particular may be problematic, but I'll see if I can make it.

 

[jbowman3]

I think we can all join into the Cars & Coffee show at Brier Creek. The Meetup group "RTP Car and Bike Events" organizes this. We will be headed out there this Sat, Jan 7th. We'll try to park right in front of Chil's where we were last month.

I'm in. Sounds like a fun morning for the kids as well!

 

[muleferg]

We have been Iced and Snowed! Less than inch. 18F. In town driving not an issue.
Mule

 

[aedanna]

I think we can all join into the Cars & Coffee show at Brier Creek. The Meetup group "RTP Car and Bike Events" organizes this. We will be headed out there this Sat, Jan 7th. We'll try to park right in front of Chil's where we were last month.

I'm in. Sounds like a fun morning for the kids as well!

Hi all, this is my first post. I work at Qualcomm behind Brier Creek. We have 5 charging stations in our parking lot from ChargePoint, each station supports a level 1 and a level 2 charge at the same time. Technically they are on private property, but on the weekends you should be able to use them without any issues. You will need a ChargePoint account. I will be out of town this weekend, otherwise I would probably attend the Cars and Coffee show.

I am one of the folks selected for the Advanced Engery program and am awaiting my car, hopefully I will be able to make the next Cars and Coffee show.

Here is a link to the location of the chargers:

http://maps.google.com/maps/place?c...8wb_qcDvCQ&sig2=pfKcut4Sitm7YaUFriDH8A&dtab=2

The chargers are located in the corner of the parking lot closest to the 4-way intersection of Macaw St. and Arco Corporate Drive.

Tony D'Anna

 

[coqui]

I think it would be GREAT if North Carolina had L3 public chargers at 50 mile intervals (rest stops) all along the Charlotte-Greensboro-Raleigh corridor.

 

[sarahnc]

I think it would be GREAT if North Carolina had L3 public chargers at 50 mile intervals (rest stops) all along the Charlotte-Greensboro-Raleigh corridor.

and Wilmington too!

 

[muleferg]

I think it would be GREAT if North Carolina had L3 public chargers at 50 mile intervals (rest stops) all along the Charlotte-Greensboro-Raleigh corridor.

Yes! Yes! Yes! Talk to Bev. P

HeHaw
Mule

 

[muleferg]

http://www.plugincars.com/bp-and-arco-install-45-electric-car-fast-charging-stations-part-ev-project-91336.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
It coming to BP stations. Cost per mile? In NC .......2020 maybe...

 

[muleferg]

http://www.plugincars.com/wireless-charging-forces-are-aligning-110926.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

EV Wireless anyone? :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:
Yes it coming soon.

 

[harryjpowell]

I think NC's best chance at DC Fast charging is going to be an enterprising individual/company putting in a few strategic efueling stations. There are a number of good locations that connect Raleigh to Charlotte to Winston. Then expanding out to the beaches and mountains.

I'd love to start one, we don't have the crazy California demand charges so this shouldn't be too far from being able to turn a profit.

Siler City & Albemarle would be great first 2 locations that would make the middle of the state movement possible.

 

[lpickup]

http://www.plugincars.com/wireless-charging-forces-are-aligning-110926.html

EV Wireless anyone? :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:
Yes it coming soon.

Definitely would not use one of those at home or any secure charging location. Even if they get the losses down to 3% it's still throwing money and energy needlessly down the drain.

Where these will be beneficial though is in public places where copper theft is going to be an issue (and it will!)

And I'm not sure if this is technically feasible, but if you can imagine an entire row of a parking deck outfitted with these things all serviced by relatively small number of actual charging units, such that at any given time only a few cars are actually receiving a charge. This could be a cost effective solution to the problem of vehicles being parked in EV spots for long periods of time without actually needing a charge, and hopefully some day large numbers of EVs out there on the road. The system would just direct the current to those units that actually call for power and if there were more vehicles calling for power than can actually be serviced at once then there could be some kind of cycling mechanism used to give each vehicle a charge 15 minutes at a time.

Extending the idea even further, when you pulled into a spot you might for example key in the number of kWh you want and what your expected departure time is and the system could use that information to manage when and how much charge to give you. You could even "bid" a certain $$/kWh to get priority over other cars parked there.

 

[muleferg]

http://www.edmunds.com/fuel-economy/better-places-battery-exchange-charges-ahead.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Another option from Renault/Nissan.
They also have the wireless charger. Oh No. I left my Ipad and Iphone in the car!
Oh S#$%
Mule

 

[lpickup]

Well I just enrolled in Progress Energy's NC Green Power program (Duke Energy has the exact same program FYI)

For those that don't know how it works, basically an extra $4/month automatically added to your electric bill "buys" a 100kWh block of "green" power. I (possibly under-)estimated about 300kWh of electricity use for my LEAF, so I bought 3 blocks, adding $12/month to my electric bill, but I can now say to people that my LEAF runs on coal: "No, it runs on solar, wind and other renewable energy sources". The $144/year is tax deductible, although that's not really why I'm doing it, but I will see a tiny fraction coming back. I used the term "buys" in quotes because I also pay the regular electricity tariff for those 300kWh in addition. You don't get 300kWh for your $12/month--it's more like a surcharge on your electricity to ensure that the electricity you are purchasing comes from green sources.

