Trickle charging while parking at work?

Let's share experience and/or comments on following question:

Has anybody managed to get permission or somehow arrange trickle charging at your workplace?

To get it started, my story is:
After receiving my Leaf I have asked for occasional or emergency access to 110V/20A socket.
What I had in mind is about 3 hours of trickle charging to top off, or to recharge from empty to get back home.
My company, a big corporation priding itself to be environmentally friendly, let it be unnamed, refused.
HR said it is against company policy, without giving any specifics.

i did it in my Zenn because i would not have made it home with out it, but i dont need it in my Leaf so i dont bother. now we have relocated into our new facilities so i dont even know if its an option any more.

may simply not have anywhere to plug into which would be a shame. the parking lot is less than 7 months old. it was an open field last year at this time.

No authorization at my workplace either, even though there are outlets accessible from the parking spaces.

I have taken my case to the head of the FAA as well as a hand-written letter sent to President Obama about almost three weeks ago.

:|

Jimmydreams said:

No authorization at my workplace either, even though there are outlets accessible from the parking spaces.

I have taken my case to the head of the FAA as well as a hand-written letter sent to President Obama about almost three weeks ago.

:|

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Good luck with that, JimmyD. With all the electricity they waste in that building, they could probably have 100 Leafs plugged in there. Maybe they should turn off the power in the Admin Wing. Most of those people are in the dark anyway, eh? :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen:

Jimmydreams said:

No authorization at my workplace either, even though there are outlets accessible from the parking spaces.

I have taken my case to the head of the FAA as well as a hand-written letter sent to President Obama about almost three weeks ago.

:|

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Try the Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. The FAA is part of his department and he is visiting the Nissan battery plant in Tennessee today. Might be worth a call to a reporter somewhere. There is a story here.
http://www.wsmv.com/automotive/27921371/detail.html

FigLeaf said:

Has anybody managed to get permission or somehow arrange trickle charging at your workplace?

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I work at a very small company (about 10 employes) and the principal of the company was very receptive about me plugging into one of the 120 volt outlets available around the building. His biggest concern was the cost, but once I explained to him it would equal about $0.60 per day for me to be plugged in for 6 hours continuously charging the concern was quickly dismissed.

Now, I don't plug in every day since my one-way trip is 26 miles, but I'll usually top-off on Fridays or if I plan on making an extra trip during the day. So far no issues at all!

FigLeaf said:

To get it started, my story is:
After receiving my Leaf I have asked for occasional or emergency access to 110V/20A socket.
What I had in mind is about 3 hours of trickle charging to top off, or to recharge from empty to get back home.
My company, a big corporation priding itself to be environmentally friendly, let it be unnamed, refused.
HR said it is against company policy, without giving any specifics.

Click to expand...

Well, my next approach would be to inquire on how I could help to develop a policy where the company can support alternate modes of transportation and include biking, transit, carpooling, and electric vehicle infrastructure.

For large companies the concern seems to be safety/liability. They don't want cables running around in the parking lots - and get sued by someone who trips and falls.

I have often wondered if this sort of thing is an issue for those areas that get quite cold and people plug in their engine block heaters to keep the engine warm and possibly the starter battery charged.

Spies said:

I have often wondered if this sort of thing is an issue for those areas that get quite cold and people plug in their engine block heaters to keep the engine warm and possibly the starter battery charged.

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It is not - because that is needed and "everyone knows" it is not an issue.

People are always conservative when it comes to new things. Nobody wants to lose their job because of some accident with a charging EV - but heating an engine block is sommon enough that nobody will lose their job even if there is an accident.

But, that is a very good point when discussing the issue with any company/landlord.

derkraut said:

Jimmydreams said:

No authorization at my workplace either, even though there are outlets accessible from the parking spaces.

I have taken my case to the head of the FAA as well as a hand-written letter sent to President Obama about almost three weeks ago.

:|

Click to expand...

Good luck with that, JimmyD. With all the electricity they waste in that building, they could probably have 100 Leafs plugged in there. Maybe they should turn off the power in the Admin Wing. Most of those people are in the dark anyway, eh? :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen:

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Thanks for the laugh, derkraut, on a crappy wx morning. I'd rather be anywhere BUT at work today.

jcesare said:

Try the Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. The FAA is part of his department and he is visiting the Nissan battery plant in Tennessee today. Might be worth a call to a reporter somewhere. There is a story here.
http://www.wsmv.com/automotive/27921371/detail.html

Click to expand...

There IS a story here, but I'll wait to involve reporters until after I've exhausted every avenue. I will send a letter to Lahood as soon as I hear back from Babbitt (FAA Administrator) and/or President Obama.

Commonly, what current & voltage is available at those "heater" plugins?

I am guessing standard 120v, but just a couple of amps, something like 1 amp (120 watts) or 2 amps (240 watts)?

Is it a standard 5-15R socket?

My employer has been very supportive and allows me to trickle charge at an outlet behind the building; no trip hazard. This arrangement allows for 80% longevity mode charging with a 65-mile roundtrip commute. Meanwhile, they recently announced that EVSE installation is coming soon.

It took a lot of prodding for an actual response, but they finally said yes ("on an emergency or as-needed basis," which I can interpret quite loosely). They also added that any future parking planning will include EVSE installations.

My roundtrip to Seattle is 50 miles, 75% of which will be freeway at around 60-65 with the remaining 25% being side arterials with speeds of 40-50. That said, I am guessing my commute won't be a huge issue, even with A/C this summer. In the winter, with heater use, some trickle charging at work might pad my range a bit though - especially with how the city locks up during even the slightest hint of snow.

It is still an uphill "battle" between my workplace about charging at work.
I told them I will pay them a parking spot "lease" fee (since you can't really "resale" electricity)
But they said they have to consult with their "legal team" to see if there is any liability issue, I also offered if I need to sign and "liability release" form, haven't heard back since....
Anyway, I know it will be tough....

I should add that I tried tactics such as agreeing to pay either a fixed fee or usage (I have a Kill-A-Watt that I could use) in my initial proposal.

Cord safety is an annoying avoidance tactic. The outlets at my work that I have scouted out are away from walkways, and I can actually pull the car all the way up to the outlet, making tripping an unlikely hazard.

uwskier20 said:

Cord safety is an annoying avoidance tactic. The outlets at my work that I have scouted out are away from walkways, and I can actually pull the car all the way up to the outlet, making tripping an unlikely hazard.

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Too add detail in my situation, the facilities manager shows me where I can park the car, and right next to it, is the 120V outlet connects to 20A breaker. So "extension cord" is not needed, but still.
IMO... It is more office politics, rather than safety issue for my case....

My work is in the process of considering a charging station but in the mean time, told me that I wouldn't be able to charge because there were no outlets that were safe to plug into. So, about once a month I ask them about the status of the charging station, then one day I did a walk around the perimeter, and lo and behold, a L6-20 plug that no one has been using. I asked about that, and they said sure!

So as soon as my leaf comes in, my L1 EVSE is going to be sent up to Ingineer.

Is the L6-20 connected to 120v or 240v?
I think it can be used for both.

My work has been very supportive. I can plug-in anytime. My commute is only 25 miles round-trip so I only charge 80% M-Th and then 100% on Fridays. I have to get ready for the weekend of course

garygid said:

Is the L6-20 connected to 120v or 240v?
I think it can be used for both.

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The L6-20 is a 240V (L6= 240).. I did go back out and look and there are actually 2 L5-20s (120V) as well. (I thought they were all L6-20s so I'm glad you asked.)