Charging – Page 2 – My ActiveE Made Me Accidentally Environmental

Public Charging stations and being mindful of the parking situation

Currently, the biggest challenge with public charging stations is when an internal combustion engine car is taking up a charging spot so that an EV can not use it. This is what is meant when an EV driver mentions that a spot is ICEd.

Most public charging locations try to solve this problem by properly marking up their spots AND in some locations actually ticketing violators of their signage.

See this BMW X5 at the Americana at Brand –

and a close up of the ticket issued to the driver –

I really appreciate centers and police departments that enforce these EV only spots as it hopefully actively deters the practice of ICEd locations.

This is an easy violation to spot.

The thing that I believe we need to come up with a solution for is the fellow EV driver that picks a charger that blocks out others from being able to use either the parking spots or other EV chargers at the location. Let me attempt to explain this. If you have a charging port on the opposite side of the car where the charging station is and a charging station that is on the same side of the car, some drivers will pick the one closest to their charging port, EVEN IF doing so will effectively make a spot or another charger unavailable for the next car to use. I don’t know what to call this violation, but here are a few pictures:

At L.A. Live, Lot W (West Lot), I’ve seen this Plug-in Prius park in spot 2 while using the charger from spot 3 to charge with.

I made this crude diagram to demonstrate the point. The Os are the Blink EVSEs.

By using the charger in Spot 3 while parking in Spot 2, the plug in Prius effectively blocked out use of Spot 3 for MOST cars.

Here’s the same Prius doing the same thing at this location at another day –

To solve this, and to allow others, should they arrive I moved from Spot 1 and parked in Spot 3 and used Spot 2’s EVSE to charge to allow Spot 1 and Spot 4 to charge, should some other EVs need to take the spot.

BEFORE

AFTER

However our cords were crossed during this time, and would’ve been a hazard. Mr. or Ms. Plug-In-Prius could’ve solved this by just taking Spot 4, and this is exactly the point I am trying to make. Pay attention to how the spots are configured and ensure that the charger and spot you are taking will allow the maximum number of fellow EV drivers to park in the location.

I don’t know what we should call this sort of EV violation. It’s not ICEing the spot, since the car IS an EV (yes, even Plug-ins with Range Extenders (gas engine backups are such), however, the person needs to be more mindful of what they’re doing.

Another example can be seen at the Americana at Brand on Thursday, July 12. The same day that the BMW X5 above was ticketed for ICEing the spot.

This Volt was charging while parked in Spot 2 using the charger on Spot 1. I understand that their charging port is on the driver’s side, but if the other spots had been taken, another car MAY not have been able to park in Spot 1 to use the charger in Spot 2 without possibly crossing Spot 2. The driver of the Volt should have used the charger assigned to Spot 2 and left the charger in Spot 1 available for someone else to use.

The charger was available AND long enough to reach the Volt’s front Driver’s side charging port.

I don’t know if we have a word for this fellow EV driver erroneously using the wrong charger, but if all indications are correct and there will be more of us on the road, we really need to be more mindful of what EVSEs are appropriate for whatever parking spot we decided to take.

Currently, there are still not that many of us on the road sharing these public stations, but there are definitely more EV drivers than in the past. And the projected sales figures show a little over 3x as many this year as last year. So, the EV community needs to be more mindful of how to approach this inadvertent blocking of the precious few charging spots and locations to charge.

Re-Connect California Initiative and Dodger Stadium…

With the Lakers early exit in the 2011-2012 season to the Oklahoma City Thunder, we found ourselves with some time to go to the “other” L.A. sport teams events. One of the other teams that my wife and I both enjoy is the Los Angeles Dodgers.

So, with some extra time on our hands, we went ahead and picked up a Dodgers Mini Plan. As part of the EV lifestyle that we’ve embraced, I was very interested in the charger infrastructure at Dodger Stadium and was embarassed by what I’ve found there… Nothing but legacy SPI chargers.

In Dodger Stadium Lot N, are four legacy chargers. So, the operational Rav4s and their brethren can still charge at Dodger Stadium, but the new breed of ActiveEs, Leaf, and Volts can not. To their credit, there is ONE 120V charger “available”, but the covered EV pictured here (is that a SmartCar?) is already using that charger.

Well, all is not lost. Thanks to the Reconnect CA program, public charger facilities with SP1 and other legacy chargers are able to upgrade the chargers at no cost to the charger owners. They just have to fulfill the requirements, a very good summary was provided at the ActiveE Forums by David Woo.

Basically, as I understand it.

The property owner has to have at least two legacy chargers and Clipper Creek and the State will replace one and leave one legacy behind at no charge to the property owner. The owner just has to agree to let Clipper Creek gather the usage information on the new charger.

