Category Archives: EV related Blog Post

Charging Your EV Away From Home

May 16, 2021 Space Coast EV Drivers Team

Upon delivery of our EVs we all face the dual concerns of how and where we can charge when away from home. For some it can be as simple as pulling into a charging station and connecting — for example Tesla drivers using Superchargers with “miles” debited to an account set up when the EV was purchased. For all EVs (including Tesla drivers using anything other than Superchargers) it will depend on who owns/provides the charging station, how that station has been equipped to support a variety of EVs, and the EV driver having an associated account configured to allow filling the battery.

Where can I charge the battery?

Every EV will have a display showing chargers in the local area or along the route if navigating. Depending on the brand of EV the display can be comprehensive or a bit sparse. Some will display frequently updated information on how many charging stalls are in a location, and of those how many are available at that moment. Also displayed might be the expected charging power, the costs if any to use the station, and some nearby amenities. But as to detailed user experiences for a station there may be little or no information displayed by the EV.
And so many EV owners use one or more programs as support or even as their primary source for charging station information. Some well-know programs include:
Plugshare www.plugshare.com
ChargePoint www.chargepoint.com
EVgo www.evgo.com
Electrify America www.electrifyamerica.com
A Better Route Planner abetterrouteplanner.com

These and others are available for download in cellphone app stores.
Each offers a variety of useful information for making the EV experience more enjoyable. For example, some will assist by locating and displaying a course to the nearest public charging stations regardless of the network. Some offer access to helpful EV resources and allow the sharing with other EV drivers of experiences at given locations.

Some apps allow filtering to display only those charging stations that work with a specific vehicle. And typically while using an app the driver can initiate charging and pay with a tap of the cellphone on the charging station, and then receive real-time updates

I’ve identified a nearby charger, or one on my route. Can I use it with my EV?

Here is where an app can make life much easier. Let’s say you have a Tesla but there are no Superchargers in the vicinity. Your cellphone app shows a nearby Electrify America charger. Can you charge your battery there?
Maybe yes, maybe no.
If you went directly to that Electrify America charger without first considering some issues typically displayed in an app you could be disappointed with a wasted journey. Electrify America stations connect via the CCS and CHAdeMO plug. There are usually several CCS plugs and only a single CHAdeMO. But Tesla cannot connect to CCS or CHAdeMO directly even using the little adapter that comes with all new Tesla vehicles (that is for the standard J1772 plug – or J plug – for home and destination charging). One would need a CHAdeMO adapter — cost approximately $400 from Tesla.
https://shop.tesla.com/product/chademo-adapter.
Note that no matter the brand of EV in order to use an Electrify America station (for example) you’ll need to have created an EA account and associated a credit card to the account on the EA website or app.
For EA it usually works best to install the app on your phone and use that to start the charger after you’ve plugged in. It is also possible to use a credit card directly on EA chargers but some may find this a bit of a hassle as you can’t just plug in and walk away (like you can with Tesla superchargers).

What about using a J1772 adapter? Who needs it, and where can it be used?

Every EV other than Tesla has a J1772 inlet on the car that allows it to use Level 1 and 2 chargers both at home and at public stations. The little plastic adapter that comes with a new Tesla is used for both of these levels of J plug standard chargers. The level 2 chargers are faster than Level 1 but both use the same J1772 plug. Level 1 is a regular 120V outlet. Level 2 uses 240V “dryer outlet” level power.
Here in Brevard County if you go to Kohl’s at Hammock Landing or the Eau Gallie Library you’ll find some Level 2 chargers that use the J1772 plug, and that’s where Tesla owners only would need the little plastic adapter. These chargers are similar to Tesla’s “destination” chargers where you can plug in and charge while parked for a few hours doing shopping, eating, or maybe watching a movie. A good example of a Tesla destination charger can be found at the Kennedy Space Center visitor complex right up front by the entrance. There’s also a J1772 level 2 charger there for non-Tesla EVs.

And CHAdeMO and CSS? What about those when away from home?

