Surprise! My work installing EVSEs out of the blue.

[aarond12]

Even having 120V outlets would be nice on the rare occasion that we need them. Both the LEAF and I have charged at the lone 120V outlet hiding on the top of the parking garage. I topped off my charge to run some errands after work a few times but otherwise don't use the plug.

One of the security guards left her broken down Cadillac in the only other space that has a 120V outlet. Oh, the irony.

 

[rogersleaf]

Even having 120V outlets would be nice on the rare occasion that we need them. Both the LEAF and I have charged at the lone 120V outlet hiding on the top of the parking garage. I topped off my charge to run some errands after work a few times but otherwise don't use the plug.

One of the security guards left her broken down Cadillac in the only other space that has a 120V outlet. Oh, the irony.

The irony is the bloated government agency where I work has a formal Sustainability Program and will likely take years to make any provisions for vehicle charging. On the other hand, the small mom & pop private employer where I work part-time allows me to L1 or L2 charge with my own cord and is considering L2 EVSE's if they can find an economical way to control access.

 

[mkjayakumar]

Today there are something like 20 cars for 9 charging stations. Indeed, if you build it, they will come

Yes and I can attest to that. For more than a year I was the only EV and i was constantly pestering the building management to put a charger. And then they put two chargers with four reserved spaces around them in each of the two parking lots this January. They already had plans, and my pestering perhaps accelerated it. That is 8 slots reserved for 4 charging stations. For a while I was the only one charging and occasionally you would see an ICE parked in one of those 8 spots, but the management was quick to shoo them away with parking violation stickers. I kind of felt bad that I literally had 4 reserved spots in my lot all for myself.

Two weeks later another Leaf joined me. 6 months later now, we have 8 leafs and one Volt. So now given that we had more EVs than parking slots around the charger, were wondering and planning how to share them effectively, and then the next surprise: apparently the management was watching the EV slots getting filled up and they are adding another 2 chargers and reserving 4 more parking slots around them, as early as next week. That is fantastic, especially given this is Texas.

I think we are seeing a tipping point, thanks to amazing lease deals. My dealer told me he sold 15 leafs in June and is expecting more this month.

 

[flyonpa]

Leaf Friend of mine, He said there are about 8-10 EV that are regulars in his office lots for two chargers (4 spaces) , They worked it out this way:

The "Early Birds" Cars 7am and before, Pull in park, charge,
The Normal start 8-9am pull in to a Non EV space.
The Late Starters after 9a pull in to the EV space, by the time they get there the 7am are more or less done with there charges, Move Plug to there car.

Lunch time the 7am'ers & 9am'ers move there cars to Non EV spaces, the 8am'ers move into the EV spaces.

If needed the noon (8am'ers) park'ers could move out mid afternoon. (or 2nd batch of 8am'ers move the plug over mid afternoon).

He said they requested a additional group of chargers be installed, with 4 more spaces (2 chargers).

 

[walterbays]

I'm up in Mass - my company has installed two chargers but have put a cost of $1/hr to use them. Talking to facilities they said the reason was to encourage folks to free up the spot once charged. Seems they could have approached it differently, but oh well.

A better way could be to charge $0.50/hr for the first 3 hours connected, whether or not charging is complete, and thereafter $5/hr. That way PHEV's get a full charge at a cost lower than gasoline, BEV's get sufficient charge at a nominal cost, and parking space "campers" are penalized severely, as are those who deliberately don't charge at home in order to mooch free power.

That said, I agree that the O.P. ought to do exactly that for the first few months, charge with the free work electricity instead of at home. The reason as others have stated is for management and ICE drivers to see the charging stations being used. So management will maintain its support, ICE drivers will realize they shouldn't park there, and a few of them will learn more about EV's and decide to switch. Once there are a few other plug-in drivers using the stations it's time for the O.P. to go back to charging at home.

 

[JPWhite]

The irony is the bloated government agency where I work has a formal Sustainability Program and will likely take years to make any provisions for vehicle charging. On the other hand, the small mom & pop private employer where I work part-time allows me to L1 or L2 charge with my own cord and is considering L2 EVSE's if they can find an economical way to control access.

Certainly bigger organizations are harder to convince as they are slow moving and like to add policy and procedures to all things employee benefit wise, to ensure fairness and what not.

I asked the building manager at our multi-tenant facility if I could use an external 120v outlet I had spotted which I offered to pay for. At first they needed 'time' to check with legal and codes and what not to which I said OK let me know when you get that guidance. The next day it was 'discovered' the outlet didn't work (or had been disabled - I'll never know) so the idea fell flat. Instead I approached a sandwich shop owner next door and he was more than OK with me using an outlet on his building in return for a fee I administered on his behalf. I fished an extension cord through a dividing hedge and I was set. My employer has moved us to a new office and the sandwich shop has been sold since. I still have charging capability as the new sandwich shop owner is also OK with occasional use when I have business at the old office.

Small businesses are more approachable and sympathetic. Big companies are slow and test our patience. Patience I don't have.

Glad your part-time employer provides you with capability.