Seems like a no-brainer. However, our friends at Dodger Stadium ownership have been embattled and just recently completed a change in ownership (thank goodness) and the Agreement to get the replacements in place are stuck on the Dodgers side. So, if you, like me, are a Dodger fan and would love to use the chargers at Lot N while going to the game. Contact your Dodger rep (season ticket office – 323-224-1365) and ask them to upgrade the EV chargers and direct them to Clipper Creek before the grant program runs out (now August 1, 2012.)

Now if you find some other qualifying public spots, see if the owner is aware of or interested in applying for the program. Or contact Stacey at Clipper Creek (info below.)

The Clipper Creek contact’s information is

Stacey Barhydt
stacey@clippercreek.net
ClipperCreek, Inc.
Reconnect CA Program Support
530-887-1674 ex 300

Blink Network Chargers at L.A. Live (Abbreviated re-Post and update to West Lot)

So, it looks like some folks over at the Nissan Forums are not so interested in the Staples Playoff weekend, and in order to get them anyone else who may not be a Sports fan to the Charger information sooner, I’m reposting the sections on the TEN (10) Blink Network chargers at L.A. Live as well as updating some of the information.

[Updated for Kings game West Lot using a Kings pre-paid ticket, I believe that on game days, the parking at that lot is restricted to those attending the games during the game hours, but open otherwise.] The main takeaway from the game day update is this. You need to advise the attendant upon entry that you will be using the chargers. They will have you proceed forward and DOWN the level where they will then re-direct you to an exit and you will need to exit the garage at ground level and re-enter the same garage in Entry E. Pull a ticket and keep it on your car. Charge at the Blink charger as usual and you will need to exit the garage with the ticket that you took to enter the garage AND present your prepaid game parking ticket for Lot W so that they don’t charge you again for parking. It’s clear as mud.

View Larger Map

Across the street from the Staples Center is L.A. Live. An entertainment, retail, restaurant, office, residential, and hotel complex par excellence. Currently charging is free, but the parking could be free (on non-game days AND with a minimum at one of the restaurants at the complex) to very expensive $30-$40 for the day.

At Staples Center, there lies a total of TEN (10) Blink Network Chargers. Now, I must reiterate that the Blink Network Chargers require two things to operate.

1) You need to have a Blink Card. (If you don’t have one, get one. They’re growing in SoCal, not as many as Chargepoint, but definitely growing.)

2) You need to use your ZIP Code to activate the charging process (like the Gas Stations you used to use when you pumped for gasoline.)

There are four chargers in the East Parking Lot.

Two in Parking Level 2 that are back to back from each other.

and

The other two are side by side in Parking Level 1.

There are four chargers in the West Parking Lot, these are at GROUND Level, around the corner from handicapped and the entrance. It’s almost adjacent to 11th Street. This lot is also known as Lot W for those holding a Staples Center tenant pre-paid parking pass.

Three face forward, and the fourth is by itself on a column.

Here is another shot with the ActiveE in the foreground.

And lastly, there are two chargers in Valet Parking at the Ritz Carlton/J.W. Marriott. Though the actual chargers are in L3 of the West Parking Lot.

One word of warning, the Valets at the Ritz are very helpful, but you need to instruct them on how to use your charger and how to check if it is working. The helpful valet that assisted me ALMOST did everything correctly, except he plugged me into a non-working EVSE. I had to move to the operational charger. Remember to give the Valet your Blink Card AND Zip Code to charge the car.

The Valet Parking is $40 for overnight guests. Charging is free. An update to this information is if you’re visiting WP24 (the restaurant and lounge on the 24th floor of the Ritz Carlton), the parking is reduced to $10 for dinner and I believe for 2 or 3 hours if you’re only going to the bar/lounge area, contact the restaurant for further details Phone is +1-(213) 743-8824.

Here is my ActiveE in one of the valet spots:

and here is the other charger at the hotel Valet Parking.

Here is a photo of the non-working Blink charger at L.A. Live hotel valet parking (it should be fixed by now), it was stuck trying to read the RFID card. [It took them a week from reporting to get it fixed, but looks like it is now.]

If you’re interested in reading about the Staples Center Playoff Weekend, read the next post that this was abbreviated from.

Range Anxiety and the Longest One-Way drive so far!

I’m sure others have done longer and I’ve had longer days (with multiple charge stops… personal record – 175 miles in one day (two charge stops)) however, aside from Las Vegas, folks around LA normally think of driving to Santa Barbara, Palm Springs, or San Diego to be a long drive, so I figured to try one out.