I was a bit dubious of the program after reading some reports that Dominion Energy in VA with a similar program is basically buying offsets (if they are really buying them at all) that are not so green: http://www.washingtonpost.com/opini...solar-facade/2011/12/29/gIQAB1d8QP_story.html so I looked a little more closely at the NC Green Power program.

It's a little hard to follow, but you can research the program yourself here: http://www.ncgreenpower.org/

They are working through Advanced Energy (which I know a lot of you are actively working with in getting your LEAFs this month) so I feel pretty good about that. Basically the utility just collects the $4 and turns it over to NC Green Power/Advanced Energy. They then use that money to pay generators and "mitigators" (I think the mitigators are more for their carbon offsets that they also sell) for the 100kWh blocks of energy that are fed into the regional grid. The part I like about it is that they provide a link to their current generators (http://www.ncgreenpower.org/resources/generators.php) so that provides some pretty good transparency. Even cooler is that when you look at the providers, many of them are small scale individuals or small business (e.g. self storage companies) that have installed solar panels and are selling the power back to the grid. I think that is REALLY cool and am happy to pay that $144 a year to folks such as that who have made that kind of contribution to the state's energy supply.

Anyway, just thought I would let my fellow NC LEAFers know about this program in case you hadn't already heard about it.

 

[muleferg]

Well I just enrolled in Progress Energy's NC Green Power program (Duke Energy has the exact same program FYI)

Thanks for the info. I will be checking with Duke. I like you thank its $$$$$$$ well spent. HMMMMMM new Lic plate NO COAL

HeHaw

 

[muleferg]

Chargers in Durham!



Greener Durham Yes we do! There are charging stations near Bay 7 at the American Tobacco Campus. There will be stations at Main Library, North Library, South Library, Justice Center deck, and Human Services by Feb 1st. And the City will have 2 in at Goldenbelt within 2 weeks. Check out the EV page at http://www.GreenerDurham.net" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; for a map and updates.
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12 hours ago · Like

 

[sarahnc]

Chargers in Durham!



Greener Durham Yes we do! There are charging stations near Bay 7 at the American Tobacco Campus. There will be stations at Main Library, North Library, South Library, Justice Center deck, and Human Services by Feb 1st. And the City will have 2 in at Goldenbelt within 2 weeks. Check out the EV page at http://www.GreenerDurham.net" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; for a map and updates.
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12 hours ago · Like

EXCELLENT! Thanks for the link too!

 

[lpickup]

I continued my charging station hunt last night:

1) North Hills charging stations are still under wraps (and currently ICEd, of course there is no reason for cars NOT to park there now I suppose). I'll have to contact them again and ask what the holdup is now.

2) On a tip from a City employee, I "found: 2 new charging stations at the Municipal Deck (entrances on Morgan Street and McDowell Street). Charging stations are just to the right after you go up the ramp to the ticket booth:

This unit was exactly like the one I found at Optimist Park (with card reader) but it started charging immediately (no card is required). This deck is very convenient to the Flying Saucer where we went and had dinner and beers at got 7.6kWh of juice during our 2 hour stay. Parking was $2, but the charging was free! Considering we usually park in the lot adjacent to the Saucer for $3, we came out well ahead for the one block walk.

The deck was pretty much deserted at 6:00pm (on a Thursday) so there was no trouble with the spots being ICEd. The signage is pretty good, although it doesn't specifically say "EV Parking Only". I suggested to the person from the city that they paint the spots green and she said that was coming, but right now they are concentrating on just getting the charging stations installed. She also said there is no ordinance that allows them to limit parking to just EVs at this time.

After leaving that deck, I noticed the two chargers on Hargett Street (these are on various charging station maps). These are a different brand (Eaton--like the ones at North Hills). Plugging in and charging was no problem, and for the most part all the spots here were empty (this is on the north west corner of Nash Square by the way) at 8:00pm:

Signage was exactly the same as in the parking deck. HOWEVER, as this picture shows out of all the spots available, the SUV in the foreground chose to park in one of the 2 EV charging spots!

If this kind of thing happens again I'll try to remember to plug in with the RIGHT hand charging station so that if another EV pulls up they can plug into the EVSE in front of where my car is parked at least.

 

[jbowman3]

I think we can all join into the Cars & Coffee show at Brier Creek. The Meetup group "RTP Car and Bike Events" organizes this. We will be headed out there this Sat, Jan 7th. We'll try to park right in front of Chil's where we were last month.

I'm in. Sounds like a fun morning for the kids as well!

Hi all, this is my first post. I work at Qualcomm behind Brier Creek. We have 5 charging stations in our parking lot from ChargePoint, each station supports a level 1 and a level 2 charge at the same time. Technically they are on private property, but on the weekends you should be able to use them without any issues. You will need a ChargePoint account. I will be out of town this weekend, otherwise I would probably attend the Cars and Coffee show.

I am one of the folks selected for the Advanced Engery program and am awaiting my car, hopefully I will be able to make the next Cars and Coffee show.

Here is a link to the location of the chargers:

http://maps.google.com/maps/place?c...8wb_qcDvCQ&sig2=pfKcut4Sitm7YaUFriDH8A&dtab=2

The chargers are located in the corner of the parking lot closest to the 4-way intersection of Macaw St. and Arco Corporate Drive.

Tony D'Anna

Thanks for the info Tony!