[Zeede]

Look for tax credits. This will be the aspect of most interest for your employer.

As for which L2, it depends on whether they want to be able to charge a set fee, how many chargers they plan to install, and if they want a network to maintain it (for a fee).

 

[Upper5Percent]

Are there any good websites that I can share with my employer and other commercial properties to investigate getting ev chargers for their parking lots? What are the key feature that an employer should look for on a charging station? Any tips on getting businesses to install them?

Contact Eaton...they're in your neck of the woods...
http://www.eaton.com/Eaton/OurCompany/NewsEvents/NewsReleases/PCT_367875

 

[Steverino]

Watch out that they don't get talked into making a fortune by selling time on the chargers. They get dollars signs in their eyes and later wonder why no one is using the chargers at the equivalent of $8/gal of gas.

 

[Shaft]

Are there any good websites that I can share with my employer and other commercial properties to investigate getting ev chargers for their parking lots? What are the key feature that an employer should look for on a charging station? Any tips on getting businesses to install them?

http://www.czx.cz/Chevrolet_Volt_Information_for_Condominiums_v0.3.pdf

 

[bonaire]

There's a new product called the PowerPost out there which is an L1 charger. Workplaces may not want to go 240V but may want to allow all-day parking with an L1 120V charger. It's a single post with 120V EVSE built in and retractable cord.

Another one I like is the Schneider Electric double 240V L2 post which is basically a good way to deliver two non-networked L2 EVSEs on one physical post. Seems less expensive than ChargePoint and Blink network ones and those will only work if those companies survive since it requires their network to be online to allow the chargers to start.

If you must have charge-back or fee-based charging, I guess ChargePoint or Blink are the ones to go with. For me, I like L1 charging since you can pull in, plug in and work all day and not move your Volt after 4-hours of charging (maybe 8-hours for a Leaf or Tesla, etc.) If they must charge a fee - charge it per-kWh and not by time. Volts charge slower than 2013 Leafs and other types. A rate of .15 per kWh is fair since in most states outside of California, commercial electricity is usually about .10 or less per kWh.

Have them consider overflow 120V wall plugs for those who cannot get onto the L2 or L1 installed. That way, someone can use their own EVSE in case there are too many EVs there for the day. For those 120V wall plug ideas - consider the EVSE lockable box from www.evextend.com. Pretty inexpensive way to go to allow safe storage of ones owned EVSE that they use at work.

 

[MGJ]

Thanks all for the comments so far. Very good tips!

I would like to have L2 charging capability for free. I don't think my employer would want to charge employees to use a charging station. We also would want to be sure that the charging stations work with the Leaf and other EVs, not just the Volt. If we get one that is 240V with a J1772 connection, will that work for most EVs? Are there other key specs/features to keep inmind? Is there an EV Charging Station store?

 

[DonC]

I don't have what I think is a good solution but I do know the problem with "FREE" anything is that you can never supply enough of a free good or service. In a work situation this can lead to a whole lot of wasted productivity as people squabble over charging. At this point the best solution would be to charge $1/hour to charge. This rate is higher that what someone would pay for home charging, hence you eliminate the freeloaders, but less than you'd pay for gas, which means there isn't a penalty for using them.

My second suggestion -- the cheapest and perhaps the most effective -- would be to simply provide 5-15 outlets and a few L6-30 outlets and let people use their own chargers.

There is no charger store AFAIK.

 

[MGJ]

Does the Volt work with these DC Quick chargers that I keep reading about. I saw that Eaton and Schneider both make the dc quick chargers and they claim they work with all EVs. They can charge EV to 80% full in 30 minutes.

 

[ITestStuff]

There's a new product called the PowerPost out there which is an L1 charger. Workplaces may not want to go 240V but may want to allow all-day parking with an L1 120V charger. It's a single post with 120V EVSE built in and retractable cord.

It's also $1500 MSRP. That's insane. If this is the option you pursue, far better to just ask for a 120v outlet and use your own EVSE. That's the cheapest possible option for the workplace.

http://green.autoblog.com/2013/05/29/l1-power-post-offers-low-cost-level-1-charging-for-evs/

Another one I like is the Schneider Electric double 240V L2 post which is basically a good way to deliver two non-networked L2 EVSEs on one physical post. Seems less expensive than ChargePoint and Blink network ones and those will only work if those companies survive since it requires their network to be online to allow the chargers to start.