Since we live in the Southern Tip of Los Angeles County, it seemed best to pick San Diego as the destination.

Trip planned, remote charger identified. Time to conquer range anxiety…

Our planned stop – The North County Transit District stop in Oceanside. Ideal choice because on May 6, they were running extra trains for the weekend (Cinco de Mayo was just the day before and there were still festivals and a Padres game going on).

View Larger Map

This is a 65 mile journey one way, of which around 25-30 miles near the end there were not only NO public chargers listed on any of the Apps, but no gas stations Between San Clemente and San Onofre, so even ICE vehicles were warned of “no services for the next 20 miles” .

The plan was to get to the Train Station and hop on the Coaster to get down to San Diego. Blink Network and the North County Transit District had both installed 6 chargers at the station and taking the train from here would provide a day’s worth of entertainment.

I debated as to using the cruise control and setting it at a moderate 67-68 miles per hour on the ActiveE (it overstates it’s speed and that would get me around 65) but opted to enjoy the drive and use the pedal manually. I decided to go Eco Pro and also was not driving as aggressively as I normally do and found myself being passed by many cars (that last stretch by San Onofre Nuclear Power Plant tends to be a really fast one)

Though the navigation had recommended that I use the toll road around the El Toro Y. I opted around it as that route has a lot more hills and I decided on staying on the 405 to the 5 freeway as it is considerably flatter and I wanted to arrive at my destination with as much charge as possible (to minimize the charging time for a full charge.)

This conservative driving worked wonders for my range. I ended up at the train station with 25 miles left and State of Charge (SOC) around 20% (the car did its customary warning at 27 miles to go). However, plans #1 and #2 for the day was shot as I arrived at the chargers only to see the Coaster pulling away from the station and the Amtrak soon after. There were five chargers available as one was being used by a Leaf and I decided to plug in and charge.

Luckily, we had a plan #3. Four hours to charge the car and a few miles away was the Carlsbad Premium Outlets.

View Larger Map

So, we decided to jump in a cab ($23 one-way, $25 with tip) and get down to the outlets to do some shopping. This is a smaller outlet a stone’s throw from Legoland. It has a lot of the same stores one finds at other outlet stores around Southern California, but it does have a nicely stocked Crate & Barrel Outlet, not that we ended up getting anything there.

The shopping center was well attended, but not crowded and the sales were actually very attractive. Ended up picking up a few items that more than off-set the round-trip cab fare ($50, I did $25 with tip on the return cab trip as well.) Additionally, the food choices near the outlet stores were quite good (namely a PF Chang’s, and BJ’s across the street and Ruby’s Diner in the outlet stores) and it helps that Starbucks had the Frappuccino Happy Hour going to recharge during our 4 hour shopping trip (that’s about 3 3/4 hours longer than the better half can stand).

We made it back to the ActiveE right as the blue light stopped blinking. I literally saw the car blinking when the cab arrived at the train station, and stay off as I walked up to the car to get it disengaged from the Blink Network charger.

Having the confidence of making the range on the Southbound trip earlier, the Northbound trip was a lot more pleasant. I stayed on Eco Pro, but definitely drove a little more aggressively. I stayed OFF the Toll Road route as I wanted the opportunity to get off the freeway at any of the cities in between.

The roundtrip was approximately 135 miles with a single 4.25 hour charging session in between. I arrived home with about 30 miles left on the car and about 25% SOC.

ICE – EV Parking counterattack

ICE – EV Parking counterattack 2, a photo by dennis_p on Flickr.

After 45 days of entering the world of EV drivers, folks have been discussing the challenges of finding EV Parking spots by public chargers.ICE or Internal Combustion Engine cars are often found by others in the EV spots taking up valuable space to get the charge needed to ensure that there is enough range to get to the next destination.

On Friday, at the Helms Bakery location in Culver City, I found this Leaf doing its best job assisting other EV Drivers use the EV only spot on the other side of the chargers. I like to propose that we follow his example of an ICE-EV Parking Counterattack.

There are enough ICE spots, by taking an adjacent ICE spot for EV charging, we can ensure that there is a counterbalance to the ICE problems that others have.

Getting a charge at Helms Bakery 2 by dennis_p

Getting a charge at Helms Bakery 2, a photo by dennis_p on Flickr.

On a side note… I heard the funniest thing while I was sitting in my car reading and charging on this occasion… As I was getting a top up at Helms Bakery, A young guy asked me “Excuse me sir, do you happen to know where the nearest gas station is?” Needless to say, I was a little dumbfounded, but recovered quick enough to respond that I was probably the wrong person to ask and offered to look it up on the Navigation system for him.