San Francisco Charging Stations - Know of any?

[pgrovetom]

I want to be able to drive from Sonoma County into San Francisco but charging stations seem to be few, far between, hard to find, risky they are not tied up and quite a problem. I've looked at the Coulumb Chargepoint, EV Project, and DOE Alternative Fueling Locator maps below and its tough to know if one is actually a J1772 and if it's not in a pay garage. The pay garages are expensive so if you go in one, it defeats the low cost of electricity and its a fortune and they might have only one. Its also hard to be sure it's usable or there is only one that could easily be tied up. Its also tough because I've not seen any Level 3 for the Leaf and Level 2 takes roughly an hour or 90 miles/7 hours = about 13 miles per hour. Its about 110 miles round trip and it appears I'll run out of charge at about 90 miles driving very carefully and no climate control. That means I'll need about 2-3 hours of Level 2 charging just to make it home. That's tolerable if I can find a usable charger that is available and isn't in an expensive garage and I'm doing something for a few hours. That seems pretty risky until there are Level 3 chargers but the Leaf doesn't use the J1772 Level 3 and there appears to be none anyway. Anybody know of a usable, that they have tried, Level 2 or know if Level 3 that is Leaf compatible any time soon? I hear they are very expensive and may be a while before they arrive.

Chargepoint
http://www.mychargepoint.net/find-stations.php

EV Project
http://www.theevproject.com/charging-maps.php

DOE
http://www.afdc.energy.gov/afdc/progs/ind_state.php/CA/ELEC

 

[Ready2plugin]

I believe the ones at City Hall are your best bet. They show as "private", but I think all you need is a Chargepoint card. I would call them first to be sure. I think we are still 12-18 months away before we see any L3 charging stations in the Bay Area. Hopefully they are coming or I spent $700 for QC for nothing.

 

[KeiJidosha]

I want to be able to drive from Sonoma County into San Francisco but charging stations seem to be few, far between, hard to find, risky they are not tied up and quite a problem. I've looked at the Coulumb Chargepoint, EV Project, and DOE Alternative Fueling Locator maps below and its tough to know if one is actually a J1772 and if it's not in a pay garage. The pay garages are expensive so if you go in one, it defeats the low cost of electricity and its a fortune and they might have only one. Its also hard to be sure it's usable or there is only one that could easily be tied up. Its also tough because I've not seen any Level 3 for the Leaf and Level 2 takes roughly an hour or 90 miles/7 hours = about 13 miles per hour. Its about 110 miles round trip and it appears I'll run out of charge at about 90 miles driving very carefully and no climate control. That means I'll need about 2-3 hours of Level 2 charging just to make it home. That's tolerable if I can find a usable charger that is available and isn't in an expensive garage and I'm doing something for a few hours. That seems pretty risky until there are Level 3 chargers but the Leaf doesn't use the J1772 Level 3 and there appears to be none anyway. Anybody know of a usable, that they have tried, Level 2 or know if Level 3 that is Leaf compatible any time soon? I hear they are very expensive and may be a while before they arrive.

Chargepoint
http://www.mychargepoint.net/find-stations.php

EV Project
http://www.theevproject.com/charging-maps.php

DOE
http://www.afdc.energy.gov/afdc/progs/ind_state.php/CA/ELEC

Coulomb spots will be LEAF compatible L2, Check by right clicking the map pin to see if L2 is "Available". It will also show cost to charge but not to park.

They have chargers at City Hall and on Pier 27, The Embarcadero.

The only Quick Charge in California right now is in Vacaville. rumor is it is working, but not confirmed.

The EV Project is installing public charging, but has not started yet. There is also a CARB funded update of some legacy charging to the new J1772, but have not heard of any up your way yet.

 

[pgrovetom]

Yes I noticed the ones at the Civic Center show "restricted". Where do you get the Chargepoint card? At Coulumb? Do you know what you pay for the charging per kWh? Do you know how many chargers they have? Since it takes about 2 hours to get enough charge to barely get home, Its pretty risky. Have you tried them?