Looks like the model number is EV230PDR (or EV230PDRR if you want RFID). $4000 MSRP.

http://www.nationalcarcharging.com/schneider-ev230pdr.html

If they must charge a fee - charge it per-kWh and not by time.

Keep in mind that this is illegal in some states.

I would like to have L2 charging capability for free.

Why should your employer provide this?

I don't have what I think is a good solution but I do know the problem with "FREE" anything is that you can never supply enough of a free good or service. In a work situation this can lead to a whole lot of wasted productivity as people squabble over charging. At this point the best solution would be to charge $1/hour to charge. This rate is higher that what someone would pay for home charging, hence you eliminate the freeloaders, but less than you'd pay for gas, which means there isn't a penalty for using them.

Agree that free is bad. I don't know the $8/day is enough to encourage people to move though. I pay $0.50/hr @ work, and I'm a little surprised that there aren't people connected to the chargers all day long. Maybe it's a good balance of being significantly more expensive than home power, but not so much that people completely avoid using them (like the $1/hr Blink units I see).

Oh yeah, if your company insists on going with a managed service, I think Chargepoint is better than Blink. Those guys can only bill by the hour. Stay 1m and you're billed for an hour. Stay 65m, and you're billed for 2hrs.

Does the Volt work with these DC Quick chargers that I keep reading about.

No, current Volt's do not. There are now multiple standards for DC charging. Best that you don't get into this right now Plus the options are NOT cheap.

 

[Ladogaboy]

I'm going to be approaching my work about the same thing, though my suggestion will be to charge the employees for access. They already subsidize many benefits (everything from cafeteria to car detailing and dry cleaning), and I know of at least one other PHEV.

My tentative recommendation is to put in two L2 chargers (charging $1 an hour) and four 120V 20A GFCI w/ lock boxes, but I want to do more research on the benefits for the company. Also, they might be leasing the facilities, so I'm not sure if they are even authorized to make those types of changes to the grounds.

 

[RedneckRoyalty]

I think your best bet would be to ask them to put in regular 110V outlets. They are cheap and easy to maintain and require very little investment. If electrics take off, it wouldn't be that expensive to add multiple outlets as required. You're at work 8 or 9 hours, why spend the money for a L2 when they can probably install 5 or more 110V outlets for the same cost or less?

 

[MGJ]

I highly doubt my employer will want to charge employees for this. We are a major green building product company. Adding these charging stations not only meets employee demand but also fits with our green image.

We are looking into getting 2 GE Durastations http://www.homedepot.com/p/GE-DuraS...-Access-Control-EVDRN3/204005053#.UcGJ0pG9KK0

Anyone familiar with these charging stations? Thoughts on them? Do they work for Volts and Leafs?

 

[davemac616]

I think your best bet would be to ask them to put in regular 110V outlets. They are cheap and easy to maintain and require very little investment. If electrics take off, it wouldn't be that expensive to add multiple outlets as required. You're at work 8 or 9 hours, why spend the money for a L2 when they can probably install 5 or more 110V outlets for the same cost or less?

Well, 110V charging is less useful for BEVs that might need a full charge for each leg of a commute. I think there are tax benefits for the L2s also. My company started with 1, then 2 L2s that several of us shared, now we have 12 dedicated spots

 

[Ron C]

I'm going to be approaching my work about the same thing, though my suggestion will be to charge the employees for access. They already subsidize many benefits (everything from cafeteria to car detailing and dry cleaning), and I know of at least one other PHEV.

My tentative recommendation is to put in two L2 chargers (charging $1 an hour) and four 120V 20A GFCI w/ lock boxes, but I want to do more research on the benefits for the company. Also, they might be leasing the facilities, so I'm not sure if they are even authorized to make those types of changes to the grounds.

You can also consider a monthly access subscription model, say $20/month. That will help defray the costs of installation while keeping out the riff-raff. It also fends of the "nobody buys me free gas" morons.

 

[Ladogaboy]

You can also consider a monthly access subscription model, say $20/month. That will help defray the costs of installation while keeping out the riff-raff. It also fends of the "nobody buys me free gas" morons.

That's what I'm thinking. I'm not, personally, looking for a free ride (though I'm sure many would be); I would just like to be able to do 70% or more of my commute on electricity. The subscription model might be difficult, and logistically, the biggest difficulty might be the already overcrowded parking lot. As it is, we do not have enough spaces to accommodate all of the employees.