Electrify America only makes Level 3 fast chargers at 50 kW, 150 kW, and up to around 300 kW. Non-Tesla EVs have either CHAdeMO (Nissan Leaf and a few others) or CCS/Combined Charging System (GM, BMW, and most of the others). CHAdeMO is a separate, much larger diameter inlet on the car for a giant-sized plug. CCS is called combined because it adds two bigger ports right under the J1772 inlet for the + and – wires for the very high power direct current so that owners can use the upper inlet for their daily home charging or the slightly larger CCS plug for Level 3 fast charging.
Learn more about plugs here:
https://www.quora.com/Can-other-electric-vehicles-use-Tesla-chargers/answer/Joshua-Pritt

https://www.quora.com/Other-than-Tesla-do-all-electric-cars-use-the-same-type-charging-port/answer/Joshua-Pritt

http://spacecoastevdrivers.com/charging-station-info

How can I pay for charging away from home?

First, use your in-car display or favorite app to locate those that are free! Tesla “destination” chargers have the same connector as their Superchargers and your home charger. These are usually hooked to a 240V circuit (Level 2). The power typically is given away for free as the charger equipment is normally given at no charge to the destination (hotel, zoo, vineyard, etc.) by Tesla. These chargers don’t have any “smarts” that will talk to the car for billing purposes as do the Superchargers.
Tesla “destination” chargers are basically the same higher power wall charger you’d install at home, just installed somewhere else where you would park for an hour or more to charge while you’re parked there anyway. The “plus” for the business that has set up such chargers is the anticipated additional revenue that more than pays for the little bit of free power given away.
But for those times when the on-board or in-app information indicates that there will be charges, what then? Let’s say you’re using Plugshare and want to access the charger at Kohl’s. The app says that at Kohls you must get an RFID card at customer service, and there is a $1.25/hour charge. How does one pay for the RFID card? In advance? After charging? The app does not say. Plugshare shows the charger is a ChargePoint brand network so if you had your own ChargePoint account and app on your phone then you can activate and pay for the charge yourself without bothering with Kohl’s RFID card.
All non-Tesla chargers are run by third-party networks and manufacturers each of which require user/password accounts on their websites, the storing on file of a credit card to register each month’s total charges, and a free sign-up to get RFID cards in your mailbox. Thus non-Tesla EV drivers will have a glove box or key ring full of these RFID cards, and have to shuffle through them when using a destination charger like that at Kohl’s. Then after locating the appropriate RFID one can tap on the charger to set up billing and start the charge. Today more charging stations are simply using your smartphone to start the charge instead of the old RFID cards.

Clearly it’s much better to have all of this set up many weeks/months ahead of any road trip. It’s much harder while on a trip and sitting at a charger to set up an account over the phone, or use the website to set up on your cellphone. One very experienced non-Tesla EV owner had accounts with ChargePoint, Blink, SemaConnect, EVGo, and Greenlots. There are others, but those were the ones along this driver’s usual routes. Each third-party, non-Tesla charger host site can set whatever price it wants for charging. Some will set the price at zero and give the power away for free because they know that the extra dwell time while customers wait for a charge will drive new business, and those customers might stick around for an extra coffee or dessert at a restaurant.
One owner recently reported that he had “topped-up” at The Avenues Viera Level 2 charger. After getting a cup of coffee his ChargePoint app reported “20 miles, 53 minutes, 5 kWh $0.”
Other locations will try to recoup the costs of the charger by adding a few pennies over what they are paying for power. But it would take years to pay off going by that alone, so it’s probably not the wave of the future.
Most people can’t think of a charger as anything but a gas station pump that happens to pump out electrons instead of gas. “Pay with Plugshare” was a new feature added recently trying to make it easier to pay for the charges without the need for setting up all those separate accounts. But not all third-party networks have signed on so it’s yet just another confusing way to pay for it all.

How do “destination” chargers differ?

