electric vehicle charging Archives – The Green Optimistic

Tesla Model S Battery Swap Pilot Program – Online Soon in California

Benji Jerew — Mon, 22 Dec 2014 15:59:01 +0000

It’s been a few months in coming, but Tesla Motors is finally making good on its promise to offer battery swapping, for realz this time, for the Tesla Model S. We all know at least three things about the Tesla Model S: 1) It’s quite the performer, that is, it has a high fun-to-drive quotient, […]

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Utilities to Offer Lower Rates for Electric Vehicle Charging in Minnesota

Benji Jerew — Sat, 14 Jun 2014 01:52:36 +0000

Switching the load from gas pumps to electric vehicle charging stations has gotten some wondering if the power grid is sufficient, in more ways than one. For example, tell a utility that 500 electric vehicles are going to be charging on the grid, they start running calculations, some of them quickly realizing that the local […]

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Wireless Electric Vehicle Charging is On the Move, Literally!

Benji Jerew — Tue, 22 Apr 2014 16:18:17 +0000

Electric vehicles’ single drawback could be solved entirely by one innovation, not simply wireless inductive charging, but embedding these devices in the roadways. Wait, we’ve already seen wireless inductive charging for electric vehicles, even electric buses, with the pads embedded in various spots on the bus route. That makes sense on a bus route, because […]

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AeroVironment TurboCord Makes Electric Vehicle Charging Even Easier

Benji Jerew — Fri, 14 Mar 2014 22:40:49 +0000

There are a couple of ways to recharge an electric vehicle at the home or business, some of which can be expensive. For business owners, especially those who are interested in encouraging adoption of electric vehicles, or whose employees are asking for electric vehicle chargers, the expense of installing dedicated charging stations might seem daunting. […]

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Electric Vehicles and Smart Meters Could Save the Power Grid

Benji Jerew — Mon, 24 Feb 2014 13:46:04 +0000

In most parts of the country, the power grid is woefully out of date, which makes many people wonder if more electric vehicles will simply put more strain on an already strained system. In many places, the power grid is decades old. While average consumption isn’t typically a problem for the grid, peak power demands […]

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Elon Musk Eases Cold Feeling over Tesla Model S Charging in Norway

Benji Jerew — Thu, 06 Feb 2014 15:33:08 +0000

The farther north you go, the colder it gets, but we northerners are used to it. Tesla Model S chargers in Norway, however, are experiencing a couple problems. Specifically, the Tesla Model S TUMC (Tesla Universal Mobile Connector) doesn’t seem to be 100% percent compatible with the power grid in Norway, and the average temperature […]

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Tesla Motors Recalls NEMA 14-50 Charging Adapters

Benji Jerew — Thu, 16 Jan 2014 16:12:25 +0000

Some people probably heard the news of a Tesla Motors recall and immediately jumped on the “electric vehicles are unsafe” bandwagon, but the truth is much easier to swallow. Announced on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) website, 29,222 Tesla Model S 240V charging adapters have been recalled due to a possibility of fire. […]

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Nissan Leaf Owner Arrested for Electricity Theft, Was it Overkill?

Benji Jerew — Fri, 06 Dec 2013 12:00:20 +0000

A Nissan Leaf Owner in Dekalb, Georgia, was watching his son play tennis after school. Perhaps, not thinking about the consequences, he plugged his car into an exterior outlet of the school. Eleven days later, he was in jail. Whoa, that escalated quickly. As it turns out, a police officer noticed the Nissan Leaf, plugged […]

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Qualcomm Halo Wireless Electric Vehicle Charging – The End of the ICE?

Benji Jerew — Tue, 17 Sep 2013 16:38:54 +0000

The electric vehicles of today are nothing like what we are going to be seeing in the next generation of electric transportation. Will there be a place for the internal combustion engine [ICE] when that time comes? Imagine unlimited electric vehicle range and charging so convenient that you simply have to park or drive your […]

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The Volvo V60 Solar Pavilion: Electric Vehicle Charging on the Go

Benji Jerew — Fri, 19 Jul 2013 14:22:47 +0000

Charging an electric vehicle [EV], or plug-in hybrid electric vehicle [PHEV], is typically associated with being tied to a charging station in your garage, at your business, or on the road somewhere. You have to plan trips carefully so that you’ll be near one of these the next time you’re in need of a charge. […]

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Nissan Leaf Long-Term Ownership, Still Going Strong

Benji Jerew — Wed, 05 Jun 2013 17:11:54 +0000

While the average driver in the US covers about 30 miles per day, Nissan Leaf owner Steve Marsh is pushing the limits of what the vehicle was designed for. Marsh has a 130mi round-trip commute, or about 65mi each way. This is just shy of the Nissan Leaf’s 73mi range. Where a typical commuter might […]

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Electric Vehicle “Flash Charger” Recharges an Electric Bus In Just 15 Seconds

Benji Jerew — Tue, 04 Jun 2013 20:15:55 +0000

Has anyone told you not to buy an electric vehicle because it takes “too long to charge”? Sure, we’ve heard the arguments against electric vehicles taking hours to recharge instead of minutes to refuel like a conventional vehicle. Let me ask you something: Do you remember the brick phone? Did anyone look at the first […]

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Telefonix Level 1 Electric Vehicle Charger – Simple and Convenient, But Pricy

Benji Jerew — Thu, 30 May 2013 18:25:13 +0000

If there’s any one thing that is keeping electric vehicles on the sidelines of the market, it is the lack of charging infrastructure. Unlike the nearly 100,000 gas stations that are available in the US to refuel a conventional vehicle, there were just under 6,000 public-access electric vehicle charging stations. For an electric vehicle owner, […]

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Electric Vehicle Charging Needs to be More User-Friendly

Benji Jerew — Tue, 28 May 2013 17:16:53 +0000

In order to get consumers into electric vehicles, there needs to be sufficient support infrastructure, such as public-access charging stations. Of course, just as there is no universal standard for electric vehicle chargers, there is also no universal payment structure. Electric vehicle owners may be able to cope with carrying a couple of adapters to […]

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Improved Electric Vehicle Charging, Research at Chalmers University of Technology

Benji Jerew — Fri, 03 May 2013 11:33:12 +0000

Electric vehicle opponents love to cite, and some owners have to admit, that electric vehicles are limited by range and recharging capabilities. Even industry-leading Tesla Model S 85kWh is limited, in best case scenario, to about 300 miles and still needs access to one of just eight Superchargers to refuel in nearly an hour [30 […]

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Can the French Power Grid Handle All the Electric Vehicles?

Benji Jerew — Mon, 01 Apr 2013 21:45:18 +0000

Since electric vehicles don’t fill up at a pump but instead at an outlet, concerns over power grid stability are rising in France. Renault has launched the ZOE electric vehicle in France just recently. While it isn’t the first electric vehicle in France, its more reasonable price could make it much more appealing to the […]

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Free Electric Vehicle Charging, Are the Days Numbered?

Benji Jerew — Wed, 20 Feb 2013 18:34:21 +0000

Tesla Motors, with the unveiling of the Supercharger Network, may have opened a can of worms, offering free electric vehicle charging for life. Take a look around the world, and you’ll find government incentives encouraging the adoption of electric vehicles, arguably the cleanest vehicles available. Free electric vehicle charging, convenient parking, access to the HOV lanes, and tax incentive […]

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San Francisco Offers Free Public Charging for Electric Vehicles

Ovidiu Sandru — Wed, 11 May 2011 18:02:39 +0000

At the same time with the state offering incentives for buying electric vehicles, San Francisco authorities have decided to give yet another boost to the industry by offering free EV charging in public garages until 2013.

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