zendaya said:
@izael
You could charge a flat fee and give people a placard to hang from their mirror that gives them access to the outlets and priority parking in those spots.
Paying for access to a Level 1 outlet only makes sense if you’re going to be there every day for long periods of time. If it’s a place you only go to occasionally, it’s probably not worth it.
I wouldn’t pay to use a standard outlet where I have to bring my own charger. Charging for an hour would give me only about 20 cents worth of electricity. If a property wants to make money, they should install proper EV chargers. They’ll get tax credits for it and can charge more per session.
It depends on where the outlet is. For Level 1 charging (110V), you need a lot of time to get any meaningful range, so it’s only useful in places where you’ll be parked for a long time, like an apartment or workplace. Some sort of flat rate fee with reserved parking spots could work. Not sure how they’d handle payment, but maybe there’s a way to link payment to the power outlet being used.
For apartments and workplaces, there’s definitely potential for outlets to be useful, but not so much for places like shopping centers where you’re only there for a short time. Ideally, you’d have an outlet connected directly to a tenant’s meter, but if that’s not possible, converting the outlet to 240V to allow for Level 2 charging might be a better option. It makes more sense than having a few faster chargers that people have to share. Tesla’s charging hardware and billing solutions are actually pretty affordable, and they take a smaller cut of the fees than other companies.
This basically describes an EV charger setup. There are businesses built around this idea already!
Thomas said:
This basically describes an EV charger setup. There are businesses built around this idea already!
I think the GM is hesitant to install a full system like ChargePoint because of the cost. It’s easier just to use the existing outlets in the parking deck.
@emma
ChargePoint is expensive, true. Tesla has a much more affordable option, with lower costs for equipment and a smaller fee for managing billing.
@emma
You can’t just use random outlets for charging EVs safely. You need dedicated EVSEs or something like an Orange Charger setup.
Thomas said:
@emma
You can’t just use random outlets for charging EVs safely. You need dedicated EVSEs or something like an Orange Charger setup.
Orange Charger seems like a good fit. I’ll mention it to them.
I’d be fine with paying, as long as the price is fair. I get that electricity costs money, and I’m okay with that.
This idea might’ve worked 15 years ago, but it’s not really practical for modern EVs.
Just install Level 2 ChargePoint chargers. It’s a lot more practical than trying to manage Level 1 outlets, which won’t give people much range anyway.
I doubt many people would pay for Level 1 charging. It’s basically for emergencies when you’re completely out of charge. Plus, the electricity cost is so low that it wouldn’t be worth the effort. We’re talking about a dollar or two, tops. The cost of installing and maintaining a system to manage payments would be way more than you’d make from people charging.
Tesla Wall Connectors are about $500 and work with all EVs. If you buy six or more, you can charge for usage, and Tesla only charges 1 cent per kWh for processing. That’s way cheaper than ChargePoint, which can charge 10% in fees and $4,000 per unit.