Tesla “destination” chargers are built to use a wide range of input amps. So it will be different for each host depending on how the electrician wired it up vs how much capacity there was in the host’s breaker box. For example, a small bed and breakfast might have at most a 30 or 40 amp breaker. But a large hotel might have 80 amp service making it almost twice as fast as the “bnb,” but still much slower than the Superchargers yet at the same time much faster than Level 1 charging on a 120V outlet.

Remember, if you have any questions about EVs, owning and driving EVs, and charging EVs, you can email us and ask real EV owners that have been driving almost every make and model since 2011.

EV News, EV related Blog Post

Did You Know? You Can Buy A Used EV

May 4, 2018 Space Coast EV Drivers Team

If you are like me, you would consider buying an electric vehicle (EV), but the price of a new one is just not in the cards. You like the low cost of operation, but not the price of a new vehicle.

So we share the desire to save money and own an EV. So let me share how we purchased a 2014 Nissan Leaf S with 35K for $6750 in November 2017, a 2012 Chevrolet Volt Premium with 112K for $6,200 in March 2018, and then sold our last gas car in May 2018.

Why The Leaf?

Research, Research, Research. We did a lot of research. You can study on the web, or reach out to any EV club and begin discussing your thoughts and needs. EV club members can share their stories, and give you insight and questions to help determine which car is for you. I do not think a dealer is a good place to go for accurate information — yet.

We wanted an all electric commuter car with enough range to get us to and from work for the next 3-5 years. By then more cars and battery options will be available to get another car or extend this one. We wanted 35 miles a day. The Nissan Leaf fit the bill nicely. We learned the models prior to 2013 had battery issues in hot climates like Florida. The 2013 was the oldest car with a reasonable battery. The older the car, the lower the price — something we needed. We searched cars.com and craigslist daily to get a sense for the condition and pricing of our target cars until we settled in on a target of about 7K for a Leaf S with about 35-45K miles with 11 of 12 battery strength bars.

The Leaf did not get a battery heating/cooling system until 2018 (for a power price), but in Florida this causes battery degradation. It was not likely to lose 50% capacity over the 3-5 years we wanted the car. The 2013 has 83 miles on the full 12 bars of battery capacity, so even at one half we are still good. By then, technology and pricing should allow for other options to fix or get another car. This is a commuter car, so we would use our gas car if we wanted to go on a long trip. In October 2017, the 2013 used Leaf S provided the lowest priced used EV which became our target car.

How We Bought The Leaf

We search cars.com and craiglist to record and visit any potentially good cars. Owners of a private sale are good because you can get a feel for how they took care of the car and what maintenance was done. If you and the seller agree on a target price, run a carfax.com on the VIN# and/or take the care into a dealership for a complete checkup. You can agree in advance to lower the price of the car by the dollar amount of repairs needed. If you like the car after all this, buy it.

Private sales are fairly easy. Cash or cashiers checks work well for fast transactions. We did cash. Have them sign over the paper title and both of you fill out a bill of sale (Google it for your state). Call your insurance to get the car covered, then go to the Department Of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to do the tax, title, and registration. You can even do the entire transaction at the DMV to be sure it is all good before literally handing over the cash.

A dealer sale is even easier, but you will pay about $850 more in dealer fees (in Florida). We prefer the private sales, but the dealers are easier.

We were about to buy a 2013 Leaf from a dealer, when we saw a 2014 on craigslist with 35K for $7,500. We targeted 7K for the car, got the cash, and visited the owner to see the car. It was well cared for, but it was their last car and their family of 3 kids was moving out of the country in 2 weeks. He had an electronic title and it was the weekend. The electronic title requires both parties to go to the DMV to complete the transaction. We agreed on 7K, put money down on it, and wrote up an agreement to buy the car at a DMV a few days before they were to leave the US. The owner later discounted the car to $6,750 to pay for the rental car he did not have to rent. The DMV transaction was smooth and efficient. If you always treat the seller and the DMV with respect and understanding, you will get the best results. Be honest, share with the buyer your situation and needs. Listen and empathize with their situation and needs. Try to meet between both of your needs and theirs. Help each other to achieve both your goals.

