[Dutch]

Not too long ago a new Gen 2 Volt showed up at work and we all "oohed" and "aaaahed" over it.
This week we had yet another Volt show up as a new-hire has a Gen 1 very similar to OHM-RIDE.
Only one charging station left and we're going to have to go to a rotation schedule or get more chargers

The wife of one of the Volt owners is considering the new Chrysler Pacifica so that slot may be taken soon.

I consider myself very fortunate that management at work has completely bought in to supporting EV and is already floating the idea of adding some more stations when they tear up the pavement to re-do one of the other parking lots. That kind of commitment is a rare thing in my somewhat rural area.

 

[BAZINGA]

Working for an employer willing to invest in EV charging stations must be awesome.

I work on a USAF base and there will never be any EV charging stations installed for employees. Bummer. There are charging stations at the base motor pool for government EV's though. So it's a start.

 

[Ziv]

I live in Northern Virginia in an old apartment building that was converted to a condo 30 years ago. Building management couldn't be better for helping me set up a receptacle to charge my Volt. It took about 30 minutes for the engineer to run conduit and a line to the spot in back of my parking spot. They didn't charge me for the receptacle but they do charge me $25 a month for the right to charge, which is more than fair since I use around $20-$25 worth of electricity every month.

 

[llninja]

I wish I could get charging at work, but my current company won't install charging stations for leased property even though they have lots of charging stations for bigger sites that they own.

 

[Raymondjram]

I wish I could get charging at work, but my current company won't install charging stations for leased property even though they have lots of charging stations for bigger sites that they own.

Why don't you toss a long extension out of the property window or door that reaches your parking space?

 

[llninja]

Why don't you toss a long extension out of the property window or door that reaches your parking space?

Windows are sealed and don't open. Plugging into 110 is against company policy on EV vehicles.

 

[Ladogaboy]

I'm going through something similar with my work, though it seems that a majority of people who drive EVs/PHEVs are charging at home. Despite that, the EV spaces are running out quickly. We will be expanding the parking lot, though, and California Title 24 requires that new and renovated parking lots add EV chargers.

I've also been told that our management is considering making the EV charging free (i.e., first-come, first-serve), which I've recommended against. We have a number of people who will only use charging if it is free (these are mostly the light PHEVs like Energis and PiPs), so I suggested keeping it as a pay-for-access. Given our structure, only Volts and above make sense to charge ($3 for four hours), but making it free will block access to many pure BEVs.

 

[llninja]

I'm going through something similar with my work, though it seems that a majority of people who drive EVs/PHEVs are charging at home. Despite that, the EV spaces are running out quickly. We will be expanding the parking lot, though, and California Title 24 requires that new and renovated parking lots add EV chargers.

I've also been told that our management is considering making the EV charging free (i.e., first-come, first-serve), which I've recommended against. We have a number of people who will only use charging if it is free (these are mostly the light PHEVs like Energis and PiPs), so I suggested keeping it as a pay-for-access. Given our structure, only Volts and above make sense to charge ($3 for four hours), but making it free will block access to many pure BEVs.

At my company, there are plug wars galore as there are far more EVs than charging cables. The company has spent a small fortune to outfit many sites, but the supply exceeds demand. They do charge for the electricity, but it is pretty much at cost, so the cost to the consumer is really minimal. the issue is that at $13K+ per commercial charging station, and the parking lots require quite a bit of electrical infrastructure and long runs, the endeavor isnt' cheap. I'll be switching jobs for the new year, and will be within walking distance of a free charging station, though it will require some coordination to share amongst several EV owners. My arrival might upset their current charging pattern.

 

[Ladogaboy]

In California, the cost of chargers needs to be baked into the cost of building or renovating the parking lot; however, the company can still cash in on the Federal tax credit.