 

[dgpcolorado]

...Two weeks later another Leaf joined me. 6 months later now, we have 8 leafs and one Volt. So now given that we had more EVs than parking slots around the charger, were wondering and planning how to share them effectively, and then the next surprise: apparently the management was watching the EV slots getting filled up and they are adding another 2 chargers and reserving 4 more parking slots around them, as early as next week. That is fantastic, especially given this is Texas...

I'm impressed with your employer!

It sure is lonely driving the only BEV in my area for 2½ years now. [Although a few weeks ago I did get a chance to share the lone public charge station with a Tesla from Denver that was passing through enroute to the Telluride Bluegrass Festival — first one I've ever seen "in the wild". They found out about the charge station from my plugshare.com listing.]

 

[GeekEV]

Your story has inspired me to make another push for workplace charging at my office. I'd tried before but one hummer driving exec wanted to know if they'd be installing a gas station too. :?

 

[srl99]

Your story has inspired me to make another push for workplace charging at my office. I'd tried before but one hummer driving exec wanted to know if they'd be installing a gas station too. :?

Yes, CNG station. All these employers already have electricity, they're just serving it for employee vehicles. If they have NG, they could serve that too.

 

[rogersleaf]

The irony is the bloated government agency where I work has a formal Sustainability Program and will likely take years to make any provisions for vehicle charging. On the other hand, the small mom & pop private employer where I work part-time allows me to L1 or L2 charge with my own cord and is considering L2 EVSE's if they can find an economical way to control access.

Certainly bigger organizations are harder to convince as they are slow moving and like to add policy and procedures to all things employee benefit wise, to ensure fairness and what not.

Small businesses are more approachable and sympathetic. Big companies are slow and test our patience. Patience I don't have.

Glad your part-time employer provides you with capability.

Buying an EV created a lot of chatter in the back office. I'm the last person they expected to use a government tax credit to get a "green" vehicle, let alone a pure EV. The talk is that vehicle charging is on their list of projects, but low priority project because there were only 2 inquiries and absolutely no demand. Well now they have some demand so think they are feeling some pressure to re-evaluate their project priorities. At least 8 coworkers have taken my LEAF for a spin and many are wanting one. However, most realize it won't work for their needs without charging at work.

In my case it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that 73-76 miles/day will likely become a stretch without workplace charging when/if this battery degrades or when winter sets in. The gamble is hedging that the charging access will follow before the car gives me range issues. I'm fortunate to have a 2nd ICE vehicle for the winter (Honda CRV AWD). I'm assuming the LEAF will be good for 3 seasons and parked in the garage by winter. That usage ratio will eliminate roughly 2/3 of my gasoline consumption which works out to about 700 gal/yr.

 

[JPWhite]

I found this decent website on workplace charging.

http://www.workplacecharging.com/

Their pyramid info graphic pretty sums up what is needed for EV's to succeed.

 

[DaveinOlyWA]

In my case it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that 73-76 miles/day will likely become a stretch without workplace charging when/if this battery degrades or when winter sets in. The gamble is hedging that the charging access will follow before the car gives me range issues. I'm fortunate to have a 2nd ICE vehicle for the winter (Honda CRV AWD). I'm assuming the LEAF will be good for 3 seasons and parked in the garage by winter. That usage ratio will eliminate roughly 2/3 of my gasoline consumption which works out to about 700 gal/yr.

Congrats on your LEAF Roger. it is too early to know if the 2014's received any benefit at all from Lizard Battery changes but if not that would mean zero improvement over the 2011's based on your "73-76 mile/day" statement. The likely answer is probably somewhere in the middle.

Now, winters are extreme in your area so even in a new LEAF, it could be dicey on the worst of days but having lived in the Midwest, there were some days where it was simply unwise to be out driving in any kind of car.

Either way, I think the two car option is the way to go which is why I went out and bought the gasser for that occasional need. It has been used nearly 4,000 miles since Dec/2013 with about 2500 miles needed due to distance, convenience or whatever.

 

[alanlarson]

I'm up in Mass - my company has installed two chargers but have put a cost of $1/hr to use them. Talking to facilities they said the reason was to encourage folks to free up the spot once charged. Seems they could have approached it differently, but oh well.

A better way could be to charge $0.50/hr for the first 3 hours connected, whether or not charging is complete, and thereafter $5/hr. That way PHEV's get a full charge at a cost lower than gasoline, BEV's get sufficient charge at a nominal cost, and parking space "campers" are penalized severely, as are those who deliberately don't charge at home in order to mooch free power.

I disagree. I am there to do a job (or perhaps sit in meetings), not to be running in and out to move my car around. The reasonable approach is to provide for the car to be connected all day while parked.

Sitting on the charger for hours after charging is complete doesn't use a meaningful amount of extra power. It does occupy a charging connection, but the solution is to have enough more connections that it doesn't matter.

Moving cars in and out of charging spots wastes time and productivity: The early arrivals arrived, plugged in and have been charging for a while when the later arrivals arrive. However, the charge spots are taken, so I park elsewhere. Some time later, I go out to check, and find that the early arrivals have moved their cars, but the even later arrivals have grabbed the spots. Later, I go out at lunch, and find a spot, but when I get back from lunch, will it be there? The only thing that works is that the EV drivers have to coordinate car moving times so each can get in, and to avoid the gaps where the spot is idle. Since people were not hired to play car shuffling games through the day, it makes sense to just have enough spots.