Hopefully they are coming or I spent $700 for QC for nothing

What if they only arrive with J1772 and our Leaf's don't use it. Does anyone know if a duel mode will be possible? This getting pretty tricky. The Leaf uses the Japanese CHAdeMO standard defined by TEPCO, the owners of the 6 Nuclear reactors struggling in Japan.

It will also show cost to charge but not to park.

Is this true of the various garages that seem to have chargers or do you mean at the Civic Center?

They have chargers at City Hall and on Pier 27, The Embarcadero.

Any idea how many at each location? If they are being used, its a multi-hour charge so its a bummer.

 

[AndyH]

Yes I noticed the ones at the Civic Center show "restricted". Where do you get the Chargepoint card? At Coulumb? Do you know what you pay for the charging per kWh? Do you know how many chargers they have? Since it takes about 2 hours to get enough charge to barely get home, Its pretty risky. Have you tried them?

Get a Chargepoint card here:
http://www.mychargepoint.net/charge-pass.php

Or just drive up to the charge point and telephone them for access. Reports from field suggest that the telephone method doesn't always work.

Most of the chargepoints are dispensing free electrons. Those that charge for power are listed on the mychargepoint.net site, as are details of chargepoint location, status, and types of access available (L1, L2).

Have a great drive!

 

[EVDRIVER]

I believe the city hall ones require a special city permit and I think they may be L1. They are always full of city Plug in cars.

 

[tps]

The public sharging infrastructure is non-existant here in Philadelphia, but it sounds as if its not well deployed in California, either. So much for Nissan's argument that they can't sell LEAFs out here because there's no infrastructure... I'm planning not to depend on public charging for some time. I'm planning on renting the Hertz LEAF in NYC in a couple weeks, but I'll only be venturing 40-50 miles (roundtrip). Not sure how much infrastructure there is in NYC, but I guess I'll find out

 

[pgrovetom]

Get a Chargepoint card here:
http://www.mychargepoint.net/charge-pass.php

Or just drive up to the charge point and telephone them for access. Reports from field suggest that the telephone method doesn't always work.

Most of the chargepoints are dispensing free electrons. Those that charge for power are listed on the mychargepoint.net site, as are details of chargepoint location, status, and types of access available (L1, L2).

Have a great drive!

I signed up for a Chargepoint Card with Coulumb. It appears they sell the charging system and provide the networking so their customers ( like gas stations ) can charge whatever they want and Coulumb has arranged for billing. It says some are free and some charge. Their are 8 stations in the city with 3 near City Hall, 2 on the Embarcadero and 2 down on Market and one south of Market.

Apparently you can actually see online if they are available and reserve one. If it works, that means you can be sure you can get one. When I looked, none were being used. With the exception of them not being very close to your possible location, the system seems good. The trick would be to reserve one and get a ride to where you are going if possible. It would be shame to pay for a Taxi plus charging but it appears possible.

 

[planet4ever]

They have chargers at City Hall and on Pier 27, The Embarcadero.

The ones at Pier 27 are behind a gate that says "$15 Alcatraz Tour parking."

 

[planet4ever]

Their are 8 stations in the city with 3 near City Hall, 2 on the Embarcadero and 2 down on Market and one south of Market.

Yes, but check the details:
3 near City Hall all reserved
2 on the Embarcadero behind a $15 gate
2 down on Market don't exist yet
one south of Market way south of Market

 

[KeiJidosha]

Yes I noticed the ones at the Civic Center show "restricted". Where do you get the Chargepoint card? At Coulumb? Do you know what you pay for the charging per kWh? Do you know how many chargers they have? Since it takes about 2 hours to get enough charge to barely get home, Its pretty risky. Have you tried them?

What if they only arrive with J1772 and our Leaf's don't use it. Does anyone know if a duel mode will be possible? This getting pretty tricky. The Leaf uses the Japanese CHAdeMO standard defined by TEPCO, the owners of the 6 Nuclear reactors struggling in Japan.

Is this true of the various garages that seem to have chargers or do you mean at the Civic Center?

Any idea how many at each location? If they are being used, its a multi-hour charge so its a bummer.

