Charging at work. Yay or Nay?

[ranss12]

I work for a British company with a significant presence here in the USA. At our local plant here in Rochester I kept working on management in a lighthearted manner for months, asking when I was going to get a place to plug in and 'how that plug was coming along'. In fact, it became a bit of a running joke at meetings that whenever we were asked about concerns, issues, or whatever, everyone would look at me waiting for my comment about plugging in at work. In December we had one of those 'anonymous' employee satisfaction surveys. I don't think mine was very anonymous because in the comments section I wrote a paragraph about how "many progressive companies allow their employees to plug in at work". Since I have the only electric vehicle at this site, it wouldn't take a rocket scientist to figure out who handed that survey in. At a subsequent employee meeting, we were told that our CEO over in Bath (UK) reads every comment on those surveys. About a month after that, the factory manager said that if I needed to plug in, he'd find a location, which he did. That has been very helpful this winter - I can actually use the LEAF's heater on my 60 mile commute. I just wonder if word came down from the CEO to the plant manager to find a way to let me charge while at work. The moral of the story - persistence pays off.

 

[mwalsh]

Breaker tripped on the same circuit I was L1 charging with just now, when someone went to use the microwave in the executive staff kitchen area. Suspect that charging the car will be made the scapegoat, even though it is hardly the first time I've charged in that spot and would find it most coincidental that nobody would have used the microwave on the previous occasions I've charged there, even though they've been relatively few, since I'm charging from the moment I arrive to the moment I leave. :?

 

[Phatcat73]

Fortunately the facilities manager at my work drives a Volt and used some "slush" funds to install 2 dedicated 20 amp 120 v outlets for a "pilot" program. Without these installed, I would not be driving a Leaf. These 2 outlets are in a gated section of the parking lot reserved for facilities, so the odds that they'll be ICE'd are minimal. They altered my badge for access to this lot.

Even though I work in an environmentally friendly Leed Gold certified building (recycled rain water, intelligent lighting, green roof, etc...) getting 240 V stations is a challenge due to overall budget constraints.

Thus we concocted a plan to put a little bit more pressure on upper management. They've set me up to interview with corporate communications for an internal news article about driving electric with all the benefits. That occurred last week and will be circulated company wide in a couple weeks. In it I listed the challenges of charging on 120 V with my long, but doable 108 mile commute and how 240 would be much more ideal. I also mentioned that it cost me less than $2 per full charge based on my 7 cent /kWh rate. We'll see what happens! Glad to know I have allies!

 

[davewill]

Fortunately the facilities manager at my work drives a Volt and used some "slush" funds to install 2 dedicated 20 amp 120 v outlets for a "pilot" program. ...

A dedicated* 20a 120v line can be converted to a 20a 240v line with ease. You just change the connection at the breaker box to hot-hot-ground, instead of hot-neutral-ground, and change the receptacle. Get yourself an EVSEUpgrade, and you're off to the races.

* It must be dedicated, with only the one receptacle, otherwise it's a no-go.

Edit: I found instructions from Phil: http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=26&t=2707&p=73701&#p73701" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

... First, be absolutely sure that it is a dedicated circuit! Use extreme caution!

1. Cut power to the service panel feeding the circuit.
2. Shut off and remove the original single-pole breaker (15 or 20A).
3. Locate the white neutral wire and remove it from the Neutral Bus bar.
4. Use red tape to cover the white wire so that it's now clearly red.
5. Verify power off and Remove the old outlet.
6. Tape the white wire here as well.
7. Connect and install the new 240V outlet. (Black to X, Red to Y)
8. Install the new 2-pole 15 or 20A breaker.
9. Wire the black and (now) red wires to the 2 screws on the breaker.
10. Replace the panel cover, restore power, and then turn on the new breaker.

-Phil

 

[Phatcat73]

Interesting. Are you certain? The facilities Volt owner is an EE and he mentioned something about not having 240V available in the parking lot. Apparently we're only setup for 120, 277 or 480.

 

[davewill]

Interesting. Are you certain? The facilities Volt owner is an EE and he mentioned something about not having 240V available in the parking lot. Apparently we're only setup for 120, 277 or 480.

It sounds like he would know, then. I'd have thought he could do 208v. However, I'm not an electrician, and I've only really dealt with residential wiring.

 

[mwalsh]

Apparently we're only setup for 120, 277 or 480.

Simple solution then...DC Quick Charger!

 

[bsoft]

Because I live in an apartment, I charge *only* at work (and other public charging stations).