 

[DonC]

Just have them put in 120v outlets on 15A circuits. People can provide the chargers themselves. Much cheaper and for the time you've parked your commute will be covered. Qualcomm did this and went from chaos to tranquility. Many people who didn't need to charge just stopped because they didn't want to be bothered, and the people who charge really need it or are terminally cheap, which is fine. But the emails and so forth about who was using the chargers when ended, boosting productivity. LOL

 

[llninja]

Just have them put in 120v outlets on 15A circuits. People can provide the chargers themselves. Much cheaper and for the time you've parked your commute will be covered. Qualcomm did this and went from chaos to tranquility. Many people who didn't need to charge just stopped because they didn't want to be bothered, and the people who charge really need it or are terminally cheap, which is fine. But the emails and so forth about who was using the chargers when ended, boosting productivity. LOL

I've heard horror stories from the guy in charge of the EVSE program. Early attempts to use 110V wall sockets where people were plugging and unplugging daily caused premature failure on the outlets and all sorts of craziness with extensions cords and people plugging in power strips to split the power, pop the breaker, etc. They then installed fixed commercial EVSEs to eliminate the electrical hazard and one day someone unplugged a high level corporate exec's charging vehicle to charge with in the next spot which wasn't an EV parking spot causing them to make all the EVSE spots spaced apart with lots of lines so there was no charge sharing. Now people are up in arms trying to figure out how to effectively share spots proposing an Outlook calendar, some sort of app, etc. Suffice it to say, when people can't make it home, or they are forced to stay several hours in order to make it home, they really start to get snippy on the internal EV forums. Plus 110v is too slow for my commute. My battery is usually drained by the time I reach the office unless I decide to use hold mode. I've even gone so far as to consider working with the landlord of the building to lease partial space in an electrical closet only to install an EVSE independent of my employer. Alas, then I found out how much commercial electrical rates were. Man the power company is shafting businesses.

 

[Ladogaboy]

My work actually had to block and lock the 120 V outlets that were accessible from the parking lot. No one asked permission, and at one time, we had three EVs plugged in. It looked like the wall socket from National Lampoons Christmas Vacation, and none of the cars were charging because they blew the circuit breaker.

My suggestion was to get chargers with RFID readers and sync them to our HR system because all employees are required to carry an RFID badge, but I think that was beyond their technical ability.

 

[llninja]

My work actually had to block and lock the 120 V outlets that were accessible from the parking lot. No one asked permission, and at one time, we had three EVs plugged in. It looked like the wall socket from National Lampoons Christmas Vacation, and none of the cars were charging because they blew the circuit breaker.

My suggestion was to get chargers with RFID readers and sync them to our HR system because all employees are required to carry an RFID badge, but I think that was beyond their technical ability.

You'd think in one of the world's highest tech companies that they would do something like that, but no, the RFID dongles for EV charging are completely separate from our badge readers. Left hand isn't talking to the right hand.

 

[KUD]

My work actually had to block and lock the 120 V outlets that were accessible from the parking lot. No one asked permission, and at one time, we had three EVs plugged in. It looked like the wall socket from National Lampoons Christmas Vacation, and none of the cars were charging because they blew the circuit breaker.

My suggestion was to get chargers with RFID readers and sync them to our HR system because all employees are required to carry an RFID badge, but I think that was beyond their technical ability.

At Wife's suggestion her company installed 2 restricted EVSEs. You need to get your phone registered with the station provider and use the online App provided to enable charging. Works great. Unfortunately that was the day I lost my Volt to her.

 

[llninja]

At Wife's suggestion her company installed 2 restricted EVSEs. You need to get your phone registered with the station provider and use the online App provided to enable charging. Works great. Unfortunately that was the day I lost my Volt to her.

My wife stole my volt the first summer we owned it she eventually came to her senses and gave it back because her commute is so much shorter than mine, so financially it made sense for me to drive the volt. 3 years later, she's hinting that i need a new car and that she should get the volt again. Of course, I know full well that whatever I get (unless it's a hoopty) she will steal it from me. Happy wife, happy life. Plus elemental isn't around to beat us up about who's wearing the pants in the family.

Time for "the Man Song" https://youtu.be/Rdf9-hRt410

 

[flyingsherpa]

I wish I could get charging at work, but my current company won't install charging stations for leased property even though they have lots of charging stations for bigger sites that they own.

My company was the same way for a few years. Then someone must have retired or something, because they did finally end up putting in 2 stations at a leased site (we have other stations at owned sites too). Can't hurt to check in with them once a year, you never know.

