WOW Cool! Tustin Marketplace New EV Charge stations - pics

We came out of the movie theater tonight at the Tustin Marketplace Edwards 10...[we saw "The Odd Life of Timothy Green"...for those who haven't seen it...something about a lot of 'leaves']...anyway, I'm digressing...

We hopped into our LEAF, and while driving out of the parking lot...we saw this pretty cool scene, all lit up ! Just had to share:

Just a pet peeve of mine - while they certainly do look pretty, I really with people would pay more attention to light pollution. Aside from the new charging stations, there are at least a few other lights that seem to be designed to light the trees instead of the ground which would be more useful and less wasteful. http://www.darksky.org/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

This is exciting, occ. Those look like GE Wattstations. Do we know what network they belong to, if any?

Wow! coolness.. This is right in my back yard, how did I miss this?

Any access card needed?

No doubt GregH, I was just at Lowe's yesterday and had no idea. It's right in my backyard too. Can't wait to swing by and de-virginize it

If the site plans on charging for the, err, charge... it's going to be on GE's own network, which I think has partnered with PayPal. (GE has no interest in sending money Coulomb's way.) Yes, expect another card if you don't use their smartphone app.

Wonderful news. It's great to see a local shopping venue stepping forward with more charging stations. Being so close to home, I will likely not have use for these, but I love to see the local support. Irvine can finally say there are charging stations at a (real) public retail location.

BTW, these are technically on the Irvine side of The Marketplace, located north of the Edwards Stadium 10 and Corner Bakery (near 13786 Jamboree, Irvine, CA). They are not currently available for use, but inauguration seems imminent! Four units, one handicap accessible with ramp.

Found this intro video for GE Wattstations. I like the retractable cords.

Stopped by for a look just now.. Some security guys came by to answer my questions. Sounds like it will be open to the public in a few weeks when the Irvine Co gets their promotional stuff together. They're also opening a station at the Spectrum (probably at the same time). They didn't know what a charge would cost, but they made it sound like the smart phone app tied to Paypal was the preferred method. Should be interesting..

Boomer23 said:

This is exciting, occ. Those look like GE Wattstations.

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I would think twice before plugging in then

GregH said:

Wow! coolness.. This is right in my back yard, how did I miss this?

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Yeah, in my backyard too, and I also missed it, if it weren't for the nice blue tinge at night!

I'd love to see something like this at the Spectrum. There were many times when we decide to shop at South Coast Plaza instead of the Spectrum because of charging options, esp. when our days starts out north of Tustin and low on charge at the end of the day. Any locals know what part of the Irvine Spectrum EV stations may have been or to be setup?

grommet said:

If the site plans on charging for the, err, charge... it's going to be on GE's own network, which I think has partnered with PayPal. (GE has no interest in sending money Coulomb's way.) Yes, expect another card if you don't use their smartphone app.

Click to expand...

I wish they would just use parking meters, electronically monitored by lovely parking meter maids to minimize icing, and maximize city revenue

I have a sad tale to tell from my experience with these shiny new Irvine Wattstations.. (Actually the ones at the Irvine Spectrum... Same idea). Sorry if this has been discussed elsewhere, different context...
Went out for dinner a few weeks ago on a low charge.. Based on Gids I thought I was ok, but on arrival (Baja Fish Tacos Lake Forest Oh so good!!) I noticed the pack voltage was extremely low (320v? This is in my new Leaf). As I sat at the light on the 5 exit/Lake Forest I watched the Gids drop like a rock. Did the car just now figure out how low my charge was?!?! Yikes! At BFT looked around for 120v but gave up and proceeded with dinner before closing.
On departure creeped slowly along Irvine Center Drive towards the Spectrum, the new Wattstations would be my only hope.. Yet another RFID card which I didn't have.. Ugh. But with a smartphone app and Paypal maybe this would work.. Of course my cell phone was also nearly dead and keeping the nearly dead car on to charge it was annoying (my fault). Downloaded the app. Had to create a new account (great, another password). After a few frustrating tries got it working and synced to PayPal. Authorized charge on the 1st station and plugged in.. No charge! It says I'm, charging but I'm not! Aigh!
Disconnect. Re-sign in and re authorize. Same problem. Ok try the next station (there are 4). Sign in. Authorize. Charge... But it doesn't charge. Now I'm freaking out and it's late at night. Finally on the 3rd unit (after re signing in and re authorizing for the umpteenth time) the car actually starts to charge!! Phew. I spend about 45 minutes at Barnes and Noble (only place other than Dave n Busters still open) and get enough charge to limp home (tired, but well fed) having learned a few good lessons...

drees said:

Just a pet peeve of mine - while they certainly do look pretty, I really with people would pay more attention to light pollution. Aside from the new charging stations, there are at least a few other lights that seem to be designed to light the trees instead of the ground which would be more useful and less wasteful. http://www.darksky.org/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

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I had no idea this existed. VERY COOL! I used to think the world would be perfect if all the noisey gas cars were gone. I need to add this to my list. Dark and noiseless nights. That would be nice.

drees said:

Just a pet peeve of mine - while they certainly do look pretty, I really with people would pay more attention to light pollution. Aside from the new charging stations, there are at least a few other lights that seem to be designed to light the trees instead of the ground which would be more useful and less wasteful. http://www.darksky.org/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

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commercial lights on, very bright = freedom

drees said:

Just a pet peeve of mine - while they certainly do look pretty, I really with people would pay more attention to light pollution. Aside from the new charging stations, there are at least a few other lights that seem to be designed to light the trees instead of the ground which would be more useful and less wasteful. http://www.darksky.org/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

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And those uplights will probably use more electric than the EVs plugged in. Yet the lights are a free waste and we must pay to use the plug in :roll:

GregH said:

I have a sad tale to tell from my experience with these shiny new Irvine Wattstations...

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Signing up for the GEwattStation network was discussed HERE some time back. Best done ahead of time. I am using the card, and it works well, but required several tries to get set up.

Regarding using the network, the authorization process is slow. Like you, I thought it was not recognizing my card. It can take ~90 seconds to respond, so you do need to be patient. And while less an issue for LEAF owners, these seem to be some of the slower charge sites (~5.8kW) with the Fit EV. I do not know if the issue is a lower pilot signal advertised current, or low line voltage (~195 volt) under load.