Why The Volt?

About 4 months after buying the Leaf, we were completely hooked on driving electric. Owning a gas car seemed to be more and more silly over time. All the additional costs of maintaining a late model gas car compared to an EV was becoming very obvious. In fact, just to be absurd, try to sell a gas car to an EV owner. They would say, why would I buy something with so many moving parts that is so expensive to operate and maintain? Are you nuts?

In talking with members of our local EV club, it appeared that a first generation Chevy Volt was a good fit for our long distance needs. It drives like a pure EV for the first 35 to 40 miles (depending on how you drive), and then a gas generator kicks in for the next 350 miles (Range Extended EV). It has less moving parts than a gas car, but more than a pure EV (like our Leaf). The Volt will need oil changes and transmission fluid, but not as often when you run in pure EV mode as we do. At the time we looked, the only other option was the BMW I3, but it was still too expensive for us. We decided the Volt was our next car.

How We Bought The Volt

We began researching cars.com and craigslist for pricing and condition. We decided that a 2012 with just over 100K miles (warranty expires) would have the lowest price and still have quality. The Volt has examples of going over 400K miles on original brakes and no battery degradation (unlike the Leaf). If distance beyond the EV miles is an issue for you, consider the Volt over the pure EV Leaf. If distance is not an issue, the added maintenance of Volt (or similar range extended EV) may not be worth it. For us, the 2012 was the first year with one touch door unlock. Great for when your hands are full. We discovered that about 7K to 8K for a good car was possible, but in short supply. We wanted a 6K car, and that was difficult to impossible. It was clear we were going to be looking for a while.

We planned a trip for spring break that was over 800 miles and hoped to find a Volt before the trip. We settled on seeing a car in south Florida, and the night before that visit, I received an email responding to my craigslist (Wanted 2012 Volt) ad that I posted throughout the state. The young Navy man was about to be deployed for 6 months and wanted to sell the car before that. His target date and ours were the same. I called him, and the car was in better overall condition than the one in south Florida. I cancelled the south Florida visit and the dealership checkout.

The Navy man’s Volt was an immaculate 2012 Volt Premium with every amenity and 112K miles for 7,000. He knew my target was 6K and said we would likely be able to work something out. The test drive was excellent, and we negitated to $6,500 minus anything the vehicle checkup found. It turned out it needed about $300 of maintenance, so the price was agreed at $6,200.

He had a loan on the car with a bank, and as it turned out we both had deposit accounts with that bank, so we completed the transaction at the bank as follows. We filled out a bill of sale, I paid the bank officer the purchase price of the car. They paid off the loan and deposit the rest into his account. The bank gave me a letter showing I was the next owner of the car that I could used at the DMV to get a temp tag to drive it home. I called my insurance to get the car insured and get a proof of insurance for the DMV. The bank mailed the title to his wife (who could legally sign the title) and overnight it to us. Once it arrived, we went to the DMV to handle the taxes, title, and registration.

Summary

If you are looking to buy an EV (new or used), I recommend you find your local EV club and begin talking with them to help determine what car or cars are best for you. Many clubs let you join (often for free) even if you do not have an EV. This is a great way to immerse yourself in EVs without the pressure or inaccuracies often found at dealerships. At the end of the EV club meetings, almost every EV car may be in the parking lot. Sadly, as of the writing of this article, our local dealers have virtually no one who understands EVs.

We bought the Leaf as a commuter car, not a long distance car. We already had a second car that could be used for long trips. Since we do long distance trips 3 to 5 times a year, having a distance car was important. If you only go on one trip a year, consider renting a car just for that trip. We could not afford a newer EV with a 250 or 350 mile range. If you can, explore a long range EV. If you can’t afford a pure EV with the range you need, consider a range extended EV (like the Volt). Again, use your local EV club members to guide you, and use cars.com or craigslist to help you. They are not there to sell you anything, just share their experiences and let that inform you. Knowledge will help you.