I've heard horror stories from the guy in charge of the EVSE program. Early attempts to use 110V wall sockets where people were plugging and unplugging daily caused premature failure on the outlets and all sorts of craziness with extensions cords and people plugging in power strips to split the power, pop the breaker, etc. They then installed fixed commercial EVSEs to eliminate the electrical hazard and one day someone unplugged a high level corporate exec's charging vehicle to charge with in the next spot which wasn't an EV parking spot causing them to make all the EVSE spots spaced apart with lots of lines so there was no charge sharing. Now people are up in arms trying to figure out how to effectively share spots proposing an Outlook calendar, some sort of app, etc. Suffice it to say, when people can't make it home, or they are forced to stay several hours in order to make it home, they really start to get snippy on the internal EV forums. Plus 110v is too slow for my commute. My battery is usually drained by the time I reach the office unless I decide to use hold mode. I've even gone so far as to consider working with the landlord of the building to lease partial space in an electrical closet only to install an EVSE independent of my employer. Alas, then I found out how much commercial electrical rates were. Man the power company is shafting businesses.

That does sounds horrible. At our largest company site, we've have good luck with a mix of L2 (two spots) and L1 (bank of 4 dedicated hi-quality outlets, BYO-EVSE). We do get some people hogging the L2 all day, but with some communication it has lessened. L1 is there for people who don't want to move their cars during the day, as they will most likely have to charge all day to get full (it is a big of a hike to get to our lot, so I get why some people don't want to move). When we just had the two L2 spots, it got a bit ugly. I successfully lobbied for the L1 spots, because they kept saying it was too expensive to add more stations, so I showed them how cheap L1 can be and they ran with it (they did not realize it was an option before, they are not EV owners).

 

[DonC]

That does sounds horrible. At our largest company site, we've have good luck with a mix of L2 (two spots) and L1 (bank of 4 dedicated hi-quality outlets, BYO-EVSE).
...
I successfully lobbied for the L1 spots, because they kept saying it was too expensive to add more stations, so I showed them how cheap L1 can be and they ran with it (they did not realize it was an option before, they are not EV owners).

Yes 120v circuits are far less expensive. Plus you can use them for other things if necessary. And yes they need to be dedicated hi-quality ones. Note that if there are enough 120v outlets there is no need to "share" so you avoid all the issues of trying to use one outlet to charger three cars (which of course will not work).

 

[llninja]

My company was the same way for a few years. Then someone must have retired or something, because they did finally end up putting in 2 stations at a leased site (we have other stations at owned sites too). Can't hurt to check in with them once a year, you never know.



That does sounds horrible. At our largest company site, we've have good luck with a mix of L2 (two spots) and L1 (bank of 4 dedicated hi-quality outlets, BYO-EVSE). We do get some people hogging the L2 all day, but with some communication it has lessened. L1 is there for people who don't want to move their cars during the day, as they will most likely have to charge all day to get full (it is a big of a hike to get to our lot, so I get why some people don't want to move). When we just had the two L2 spots, it got a bit ugly. I successfully lobbied for the L1 spots, because they kept saying it was too expensive to add more stations, so I showed them how cheap L1 can be and they ran with it (they did not realize it was an option before, they are not EV owners).

Unfortunately, my annual requests have stopped because my site is being closed and people are moving to another big site 1000 miles south. I chose not to move and will be leaving the best job I ever had in 2 weeks. So I will never see a charging station at work, at lest this round. My next job is 2 blocks from a charging station so when the weather isn't too bad, I might try to get a free charge there. The only problem is that there is only one spot with no opportunity to park next to it for someone to share thei plug when they leave. I'm guessing my arrival will disrupt the calm in the current charging patterns of research park employees.

 

[llninja]

Yes 120v circuits are far less expensive. Plus you can use them for other things if necessary. And yes they need to be dedicated hi-quality ones. Note that if there are enough 120v outlets there is no need to "share" so you avoid all the issues of trying to use one outlet to charger three cars (which of course will not work).

All it takes is one bozo who tries to use an extension cord and management gets all worried about the liability of someone getting shocked to death.