There are three ChargePoint chargers at City Hall. You can see if they are available by zooming in on the MyChargePoint site till the three location pins separate. Green pins show Available, Blue pins are in use. Right now two are in use, one is available. Bigger issue is if city cars are parked in the spaces, you should probably call ahead to see if you need a permit. Nothing in the city is free. All three chargers were in use during first LEAF delivery in December.

Just one charger on Pier 27, The Embarcadero. Premium location so very expensive to park. Again check the MyChargePoint map to see if busy.

Other "L2" sites you are seeing on DoE site are legacy "Avcon" connector. It will not connect to the LEAF. These may be updated some time in the future, but none updated yet to my knowledge.

Just found a new location on MyChargePoint next to Montgomery St BART station at:

Name: CUSHMANWAKFIELD / PMC1
Address: 1 Montgomery St, San Francisco, California, 94104, United States
Description:
Status as of: 2011-01-04 20:36:21 (PST)
Port 1: 120V, 16A, NEMA 5-20R:Available
Port 2: 240V, 30A, J1772:Available
Access: Unrestricted
Action: Get Directions
Price: Free

Pin is gray which means it is not communicating with the network yet. I had one of these sites here in Ventura and when I got there the site worked and I charged, but it did not show up on my ChargePoint activity report. I don't think they can unlock the charger remotely over the phone unless the pin shows green so you would need a card.

 

[AndyH]

Get a Chargepoint card here:
http://www.mychargepoint.net/charge-pass.php

Or just drive up to the charge point and telephone them for access. Reports from field suggest that the telephone method doesn't always work.

Most of the chargepoints are dispensing free electrons. Those that charge for power are listed on the mychargepoint.net site, as are details of chargepoint location, status, and types of access available (L1, L2).

Have a great drive!

I signed up for a Chargepoint Card with Coulumb. It appears they sell the charging system and provide the networking so their customers ( like gas stations ) can charge whatever they want and Coulumb has arranged for billing. It says some are free and some charge. Their are 8 stations in the city with 3 near City Hall, 2 on the Embarcadero and 2 down on Market and one south of Market.

Apparently you can actually see online if they are available and reserve one. If it works, that means you can be sure you can get one. When I looked, none were being used. With the exception of them not being very close to your possible location, the system seems good. The trick would be to reserve one and get a ride to where you are going if possible. It would be shame to pay for a Taxi plus charging but it appears possible.

ChargePoint Locations
http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=26&t=2404

The ChargePoint Network
http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=289

ChargePoint ChargePass
http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=27&t=2741

That'll get you started.

 

[ericsf]

Tip about the Sutter Stockton parking garage in San Francisco: The first floor (Stockton entrance) has 2 EVSE which are often both in use. When it's the case, go down one level. The signs at the top of the ramp say "Section closed" but there are 5 more EVSE down there which are available to the public. 3 are immediately on your left, one more around the stairs and 1 more all the way around (the *old* one).

 

[jwatte]

The Fifth/Mission garage has 4 parking spots with 3 Chargepoint L2 chargers, right at the entrance. When you exit, you actually have to go up one floor, drive around to the exit ramp, and down again.
I've never found all four taken at the same time, and I've only seen any of the ICEd once.

Yes, it costs to park -- but that was the same for my old clunker, so no change there.

Also, most garages have regular outlets along some wall or pillar, if you drive around and look. I've been able to trickle in the Masonic center garage, the Jack London Square garage, the Tech Shop parking lot (all three of San Francisco, Menlo Park, and San Jose, actually!) and many other places.

 

[planet4ever]

Has anyone had experience charging at the Lake Merced apartments? Plugshare shows stations at each of the highrises. I will be very close by at Temple Methodist (Junipero Serra at 19th) tomorrow afternoon and could use a boost. I hope to use the VW QC station both coming and going, but even so it may be close for a 140 mile freeway round trip.

Are the stations in a garage somewhere, or out in the open? Are they highly used, or often ICEd? Are there any limits on who can use them? I do, of course, have a Chargepoint card.

Ray