Tips

Research to find which car is best for you, then determine the year and features desired.
Scan craigslist and cars.com daily.
Contact the seller and ask questions (including the VIN)
If reasonable, get the carfax using the VIN
Do more research if carfax shows something.
Get a KBB value for this car to bring to the seller
Print your state’s bill-of-sale form to bring with you
Bring cash (if reasonable and possible). They are more willing to negotiate when they see you have cash.
Visit the car and seller
Agree to a price to buy the car and the deductions if issue are found by the dealer
Have it checked by a dealer
Discuss the findings with the seller and agree to the deducted price.
Fill out the bill of sale
On paper title, have them sign over the title
On electronic title, visit the DMV together to finish the sale.
Get insurance before you drive it home or visit the DMV.

EV related Blog Post

Solar Panels and EVs – a Money Saving Combination

July 4, 2017 Eric Lin

I had solar panels installed on my house early last year. My solar panels generated 73% of my power usage and saved me over $1000. We’re now about halfway through this year and so far I’m 84% solar. Last week I had a few more panels installed, which should bring me close to generating 100% of my power usage. The price of the solar panels should break even with the amount I save in electricity in about 7 years.

Another benefit of this is my Tesla now runs primarily on free solar power. I don’t have to worry about gas prices anymore. Even if I didn’t have solar panels, the electricity to power my car costs a fraction of what it costs to fill up a gas tank. It would cost me less than $10 in electricity from FPL to fill up my ‘tank.’ To put another way, the cost of a single fill-up on a 20-gallon gas tank right now would pay for a month of driving on my electric car.

The Sierra Club is working to get cities around the world pledge to switch city operations to 100% renewable energy by 2035. It’s called the Ready for 100 pledge and there is a petition to get the City of Melbourne to join in. As part of the pledge, a board would be formed to formulate a plan for how to achieve the 100% goal. This would likely include a mix of installing solar panels and switching to electric vehicles. Switching to renewables would save the city money and save taxpayers money. It just makes financial sense.

There’s also a related petition to the mayors of all Brevard County cities. Cities contribute about 70% of all energy-related emissions. By getting cities to pledge to convert city operations to 100% renewable energy by 2035 and all city activities by 2050, that would make a big dent in lowering emissions that pollute our air & water.

EV related Blog Post

Formula E Miami Race Recap

March 31, 2015 Space Coast EV Drivers Team

If you thought electric cars couldn’t be race cars you’d be mistaken. These single seater, formula 1-like race cars have a top speed of 140 mph and sound like some kind of space ship or fighter jet! Several of us in the group made it down for this race and it was so much fun! We were even able to plug our cars in at the free charging stations at the hotel we stayed in. They had the whole part of Biscayne Blvd in front of the American Airlines Arena fenced off into a giant race area. The track was made up of the streets themselves that went around the arena and up and back down the boulevard. A portion of the track even went under the interstate I-95. Some people even tweeted that as they were driving over the track some one said, “oh look honey I think there’s a race going on down there.” There was a whole “e Village” part of the race area in the grassy park next to the bay with food trucks, bounce houses for the kids, and a nice set up by Florida Power & Light featuring a solar powered cell phone charging station and a green screen to get your picture taken next to a formula E race car. Later in the day an hour before the race the drivers were there to give out autographs. A few of us stood in line but they left to get ready for the race before we could get to them. The line was hundreds of people long in front of us and several hundred behind us! We think the total number of people that came to see the race was in the 25,000 range. Thanks, Formula E, for bringing racing back to Miami! We look forward to next season and will be watching all the races for the rest of this season with great interest. Next year they say instead of every team using the same car with the same motor and the same batteries, etc. they will be able to build their own. That should be VERY interesting to watch. Check out the official Formula E website for more information. You can watch the whole Miami race here on YouTube. Take a look at a few of the awesome photos and a video from the race day below.

-Josh Pritt

Here’s a video I took while watching them practice right next to the track. Listen to the noise they make!