I work for Google in Boulder, CO and we have 4x 6kW EVSE in our parking garage, which is really nice.

 

[Valdemar]

After almost 2 years since my initial inquiry they will be getting charging stations installed at work. Not yet sure what kind, I'm just hoping they won't be free as there is a good number of plugin hybrids I see every day in the parking structure, and we all know how much their owners love the free juice and their lack of consideration for others. I don't mean to offend those few responsible who are not like that. What is interesting is how the property management staff's attitude changed over this time. 2 years ago they basically didn't want to talk with me about it, and now they seemed to be so excited, asking questions, etc.

 

[philipscoggins]

When I first got my LEAF back in November I approached the building owner, who is a technical/forward thinking kinda guy. I explained to him I was getting an all electric car and that I didn't plan on charging every day, but when it was really cold or I was planning a trip after work it would make a huge difference in my getting there. i also explained that it would cost about $0.09/hr and that I would be happy to give him $5 or $10/month once I discovered how much I needed to charge. He said not to worry about it, but to please not abuse him.

I was upfront & honest as was he. I also ended up charging only 2 or 3 days/month. It's a hassle to deal with running a 110 plug in a door and all, so I don't do it unless it's really necessary & it worked out fine. Although we do have 3 phase power running to the building...

Philip

 

[EatsShootsandLeafs]

Never tried and work is only 8 miles away so never felt need to.

 

[eMaS]

Yes, for more than 15 years.
We have about 30 L2 chargers here at work (UCDavis near Sacramento, CA); mix of L2s from ClipperCreek and Coulomb. Our old EVI and TAL chargers were upgraded through the CA energie grant to the ClipperCreek.
We have a 4 hour limit to park and charge for free. I think that is a great solution and compromise plus you get some 'exercise' moving the car. But at some locations we will be soon still running out of charging spaces (so many plug-in hybrids).
In a month or two we will get the our first public QC, donated by Nissan so that should help a lot.

 

[mwalsh]

Update: Went to charge yesterday and the breaker was already tripped. So, basically, not my car, since it hadn't been charging there since the last incident. A point I opined quite bluntly in an email to management, while also suggesting they look at something else on that circuit (or the outlet itself) as the culprit.

Update 2: Have used that same outlet (which has yet to be looked at by facilities) several times when I've been in the office alone. Breaker has not tripped. Hah! It's their stupid microwave.

 

[Valdemar]

After about 2 years of begging we are finally getting 4 ChargePoint plugs. Yay! The downside is that it will be $2/hr. However with numerous Volts and PiPs I see in the garage daily it might actually be a good thing.

 

[alcalira]

In Sacramento (capital of CA) state employees get free charging but have to pay for parking. But City of Sacramento provides free parking and free charging to any EV, so we're good.

 

[GlennD]

I work for a city. Just for giggles I sent an email saying other cities allow free charging and could I do it. I would guess my email was forwarded all over the city. I finally got permission from the office of sustainability.

I provided the L2 EVSE ( OpenEVSE) and they provided the ted to monitor it. I charge to 80% at home and travel about 20 miles to work and they provide the power to get home.

Anyone on the city intranet can see the ted reports so the city gets a gold star.

 

[Valdemar]

Interesting that the ChargePoint plugs that were installed at our parking lot were not shown on the map until I added building management company that installed them as a "Connection" in the ChargePoint user portal per their instructions.

 

[ksnogas2112]

Through no effort of my own, our new building will have at least 2 public EVSE's. One will be prominently displayed in the 'hey look what we do' section to show off and the other will be buried in the parking garage - yay no solar loading - for everyone to use.

I also just found out our CEO picked up a Tesla so there are 2 EV's in the company. Hopefully more to come with the EVSE's.

Unfortunately for me, new building is only 1.5 miles from house so won't really help me except for cross town lunch trips.

 

[davewill]

Through no effort of my own, our new building will have at least 2 public EVSE's. ... I also just found out our CEO picked up a Tesla so there are 2 EV's in the company. Hopefully more to come with the EVSE's. ..

I guess mystery solved on why EVSEs are going in. Of course with a Tesla, your CEO probably doesn't need at work charging, either.

 

[teichholtz]

Sigh.. I just found out that I am going to lose my free parking and free electricity in August.

There is a company a few blocks from where I work which has one charger and I can park there all day for free and the electricity is free. I have my phone number on the dash in case someone else wants it, no one has ever called.

The company is moving a few towns away in August. Darn... I have only charged at home a few times since I got the car in March, there was no need to, leave work at 100%, 25 miles home, 25 miles back in the morning.