Official EV Project / Ecotality / free charger thread

[stanley]

Dav, Did the Evo program inspectors ask about driving distances or how the Leaf would be used ie, the number of miles driven in a day, a week , for short or long trips or daily commuting etc.

 

[evnow]

Dav, Did the Evo program inspectors ask about driving distances or how the Leaf would be used ie, the number of miles driven in a day, a week , for short or long trips or daily commuting etc.

Nothing to me. Just inspection of where and how to install the EVSE - not different from AV inspections.

 

[LEAFfan]

I have not been called yet for the EV Project assessment of my garage/panel. I would like others to find out how much choice we have in the location of the Blink EVSE. My panel is on the outside wall of the garage near the trunk end of the LEAF. Of course I want it near the front of the car.

I also want a 100v receptacle installed on that same wall. I'm hoping the electrician will do that for us is we pay him/her for it.

Location was my preference. I was asked where I would want it and they had some general thoughts (near the front of the car). I think the only other limiting factor was that the charger comes out 18 inches from the wall so you need to have clearance. I want mine on the back wall of the garage so we dont bump into it as we walk by.

I know where you came up with the 18" depth. It was in the etec questionnaire. I went out to our garage and measured 18" out after I read the questionnaire...HOLY S***! It came out almost as far as the moving boxes I had stacked! LOL I was relieved to find out later that it was actually less than 6" deep.

 

[Dav]

Dav, Did the Evo program inspectors ask about driving distances

No. Electrical only, no other questions.

He did measure distance from our front door to the corner of the garage to see if it was within wireless network range.
(which again I think is stupid. Neither of those places is where the wiress access points would be installed.)

 

[Gonewild]

I have a question. There is a different charger for the EV project right, it is the Blink model?

The AV charger is round like we see in vidoes.

 

[evnow]

I have a question. There is a different charger for the EV project right, it is the Blink model?

The AV charger is round like we see in vidoes.

Right. We get the luxury version :lol:

 

[Gonewild]

Wonder if the price is higher as well? I like that it has touch screen and stuff and I wonder what else it has.

Do they both connect to the internet? How else can it take commands unless the car can talk to it for us.

 

[garygid]

In normal use of the LEAF, you communicate (possibly via Internet and then through ATT cell-phone data service) with the car, not the EVSE.

The normal EVSE is not "smart", but upgrades can allow it to gather data and send the data to ... some compatible program.

 

[Jimmydreams]

I received a call today from the EV Project assessor. He said they'll be out Wednesday and Thursday "in my area", so hopefully he'll call back and I can schedule an appointment for Thursday.

 

[SeattleBlueLeaf]

In normal use of the LEAF, you communicate (possibly via Internet and then through ATT cell-phone data service) with the car, not the EVSE.

The normal EVSE is not "smart", but upgrades can allow it to gather data and send the data to ... some compatible program.

Some EVSE's will control the charging and some won't. It is part of the spec for the car and charger to "talk" and for the car to obey the charging commands of the EVSE while connected. The Blink, from what I understand, has these controls built in and will allow for managing when and how to charge the car from a remote computer or by a utility.

I just came across this YouTube video on the Blink: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TBwvyYbcsd0&feature=player_embedded

 

[garygid]

The only "command" that the L1 or L2 can send to the car (other than ERROR or OFF), is the "Max-Current" value that the car is supposed to respect when charging. L3 charging might be slightly different.

Possibly, some L1 or L2 EVSEs, from some external input, could vary (lower) the "max-current" value in an atrempt to reduce the car's use of power.

If the leaf 240v charger is expecting at least 15 amps as the "max" value, presumably it would "respect" a lower value (reduce charge rate) down to its lowest "valid" value, about 5 or 6 amps, as I recall.

But, ONLY the car knows when the battery pack is APPROACHING full (and charging must be reduced), or it BECOMES "full" (and charging should be stopped). Then the car (usually after it is done charging) can signal the EVSE to "turn OFF" the 240v to the car.

 

[AndyH]

In normal use of the LEAF, you communicate (possibly via Internet and then through ATT cell-phone data service) with the car, not the EVSE.

The normal EVSE is not "smart", but upgrades can allow it to gather data and send the data to ... some compatible program.

Some EVSE's will control the charging and some won't. It is part of the spec for the car and charger to "talk" and for the car to obey the charging commands of the EVSE while connected. The Blink, from what I understand, has these controls built in and will allow for managing when and how to charge the car from a remote computer or by a utility.

I just came across this YouTube video on the Blink: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TBwvyYbcsd0&feature=player_embedded

Sorry - no.

Gary's got it with the smart-phone link to the car. The car has a GSM cell phone link that is uses for data. The car likely sends data to and from a Nissan data center, and the data center sends into to one's smart phone. That gives the owner access to do things like pre-head/pre-cool the car, set the charge timer, and check state of charge. This is also the link the car uses to update it's charge point database and do the other Carwings stuff.

The EVSE comms to the car are different. A basic L2 EVSE does not currently send any data to anyone. It simply interfaces with the car to provide 240V to the car's on-board charger. As Gary alluded, the EVSE and car exchange some 'sign language' via the hard-wire link when the car's plugged in. This is limited to the EVSE 'telling' the car that it's alive and can deliver 16A, for example. They both can tell that the charge connector plug is properly seated in the car, and the car can tell the EVSE that it's ready - turn on the juice, and that it's done - turn the juice off.

The EVSE devices used for the data collection study have their own data comms capability that allows them to access the internet and send whatever data the EVSE has collected on when it charged, how much power was sent, etc.