I would hope they wouldn't charge or it (perhaps as an apology for moving my office from 5 miles away from home to 25 miles (one way)). Unfortunately, the tax code may consider this a reportable employee benefit and taxable. Then your cost depends on the amount they report. (Like the ## year service awards often are.)

 

[JPWhite]

I disagree. I am there to do a job (or perhaps sit in meetings), not to be running in and out to move my car around. The reasonable approach is to provide for the car to be connected all day while parked.

That's asking a lot, the only cost effective way to accomplish that is to have level1 outlets in large numbers.

Dedicated level 2 units are a great convenience to the driver (no getting the portable evse out of the trunk). One way to share the units is to have electronic reservation using a calendar system like Outlook; reserve for 1/2 day and move the vehicle at lunchtime.

Its only reasonable to expect employees to share and provide a system to do so fairly, and as you say doesn't impinge on productivity.

 

[flyonpa]

I would worry about the trip hazard of all the L1 Plugs from lots of cars.

Not sure how My friends workplace did the swap to be sure everyone get access to the L2's but he said it seem to work.

Right now there are 3 PEV's at my work place (2 L2 & 2 spaces because of where they put them). 1 PEV works 2nd shift 7p-7a, 3days a weeks, so he is rarely there when the other two of us are.

When a 3rd 4th ... Day Shift PEV arrives at work the two ... of us will work it out, so we all get the access we need.

 

[Volt3939]

I found this decent website on workplace charging.

http://www.workplacecharging.com/

Their pyramid info graphic pretty sums up what is needed for EV's to succeed.

Yes, it does. What we need is a dirt cheap public Level 1 station that could be installed for not much more than a GFCI outlet in every space in the lot. No moving cars, and everyone gets a charge during their workday. You'd need a few Level 2 stations for some drivers, and maybe a QC for emergencies. Most drivers would be happy, especially if the Level 1 was cheaper or free...

 

[AuburnLeaf]

My employer has installed about 60 L1 EV spots in the parking garages. There are also a few L2 chargers designated as "Emergency" spots. Each L2 charger covers 4 parking spots, and each spot is assigned a 3 hour charging window (ie 7-10, 10-1, 1-4, 4-7). When it's your time, you go to the spot and unplug from the other car and plug in yours. Actually most of the time if you leave your charge port open, the previous person will plug yours in for you when they go to move their car to one of the L1 spots. It's a really effective system. Most people only need the L1, and having the rotating L2 spots provides a good option for emergencies. For now there is always a spot if you need it, but it seems there is a new EV in the garage every week. I'd say there are more than 100 EVs in the complex. Mostly Leafs, with a few Volts and Teslas thrown in. My employer has been very supportive of EVs, which is at least a part of why the EV adoption rate at my workplace has skyrocketed.

 

[johnrhansen]

If I owned a parking lot, I'd be really concerned about the safety aspect of L1. Is there any danger from unplugging while the charge is in progress? How about shock hazards? The sae j1772 plug has all of that covered, pkus it is rated for many more connect disconnect cycles than a gfi outlet is. I see no reason a basic l1 charging station couldnt be made for 200 bucks or so.

 

[swaltner]

If I owned a parking lot, I'd be really concerned about the safety aspect of L1. Is there any danger from unplugging while the charge is in progress? How about shock hazards? The sae j1772 plug has all of that covered, pkus it is rated for many more connect disconnect cycles than a gfi outlet is. I see no reason a basic l1 charging station couldnt be made for 200 bucks or so.

I don't know the specifics in this installation, but you're confusing L1 charging with using a NEMA 5-15 outlet and the portable EVSE that came with your car. While most L1 charging is done with a portable EVSE plugged into an outlet, that isn't always the case. ClipperCreek sells a L1 (120 Volt AC) EVSE that is permanently mounted and hardwired. This is just like their L2 (240V AC) EVSEs, but just with less power available. They have all the safety features of a L2 EVSE with no risk associated with plugging/unplugging a power cord into an outlet.

 

[KJD]

I don't know the specifics in this installation, but you're confusing L1 charging with using a NEMA 5-15 outlet and the portable EVSE that came with your car. While most L1 charging is done with a portable EVSE plugged into an outlet, that isn't always the case. ClipperCreek sells a L1 (120 Volt AC) EVSE that is permanently mounted and hardwired. This is just like their L2 (240V AC) EVSEs, but just with less power available. They have all the safety features of a L2 EVSE with no risk associated with plugging/unplugging a power cord into an outlet.

I am all for saving money on installation, but when you can buy a 240 volt unit for $395.00 does it really matter?
http://www.clippercreek.com/store/product/charging-station-lcs-20-level-2/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

With the 240 volt unit you are much more likely to get a full charge by lunch time and then someone else could use that charge station in the afternoon. Most of the installation cost is labor to get power to the parking lot anyhow. The cost of wire for 120 vs 240 is also trivial.