The sun is shining, the birds are chirping, and the smell of a Green summer is in the air. I’ve turned off the engine in my gas-powered vehicle today because I want to talk about some electrifying news. We here at Your Car Care REPs are automotive lovers to the fullest. We also know that the Industry is in a state of flux right now. One of the things that we have learned from the Automotive Industry is that when change comes you have two choices. You either except it and adapt, or deny it and go the way of the dinosaurs, extinct. Your Car Care REPs welcome change and are on the forefront of bringing informative automotive advancement news. This week marks a milestone for Electric Vehicles (EVs) in New York City. Mayor Bloomberg and other city officials opened the first EV charging station at a commercial parking lot in Manhattan. This is part of a nationwide push to boost the US infrastructure to handle charging of EVs. Last year the first charging station was opened in the US at East Woodland, California. In this article we will discuss some of the plans to get more charging stations to a place near you.
Your Car Care REPs wrote an article a couple of months ago called “NY International Green Auto show”(click here) In this article we described what’s now the hot buzz on the Internet inside the automotive world – charging stations for EVs. Here are some facts about new charging stations being built. Some charging stations are being built inside of parking facilities. The reason being it takes 4-5 hours for an EV to charge its Lithium-ion battery. (Parking facilities seem to be one of the convenient places to build charging stations) The theory is you can charge your car while you are at work, busy doing shopping or enjoying a game or movie. Some charging stations are being integrated into parking meters, which will allow a driver to park and charge their vehicle at the same time. I think this is an ingenious concept as long as meter maids don’t come up with a new idea to give you a ticket. Other places where charging stations will be built are in public parking lots and private apartment garages. This answers a potential problem for EVs in urban areas. Although EVs will undoubtedly do well in urban areas because of their limited mileage range, EV manufactures are advertising “Just plug your electric car into a household plug overnight & your EV will have you charged before that 1st cup of Espresso”. The problem is that most urban areas such as NY have large apartment complexes. So if you live on the 24th floor on the Upper East Side it’s going to be a little difficult to plug your EV into your household outlet. So having underground apartment garages integrated with charging stations could alleviate this potential problem.
The California based company, Coulomb Technologies, said recently that it plans to install more than 4,600 charging stations in nine metropolitan areas. The Obama administration sent Housing and Urban Development Sec. Shaun Donovan to New York to promote the new charging facilities as a job creator. This brings us to our next conundrum. I do believe charging facilities will create new jobs. But I also believe many people will be out of work from existing jobs with the rise of the electric car. The more research I do and information I find out on EVs the more I learn that the future looks bleak for people in traditional automotive trades. Here’s why – gas powered autos have hundreds of moving parts that requires precision timing and tuning. There are very few moving parts in an EV (5-6 main moving parts). You can drive a gas powered car that is well maintained for an average of 150K-miles before it reaches the end of its auto life. In-between that time you would need to change brakes, spark plugs, filters, etc. Supposedly the life of an EV is well beyond the 150K-mile marker. EVs have no clutch, no pistons, not even a tail pipe. If you have a problem with your EV it will most likely be a swap and replace of one of the few moving parts. These parts supposedly last very long with no need for regular maintenance. This is something that I foresee being an issue for the repair sector of the Automotive Industry.
Currently, charging stations that are being constructed are Level II type stations. These stations will recharge an EVs battery in 4 hours. The PEP station company (an EV charging station company – PEP stands for Plug-in Electric Power) is underway in constructing charging stations that will be able to charge an EV to 80% capacity in 15min. Speculations have risen as to the validity of these claims. Some skeptics say that the type of Lithium-ion batteries that are used in EVs can’t handle rapid charging and will expire much quicker than using a trickle charge, thus forcing EV owners to replace their battery more frequently, thereby driving the cost of ownership up. Currently PEP stations interface asks the user to select the amount of charging time required and will begin charging once a credit card is swiped for authorization. When the vehicle’s battery has been fully charged, or the time selected elapses, the station automatically discontinues the electricity. If the user does not desire to fully charge the vehicle, or wishes to discontinue the charge prior to the selected time expiring, they simply disconnect the power cord.
With EV technology being relatively new, there are sure to be advances on the horizon. Advances in the Lithium-ion batteries are sure to take place soon. I can foresee EV battery manufactures competing in the market as to whose battery lasts longer or whose battery makes your EV go faster. I would even predict EV battery segmentation where manufactures are producing batteries that give your EV various ranges such as Battery A) Regular-100 mile range, Battery B) Silver-200 mile range & Battery C) Premium-300 mile range – similar to what is done at gas stations now. Your Car Care REPs are committed to giving you the 411 on groundbreaking automotive news so we will definitely be talking more about Electric Vehicles. OK!! I’m reloaded…. I mean, recharged – until the next episode, keep shining.
The sun is shining, the birds are chirping, and the smell of a Green summer is in the air. I’ve turned off the engine in my gas-powered vehicle today because I want to talk about some electrifying news. We here at Your Car Care REPs are automotive lovers to the fullest. We also know that the Industry is in a state of flux right now. One of the things that we have learned from the Automotive Industry is that when change comes you have two choices. You either except it and adapt, or deny it and go the way of the dinosaurs, extinct. Your Car Care REPs welcome change and are on the forefront of bringing informative automotive advancement news. This week marks a milestone for Electric Vehicles (EVs) in New York City. Mayor Bloomberg and other city officials opened the first EV charging station at a commercial parking lot in Manhattan. This is part of a nationwide push to boost the US infrastructure to handle charging of EVs. Last year the first charging station was opened in the US at East Woodland, California. In this article we will discuss some of the plans to get more charging stations to a place near you.
The California based company, Coulomb Technologies, said recently that it plans to install more than 4,600 charging stations in nine metropolitan areas. The Obama administration sent Housing and Urban Development Sec. Shaun Donovan to New York to promote the new charging facilities as a job creator. This brings us to our next conundrum. I do believe charging facilities will create new jobs. But I also believe many people will be out of work from existing jobs with the rise of the electric car. The more research I do and information I find out on EVs the more I learn that the future looks bleak for people in traditional automotive trades. Here’s why – gas powered autos have hundreds of moving parts that requires precision timing and tuning. There are very few moving parts in an EV (5-6 main moving parts). You can drive a gas powered car that is well maintained for an average of 150K-miles before it reaches the end of its auto life. In-between that time you would need to change brakes, spark plugs, filters, etc. Supposedly the life of an EV is well beyond the 150K-mile marker. EVs have no clutch, no pistons, not even a tail pipe. If you have a problem with your EV it will most likely be a swap and replace of one of the few moving parts. These parts supposedly last very long with no need for regular maintenance. This is something that I foresee being an issue for the repair sector of the Automotive Industry.
Currently, charging stations that are being constructed are Level II type stations. These stations will recharge an EVs battery in 4 hours. The PEP station company (an EV charging station company – PEP stands for Plug-in Electric Power) is underway in constructing charging stations that will be able to charge an EV to 80% capacity in 15min. Speculations have risen as to the validity of these claims. Some skeptics say that the type of Lithium-ion batteries that are used in EVs can’t handle rapid charging and will expire much quicker than using a trickle charge, thus forcing EV owners to replace their battery more frequently, thereby driving the cost of ownership up. Currently PEP stations interface asks the user to select the amount of charging time required and will begin charging once a credit card is swiped for authorization. When the vehicle’s battery has been fully charged, or the time selected elapses, the station automatically discontinues the electricity. If the user does not desire to fully charge the vehicle, or wishes to discontinue the charge prior to the selected time expiring, they simply disconnect the power cord.
