Level 2 chargers for every neighborhood?

1965 Views 10 Replies 10 Participants Last post by Bacardi, Mar 22, 2017

GreenMonster

Discussion Starter · Mar 21, 2017

Hi guys, Greenmonster here! So I was thinking about how we could get more charging places to increase the number of electric cars out there. My friend told me that street lights have 440 Volts and you can step (?) them down to 220 or 240. So what if we converted one on every block to charge at day and be steet light at night? Just think of charging on every block! How would we get our cities to support this?

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canehdian

· #2 · Mar 21, 2017

Someone else was asking in another thread.
THe problem is it's 3 phase 480v, which becomes 277 when split. Too high for most cars to handle.
They're expecting something around 250-260V max.

Once you get into additional transformers to change that power, the convenience factor drops away.

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freshcut

· #3 · Mar 21, 2017

I can see that for L2 being a problem, but doesn't DCFC require a 480V connection?

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caronjeff

· #4 · Mar 21, 2017

Encourage local small business owners, pubs, restaurants etc to provide free L2 charging.

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jsmay311

· #5 · Mar 21, 2017

It would also depend on the existing wiring being used and the cost to upgrade it to handle the higher loads from a car.

And who's gonna pay for installation? Operation? Maintenance? Lots of details that would need to be worked out.

Plus, most people charge at night.

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jsmay311

· #6 · Mar 22, 2017

caronjeff said:
Encourage local small business owners, pubs, restaurants etc to provide free L2 charging.

Do you think business owners want to spend thousands of dollars on charging stations that eliminate a parking space for non-EV-driving customers in their parking lot so that the occasional EV driver can get free electricity?

And if you're a person on the fence about buying a EV, do you really think you'll make the plunge if your only charging option is parking your car at a bar/restaurant for several hours every single day?

Beyond the narrow motive of a business going after some "green cred" for marketing purposes, this arrangement just doesn't work well in any aspect for either of the parties involves, IMO. At least for L2 chargers that take multiple hours for most people's charging needs.

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edk-austin

· #7 · Mar 22, 2017

277VAC is not the problem. Output voltage has no direct correlation to input voltage. The problems are as described above, and that a parking lot of lights is not designed for the load of car charging, daytime or not.

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Mcgsp

· #8 · Mar 22, 2017 (Edited)

GreenMonster said:
Hi guys, Greenmonster here! So I was thinking about how we could get more charging places to increase the number of electric cars out there. My friend told me that street lights have 440 Volts and you can step (?) them down to 220 or 240. So what if we converted one on every block to charge at day and be steet light at night? Just think of charging on every block! How would we get our cities to support this?

Nice thought, not withstanding the 3 phase power source. I can't even get permission from the my city to place a 240 charger in front of my house at my expense.

However there are forward looking communities like Philadelphia, Baltimore, Seattle and some in California, to name a few and frankly there are too few. That allow the property owner a designated EV space in front of their house. The EV owner pays for signage and the installation of the electric and or EVSE. Any EV owner can park their car in these designated spaces the caveat is that the homeowner is not required to let any EV owner use there EVSE or electricity..

The argument from my supposed enlighten councilperson why it was not feasible, and that I would be taking a space away in area where parking is difficult as it is. As with many urban areas, there are more cars than actual street parking. But of course she overlooks the fact that no driver has a right to the streets, which means that government can help promote what type of vehicles are plying the streets and discourage others. And of course the argument for cleaner air using EVs in our densely populated cities that have large numbers of people with asthma and other respiratory conditions went on deaf ears.

Nice thoughts at least.

Here is video that posted in another post today on sustainable cities, ah to dream: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WCKz8ykyI2E

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Just_Jon

· #9 · Mar 22, 2017

Mcgsp said:
...However there are forward looking communities like Philadelphia, Baltimore, Seattle and some in California, to name a few and frankly there are too few. That allow the property owner a designated EV space in front of their house. The EV owner pays for signage and the installation of the electric and or EVSE. Any EV owner can park their car in these designated spaces the caveat is that the homeowner is not required to let any EV owner use there EVSE or electricity...

Is the homeowner required to pay for your taillight that "mysteriously" gets broken for parking in his spot?

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Loboc

· #10 · Mar 22, 2017

I'd be willing to bet that near 100% of EV owners charge in their own garage/driveway. They have their own L2 EVSE in most cases. There is pretty much zero need for street L2 charging in this scenario. For restaurant owners etc, L2 is too slow.

A solution without a problem to solve.

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Bacardi

· #11 · Mar 22, 2017

GreenMonster said:
Hi guys, Greenmonster here! So I was thinking about how we could get more charging places to increase the number of electric cars out there. My friend told me that street lights have 440 Volts and you can step (?) them down to 220 or 240. So what if we converted one on every block to charge at day and be steet light at night? Just think of charging on every block! How would we get our cities to support this?

While pointed out this won't work, let's pretend it would...Are you willing to pay more in local taxes and increased electric rates to make this happen?

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