EV Charging
How Long Does It Take to Charge a Nissan Leaf?
In an article posted yesterday, we reviewed Nissan’s battery warranty policies for their Leaf line. Today we ask a simple question on behalf of Leaf owners everywhere: how long does it take to charge a Nissan Leaf? The answer, like it is for most questions in life is: it depends. Charging times can vary greatly by year of the model and which level of charging the owner is using. Level 1 Every Leaf comes with a level 1 charger that will work with your standard 120-volt electrical outlet at home. Level 1 chargers are the slowest, offering about 5 miles of range per hour plugged in. While it is not recommended as we mentioned here, most drivers (myself included) will plug their cars into their level 1 charging station and allow the car to charge overnight. Level 2 The next step up from ...
Are Electric Car Charging Stations Free?
I have to admit I was a bit incensed the other day when I parked in one of the electric vehicle spots at my local shopping center. Having once provided charging for free, the owners of the garage were now demanding payment for the service. To add insult to injury, the only way to pay for the charge was to download their app and give them a bunch of personal information. No bueno! This development shouldn’t have surprised me. The company that manages the shopping center is notoriously greedy. A few years ago they began making customers and employees at the shopping center pay for parking. Still, this got me thinking: are we headed in this direction with every electric car charging station? The Good News The very, very good news to be more specific is that the vast majority of charging...
7 Apps for Finding EV Charging Stations
Whether you’re thinking of getting an Electric Vehicle or have had one for years, it’s important to know exactly where you may be able to charge. Perhaps you charge at home but want to take a road trip, or perhaps you want an EV but have no option for at-home charging. There are several apps and websites for that. Some are dedicated to finding chargers while others help plan trip routes. 1. PlugShare Perhaps the most recognizable name in the game, PlugShare is parent company Recargo’s popular app boasting over 300,000 driver contributed photos and 1.5 million crowd-sourced reviews. PlugShare has a database of over 125,000 charging stations in the US and Canada and allows users to filter for their desire type of charging or charging network. Additional features incl...
EVs and Electricity Bills
One of the most common questions I have gotten in 5 years as an EV owner is “how much did your electricity bill go up?” My short answer: it didn’t. When my husband and I moved into our single home with central air and an in-ground pool, we were shocked by the electricity bill. We came from a typical Philly row home (a block of brick houses all connected) where utility costs were low. In the first 3 years living there, we made several notable purchases: LED light bulbs, high efficiency washer/dryer, variable speed pool pump, a new 10 cubic ft. refrigerator to replace the 30 year old beast behind our bar, and a Tesla Model S 85. Comparing our first 6 months in this house (2012) with those same 6 months the first full year we had an electric vehicle (2015), we actually used ...
5 Tips to Pick a Winter-ready Home Charging Station
As I sit here typing this in the near suburbs of Chicago, the wind chill is -50 and the governor has declared a state of emergency. More than one of my Volvo PHEV and Nissan LEAF buddies have asked me about charging their cars in this cold, and I was reminded of a sponsored post over at our sister site, EVO, about choosing a winter-ready home charging station. With temperatures outside dropping fast, it’s time to think about how the cold will affect your EV charging station. The FLO Home Level 2 charging station will ensure you leave each morning fully charged, so you can make the most of your range all winter. 1. Get a Level 2 Charging Station Most electric vehicles come with a 120V Level 1 charging station that you can plug into a standard wall outlet. However, charging with a Lev...
The Newest EV Data: CleanTechnica’s 2018 EV Report is Now Available
For the third year in a row, CleanTechnica has published an in-depth report on electric car drivers in North America and Europe. For the cross-continental report, we surveyed over 2,000 electric car drivers. This year, we also surveyed over 1,000 people who don’t yet have an electric car. You can read the executive summary below, get a free preview of the report here, or go ahead and buy the full report at a 50% discount in the coming week ($1500 instead of $3000). If you will be at AEC2018 in Brussels in a couple of days, I will be presenting additional findings from the report there during the opening plenary — along with other electric vehicle findings and hopefully useful insights. The electric transport industry is one of the hottest industries in the world. Billions of dollars ...
Taycan Fast Charging Station Gets a Name: Porsche Pit Stop
It took a while for the Porsche Mission e to get an official name. Even after settling on Taycan, however, it seems like Porsche wasn’t done naming stuff. So with that, meet the German fast-charging station with a brand new name: Porsche Pit Stop. Part of the company’s planned EV charging network of 500 EV charging stations in North America, the Porsche Pit Stop is scheduled to be installed next. Just in time for the launch of the all-electric Porsche Taycan, in fact. Once ready, they’ll be able to charge the Taycan’s 800-volt battery in “ultra fast” time … whatever that means. Even that charging network, though, is just part of a bigger plan to make Porsche buyers forget that there’s another super ultra fast charging network out there for a ...
Sweden Announces “Unlimited Range” EV Highway
The electric road- one that charges electric cars and trucks as the drive across it- is often seen as the Holy Grail of EV adoption. Eliminate range anxiety utterly, the argument goes, and we’ll reach a tipping point for all things electric. Well, we’ll soon see if that’s how this thing is going to play out, because the Swedish government has just unveiled a 1.2-mile long stretch with an integrated electrical rail that charges a fleet of custom-designed, pass-through trucks using the truck’s movable arm. And you haven’t even heard the best part about this road: it’s fully operational. “The technology offers infinite range — range anxiety disappears,” said Gunnar Ashland, CEO of Elways, in a statement. But he goes on to talk about some unexpected benefits, as w...
Gas2 Week in Review: Tesla Is Tested — In Model 3 Production and In Person during a Middle East Roadtrip
This edition of the "Gas2 Week in Review" captures a first-timer's experiences up-close-and-personal with Teslas.
CES 2018: Honda PCX Electric Scooter w/ Battery Swap Tech
Launched at CES 2018: Honda PCX Electric Scooter w/ Battery Swap Tech taht could do for light electric vehicles what batteries did for cordless drills!
Tesla Reconfigures Charging Port For Chinese Market
Tesla is now build its cars for delivery in China with a new dual charging port arrangement built into the left rear fender as it pushes forward with its plans to be a leading electric car seller in the Chinese market.
Solar Motor Home For More Sustainable Vacations
A motor home with solar panels for environmentally conscious vacationers is now available on the market.