EV related Blog Post

New Charging Station Info Page

January 9, 2015 Space Coast EV Drivers Team

Thanks to some information provided by one of our members we have added an extra page to our website. This page is meant to be a reference for business and property owners who are looking to increase revenue by becoming a leader in the electric transportation future by installing an electric vehicle charging station. There’s a lot of information on the page that breaks down all the options for business owners and lays out the pros and cons for each. We know for a fact just from our daily EV driving experience that businesses with EV charging stations gain more of our business that those without chargers. When we make plans to go to a restaurant to eat we will first look for ones that have a charging station or at least one within walking distance. A great example is the river-side bar / restaurant Squid Lips in Eau Gallie. This business is frequented many more times in one month than other establishments in the area simply because of its proximity to the next door charging station at the Eau Gallie Library. We also make it one of our monthly “First Sunday of the month” meet ups we have as a group. We also visit the Panera Bread as a group (usually 12 or more of us at a time!) in Palm Bay because it is within walking distance of the charging station at the Kohl’s. So if you want to get more business than you possibly could with the same money normally invested in a billboard or other advertisement consider spending some of your marketing money in a charging station. It is a guaranteed way to attract more business and increase revenue compared to normal ads or other marketing. Your charging station would almost immediately show up on mobile charging station finding / mapping apps that all EV drivers use – such as www.plugshare.com – and would bring in extra patrons almost overnight! Take a look at our new charging station info page and make sure to email us if you have any questions to ask from real, daily EV drivers that live, work and shop in and around Brevard County.

EV related Blog Post

EV Charging at Epcot

August 21, 2014 Space Coast EV Drivers Team

After hearing that Epcot installed two dual Level 2 EV charging stations the SCEV Drivers, being a short hour and twenty minute drive away, decided we needed to head over and check them out.

So last Sunday afternoon we loaded up and took the Chevy Volt over to Orlando, FL to Disney’s Epcot center to test the brand new chargers. Over the past few months there has been a growing number of people contacting WDW pushing for the installation of chargers. Josh and Brenna had tweeted and e-mailed on a few occasions letting them know that they needed to catch up with their California counterpart and get some charging stations installed. We mentioned we were not going to visit the happiest place on earth until they installed some charging stations. Being people of our word as soon as we plugged up we headed over to the guest services counter and purchased two seasonal passes. We let them know that the reason we purchased them was a direct result of the installation of these chargers. This serves as a very good example on how installing charging stations can attract new business.

Details about the charging stations:
They are installed at the very front of the Epcot center parking lot near the monorail station located near the handicapped rows. Unfortunately you still have to pay the $17 to park like normal (unless you have annual passes) in addition to the cost to charge. When headed in they will try to direct you down a row before you get to the spaces. You will have to tell the parking attendant that you drive an EV and need to use the charging station and they will let you pass them. You have to turn down the row before the station and take it all the way up and around to get to the stations due to the one way set up. Once you arrive you will see two, dual J1772 level 2 stations from ChargePoint serving the first four parking spaces with 4 total J1772 plugs.

Charge Point price details on Epcot 1 — Price Details on Epcot 1

They charge 35 cents per kWh with a minimum of $1.50 but there’s no limit to how long you can park there. We parked, plugged in, and swiped the ChargePoint card and were on our way. We arrived at 5:30 pm and left after the park closed. It is nice to be able to park there, take a bus or monorail to all the other parks and come back to a fully charged EV.

A full charge on the Volt will cost about $4.50 making it a bit expensive but worth it for the up front parking and not having to use as much gasoline as it would without the charge. Disney World is about 80 miles from home so we were able to go 40 miles there on electric power from home, then use about a gallon of gas to get there. We left with a full battery so we got 40 miles back on electric power from Disney then another gallon of gas to get home. So we spent about $5.75 on electricity and only 2 gallons of gas for the whole trip.

Thanks for the charge, Disney!

