Once, spending a long time refueling your car meant it was cold out and you forgot your gloves. You could put the gas cap under the handle and sit inside with the engine running. Anymore, that won't be much of a solution.
The Volt comes with a level 1, Voltec power supply that plugs into a standard, 120V, grounded outlet. With it, a full recharge of a depleted battery will take about 10 hours. No one wants to sit around listening to the radio that long, so we're going to have to use a new way of thinking of refueling in the electric vehicle era.
Recharging an electric vehicle (EV) will have to take place while occupied with one of three other activities: Sleeping, working or playing. We'll look at the the later two in upcoming posts. Right now, lets look at charging your car while you sleep, or home charging stations.
As I just mentioned, the Volt comes with a standard charging unit called the Voltec. It has three pronged plug on one end, the standard J-1772 connector at the other end of a 20' long cable and a transformer box in between. When I bought my Volt, I didn't have to make any drastic changes in my life to use it. When I get home, I plug it in, get something to eat, watch some TV, go to sleep and when I wake up, the car is ready to go. I could, however, get a level 2 charging station installed and there's a number of reasons to do that.
Another reason is savings. The electric company sells you electricity at two rates: peak hours and off peak hours. Peak hours vary from area to area (in Detroit, they run from 11AM to 7PM) but they are the hours when demand is highest. When folks go to sleep and turn off the lights, the price drops a couple cents per kWh, but it adds up saving you 25% by comparison. Since a level 1 charger takes so long to complete the job, you might often have to do some of your charging during the less desirable peak hours.
There may also be lower rates in your area for electricity dedicated to electric vehicles. DTE Energy (The Detroit area power company) offers a D1.9 electric vehicle rate available when you have a level 2 charging station installed with a separate meter. They also offer a $40/month flat rate for EVs.
And, in Detroit anyhow, there is another incentive. The DTE is offering up to $2,500 worth of products and services to get you hooked up. What this means in practical terms is that you can get one of four charging units available at differing price points and installation is free. I plan to get the Power Xpress model since it can be unplugged and taken with me if I ever move.
If you're happy with a slow charge, good for you. Getting a level 2 charger is a bit of a hassle. But if you decide to go through with it, the level 2 charger you choose should depend on your lifestyle, the environment you in which you park your car and avilable incentives. In the long run, owning one will prevent you from unecessarily needing to buy a lot of gasoline.
And who wants to do that?
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