Andy

 

[AndyH]

The only "command" that the L1 or L2 can send to the car (other than ERROR or OFF), is the "Max-Current" value that the car is supposed to respect when charging. L3 charging might be slightly different.

Possibly, some L1 or L2 EVSEs, from some external input, could vary (lower) the "max-current" value in an atrempt to reduce the car's use of power.

Somewhere in the future, Gary, the EVSE will be able to talk to the grid and might be able to respond to requests from the power company to turn the demand down because there's a brown-out coming - this is like the 'smart' thermostats some utilities use to turn air conditioners off for 5 or 10 minutes to stabilize the grid. I forget the SAE project/standard numbers, but there are two Jxxxx programs discussing the EVSE to Power Source comms for this and vehicle to grid.

If the leaf 240v charger is expecting at least 15 amps as the "max" value, presumably it would "respect" a lower value (reduce charge rate) down to its lowest "valid" value, about 5 or 6 amps, as I recall.

Yes - this is one of the mandates in the J1772 recommended practice. While current EVSE appears to be fixed, future units (presumably the ones with the grid comms capability) can adjust their pilot signal to tell the car that the 16A it was allowed a few minutes ago is only 8A now -- and the car is required to cut its power demand pretty quickly - in the milliseconds if I recall correctly.

But, ONLY the car knows when the battery pack is APPROACHING full (and charging must be reduced), or it BECOMES "full" (and charging should be stopped). Then the car (usually after it is done charging) can signal the EVSE to "turn OFF" the 240v to the car.

Right - via the 'car ready' signal -- any time the car opens it's 'ready' switch, the EVSE's contactor is supposed to open and stop the 240V feed. The car's charger is still in charge, though - if the EVSE doesn't respond, the charger can still go off-line on its own.

 

[opencar]

I received a call today from the EV Project assessor. He said they'll be out Wednesday and Thursday "in my area", so hopefully he'll call back and I can schedule an appointment for Thursday.

jimmyd,
if you get the chance, can you ask the assessor for any info he might have about those of us in the "need more info" mode from ecotality in the SD area? i'm slated for order in October but i think a number of us are in the same situation in San Diego. thanks in advance.

 

[Jimmydreams]

I received a call today from the EV Project assessor. He said they'll be out Wednesday and Thursday "in my area", so hopefully he'll call back and I can schedule an appointment for Thursday.

jimmyd,
if you get the chance, can you ask the assessor for any info he might have about those of us in the "need more info" mode from ecotality in the SD area? i'm slated for order in October but i think a number of us are in the same situation in San Diego. thanks in advance.

Will do. If you want to PM me your real name and maybe your address, I can ask about you specifically. When I spoke to the guy on the phone, I asked if they were busy doing a lot of assessments, he said he's done something like 25 so far with 60 more in CA alone, and then I THOUGHT he said he starts in Seattle. I'll double check that, but I was left with the impression that he was pretty much the only EVProject assessor. :?: So there's a very real chance he has access to the master list and can pinpoint where you are in the waterfall.

 

[Jimmydreams]

I received a call today from the EV Project assessor. He said they'll be out Wednesday and Thursday "in my area", so hopefully he'll call back and I can schedule an appointment for Thursday.

jimmyd,
if you get the chance, can you ask the assessor for any info he might have about those of us in the "need more info" mode from ecotality in the SD area? i'm slated for order in October but i think a number of us are in the same situation in San Diego. thanks in advance.

I just spoke to Ray. He'll be here in about 45 minutes, and he does have a master list, so if anyone is waiting to hear from EVProject, you have about an hour to let me know and I'll see if I can get any specific info from him.

Jim

 

[opencar]

I received a call today from the EV Project assessor. He said they'll be out Wednesday and Thursday "in my area", so hopefully he'll call back and I can schedule an appointment for Thursday.

jimmyd,
if you get the chance, can you ask the assessor for any info he might have about those of us in the "need more info" mode from ecotality in the SD area? i'm slated for order in October but i think a number of us are in the same situation in San Diego. thanks in advance.

I just spoke to Ray. He'll be here in about 45 minutes, and he does have a master list, so if anyone is waiting to hear from EVProject, you have about an hour to let me know and I'll see if I can get any specific info from him.

Jim

jimmyd,
hopefully you got my PM. thanks for helping out if possible!

 

[DaveEV]

if you get the chance, can you ask the assessor for any info he might have about those of us in the "need more info" mode from ecotality in the SD area? i'm slated for order in October but i think a number of us are in the same situation in San Diego. thanks in advance.

I just spoke to Ray. He'll be here in about 45 minutes, and he does have a master list, so if anyone is waiting to hear from EVProject, you have about an hour to let me know and I'll see if I can get any specific info from him.

I'm in the same boat as opencar (Sept order date) - Got email a long time ago saying that ECOtality needs more info, but haven't heard a thing since then.

 

[Jimmydreams]

In case I missed someone, no one that has contacted me was on the 'approved for survey' list. This doesn't mean anything bad, but the surveyor suggested that you call Ecotality to see what your status is.

My survey consisted of looking at/taking pictures of my breaker box, checking my electrical service and where the new wires/charger will go, etc. No new information other than they ARE looking at using the Blink chargers and that the Blink charger will use wifi to 'talk' to the people gathering your demographic data. I was specifically asked what kind of wifi router I had and where it was located (i.e. can it see the charger)

 

[stanley]

JimmyD, Thank you for checking for me. I called EVOcality to find out my status. They had no information to share with me and asked me to be patient and that it may take them a couple of months to sort through who will be receiving a free charger.