EV related Blog Post

At Home Electric Vehicle Charging

July 5, 2014 Space Coast EV Drivers Team

For many drivers of Electric Vehicles charging at home is simple, they plug right into a 110V outlet and let it charge in their garage. That’s right the same outlet you plug your blow dryer, vacuum, and power tools into will charge your car. Did we just blow your mind? Boom!

For most drivers charging overnight on a 110V is sufficient for their driving needs. On the Chevy Volt’s 40 (give or take) mile battery we can drive across town, grab food, and still not use gas but on days where we do that trip in the morning and want to head out some where that afternoon and maybe again that evening the slow charging time leaves us wishing we had a faster charge at home.

For drivers of cars with a larger battery installing a Level 2 (L2) charger at home makes sense with increased charging time but for those of us with smaller batteries that get 50 miles and under we wondered if we really needed it. The truth is, once the majority of your driving is done on electricity you never want to use gas if you don’t have to. It’s not just about the environment or moving away from foreign oil it’s about convenience. Never stopping at a gas station, never spilling gas on your shoe or getting it on your hands or clothes, it’s amazing.

At home electric vehicle charging is clean, convenient, and cheap. Not to mention the rate you pay for electricity almost never fluctuates from day to day like gas, meaning there is no shock when you drive by the sign. Actually you won’t even look at those gas price signs for long once you make the switch to an EV. Skipping that weekly fill up and replacing it by charging your electric vehicle at home saves time and money. It’s just that simple.

Josh Pritt and his new Level 2 at home charger — Josh Pritt SCEV Drivers Co-founder with his new L2 Charger

In the end we decided that even though we have a range extended electric vehicle and we don’t really need to worry about running out of battery we prefer to not use gas. We bit the bullet and bought the Square D EVlink by Schneider Electric, an indoor at home L2 charging station or Electric Vehicle Service Equipment (EVSE) to cut our charge time in half from the 110V. There are plenty of resources online that break down what is currently on the market as far as EVSE but PluginCars has a Guide to Buying Your First Home EV Charger which we think gives a nice overview of what is out there. All that is left for us is waiting for our appointment with the electrician. So much for that old myth that the adoption of EVs will cut jobs! We can’t wait to post our personal review, but with all the five star ratings we are pretty sure we made the right choice.

Have you bought any EVSE for your home yet? Let us know which one you picked and how you like it.

Looking forward to seeing you at our next meet up Sunday, July 13th at the Panera in Palm Bay’s Hammock Landing. We will be parking at the L2 charger at Kohl’s! RSVP via Facebook or comment on the July Meet Up post on our website.

EV related Blog Post

Road Tripping in an Extended Range Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle (PHEV)

June 17, 2014 Space Coast EV Drivers Team

Road Tripping in a extended range electric vehicle for Father’s Day 2014

Here’s the report on how the 2012 Chevy Volt fared on a long road trip from Indialantic, FL to Huntsville, AL and back – with a stop in Oxford, AL both on the way up and on the way back for Father’s Day.

We left Indialantic on Sunday June 8 at 9:45 am Eastern time. We got 33.2 miles and 9.7 kWh from the battery before it switched over to the gasoline generator. Not too bad for mixed city and highway driving.

We arrived in Oxford by 6:30 pm Central time. It was a total of 604.5 miles from home to the hotel.

We spent the night at the Hilton Garden Inn in Oxford Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday night. We picked this hotel as we know they are plug in friendly. Every night they allowed us to plug into their outside 110v outlets so we’d have a full charge to drive on each day. Their only restriction is that you can not obstruct a walk way and there are only about 10 spots that do not have a walkway in front of them.

Monday at lunch time the Volt departed on a trip to Birmingham, AL so a mix of city and highway with the first bit on electricity then the range extended gas generator. With some pre-trip research we plugged up at the McWayne Science Center’s free L2 charger in their garage after the $5 parking fee that applies to anyone parked in the garage. It had a good two hours to charge over lunch but didn’t fill up completely. Still it was able to drive a good part of the way back to Oxford on battery power before switching over to the gas generator.

Next we drove from Oxford to Huntsville to stay with a friend in their third floor apartment Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday night. This is where we found the trouble with apartment charging when there are no actual charging stations and limited or no garages. We searched the outside of the building near all the parking spots and couldn’t find an outlet anywhere. We asked the building manager if it was OK to plug in and if they knew of any outside outlets. They didn’t know of any. So we came up with a plan combining an extension cord, a tree, and some masking tape. We are committed to our cause no? We managed to use our “just in case” 50 ft. heavy duty contractor’s extension cord and plugged it up in the outlet near the balcony sliding doors. Then we ran it outside and down the side of the building so it didn’t dangle in front of the downstairs balconies. Then we wrapped it around a tree and through the bushes where we plugged the car up and let it charge. We sealed the sliding door with the masking tape so bugs would not seek the comfort of the pull out couch in the living room with us. We decided to wake up at 5 am so we could unplug it all before the sun came up in the event of lawn care or any anti EV people. To our knowledge no one knew we even did it. Since our friend pays her own power bills we offered to pay her the $1 it used in power but she wouldn’t let us pay her. We did get her an Amazon gift card for letting us stay anyway.

We went to a Pig Roast BBQ fundraiser event held at the Makers Local 256 makerspace and plugged in there twice. We were able to charge up almost 100% each time so we gave them an extra $2 donation to cover the power we used. After everyone had eaten and had started cleaning up and getting ready for the LAN party / video game party that night, someone brought a Tesla Model S to show off! They gave several test rides and let’s just say each and every one of the riders left with the Tesla grin. I had forgotten how fast it is and how it pushes your face and guts back like a roller coaster you can steer!

After two weeks of calling every hotel in Huntsville to see who would let us plug in with no luck we stayed in the brand new Homewood Suites in Downtown Huntsville. Their parking garage is shared by the nearby Publix grocery store and has several 110v outlets directly in front of a few parking spaces. They would be perfect for an overnight charge for guests that stay in the hotel with ZERO cost for installing actual charging stations. We asked the hotel if we could plug in but they said the garage is owned by the city so they can’t give us permission. We would be glad to pay for the power to plug in there but we still need to figure out who owns the parking garage.

We left for Oxford for Father’s Day first thing in the morning at 9 am and with no charge we packed up and headed out on gasoline. We arrived right around lunch time and took Dad out for some good food at his favorite place to eat: The Broiler Room in Lincoln, AL. After a fun fathers day we were back to the same Hilton Garden Inn in Oxford that lets us charge the car in the 110v outlet outside. We charged it up over night and headed back to Florida first thing in the morning on Monday June 16. We were able to get a good ways past the Georgia border and back into the Eastern time zone before it switched over to the gasoline generator. We only had to stop for gas twice on the way back and there’s still plenty left in the tank that should last another two or three months. We arrived home around 8:30 pm eastern time and the Volt is plugged up in its favorite 110v outlet in the garage. It will have 100% charge before we wake up in the morning ready for another few months of gas free driving around town here in FL.

Gasoline Costs
city	gallons	price	total	date
Macon, GA	5.041	3.999	20.16	6/8/2014
White Springs, FL	5.756	4.009	23.08	6/8/2014
Cocoa, FL	7.517	3.998	30.06	6/8/2014
Owens CR, AL	7.443	3.859	28.72	6/11/2014
Macclenny, FL	5.72	4.059	23.22	6/16/2014
Douglasville, GA	7.073	3.869	27.37	6/16/2014
Byron, GA	2.352	3.799	8.94	6/16/2014
Total	25.757	$3.97	$102.02

Total electricity costs: $3.13. Total gasoline costs: $102.02.

Where can I charge the battery?

I’ve identified a nearby charger, or one on my route. Can I use it with my EV?

What about using a J1772 adapter? Who needs it, and where can it be used?

And CHAdeMO and CSS? What about those when away from home?

How can I pay for charging away from home?

How do “destination” chargers differ?

Why The Leaf?

How We Bought The Leaf

Why The Volt?

How We Bought The Volt

Summary

Tips

It's Electric!