Fill 'er up pt. 2 - charging while playing

Now that your Volt is charged up, you can get about 20 miles from home if you want to get back without using any gas.  But what if there was another charger waiting for you at your destination?  Unlike the level 1 charger found in the trunk of the Volt, public stations typically give a 240v charge that bring a battery to life in no more than 4 hours. You could run your battery all the way down, plug in when you get where you're going and let it charge back up while you eat, shop or catch a show.  But how practical is this, really?

Of course it depends largely on where you live.  I've been to places in Nevada where it seemed like the houses were 40 miles apart.  I've also lived in Chicago and must have driven 40 miles a night just looking for a parking space when I got home.  But having purchased a Volt, I've had reason to do some research into public charging stations in the Detroit area.  Hopefully, what I've found will be useful to other EV drivers around the country.

The first trick I learned, and this works anywhere, is to type "electric charging station" + the name of your city into Google.  Since the charging station is a recent development, the results you get may be inaccurate and incomplete.  For example, Google led me to the Mercedes/Benz research facility in Redford, the UAW headquarters in downtown Detroit and the Edision electric company parking lot in Hamtramck.  In all of these locations, the charging stations were installed specifically for employees and visitors.  Edision and the UAW locations went so far as to put up a fence and hire a security guard.

Other locations were slightly more useful.  NextEnergy in Techtown, a high tech enclave near Wayne State University, had several charging stations for company research vehicles and one public charging station.  When I went in to inquire about charging, one of the engineers volunteered to start up one of the company stations since the public one was in use.  I was told a university professor parks there a couple times a week, so if he wasn't there, during business hours (9-5 M-F) I was free to use it.

The security guard at the DTE Energy HQ charging stations parking lot told me that they were for the use of DTE employees, guests and visitors of the nearby credit union.  I asked if I could park there.  She made a call to someone who asked someone else.  When she got off the phone, the guard said she would let me park there.  I think she might have been sweet on me and if it were another guard, I might not have gotten in.  In any case, by the time I left, the parking lot was pretty well full.  I suspect if word gets out, our welcome might run a little thin.  On the bright side, they are in the process of constructing a solar powered charging car port, so there may soon be a number of new spots opening up soon.

The Renaisance Center, the GM owned building that gives Detroit its unique skyline, has two conspicuously placed charging stations in front of it.  During the week, there always seems to be someone parked in both spots.  The first time I parked there, I couldn't figure out how to use the Chargepoint station.  A security guard inside told me there were charging stations in the garage around the corner.  This incident highlights a couple of important points.

First, most public parking garages downtown have or are installing parking spaces specifically dedicated to electric vehicles.  The electricity is free with paid admission.  Parking prices range from $1.50/hr to $50/mo.  This isn't exactly a cost effective method for charging a car, but if you were going to pay for parking anyway, it's a welcome perk.  Ever seen a garage that gassed up your car for free?

The other is the Charging station itself.  Many of the garages had consumer models of the level 2 charger installed on the wall near the parking spaces.  But the most common unit was the Chargepoint, a comercial grade charging station that looks more like a space age phone booth.  There are three ways to activate the unit.  If you have a credit card with an RFID chip in it, you can just tap it on the unit and it will unlock the handle to begin recharging.  If you don't, you can call the 800 number found under the LED display.  If you read the station's ID code from the display to the customer service representative, they can unlock the handle remotely.  While you are on the phone, they will likely offer the third option: a Chargepoint card.  It is a plastic card with an RFID chip that goes on your key chain.  You can use it as you would the credit card.

The customer service representative I spoke with told me that it was the patron who had the Chargepoint station installed who decided what would be the cost for the service.  However, of all the Chargepoint stations I've been to so far, none has charged for the service.  I suspect that as the EV becomes more common, we'll see this free service go the way of free air pumps.  But I hope this business model survives in some fashion. 

While my car was hooked up  to the Chargepoint station in front of the Ren Cen, I was around the corner at Foran's having a pint and a bowl of "the city's best chili".  Another Chargepoint station in Westland is located in the parking lot of an apartment complex.  The manager told me no one at the complex had an EV, but people frequently park them there while shopping at the mall around the corner, people who could potentially be clients someday.  And Schoolcraft Community College has 4 Chargepoint stations (two by the main entrance, two by the library).  Not only does it offer a service that can attract students, but it shows the college's interest in developing technology.

On the other hand, there is the Blink business model.  Blink offers a pay as you go system.  When you sign up for their program, you have the option of a paid membership with charging rates as low as .50 cents an hour or a free membership with much higher rates.  Remembering that a full charge is roughly equivalent to a gallon of gas, this may or may not be such a good deal.  If you get the free membership and spend $1.50/hr, you're effectively paying $6/gal. for your fuel.  It's $2/gal. with the paid membership, but it loses it advantage if you're not charging there every day. 

There are two Blink stations in the Detroit area.  Both in the tawny suburb of Ferndale, just a few blocks from each other.  I spoke with the parking enforcement officer while doing my research.  He pointed out two problems:  With parking being at a premium during peak hours, people often park gas powered cars in those spots.  With just two spaces for EV drivers, that doesn't leave too many options.  The other problem is that it only takes 4 hours to completely charge the car, but people who drive their EV to work will leave it there all day, even after it's charged. 

So to review the methods for finding a charging station in your area: 
1) Google "Electric charging stations" + your city.
2) Enter  your zip code into the Chargepoint station finder.
3) Check the Blink station map.
4) If you're in the Detroit area, check my Google map, the result of search the sites mentioned above an a bit of old fashioned leg work.

 Of all the public charging stations I have been to so far, I have to say that the best I have found has been on the 6th floor of the MGM Grand casino parking structure.  There are 13 charging stations (guess they're not superstitious after all) 6 level 1 units and 7 level 2.  There is no cost for charging there, but once you're plugged in, you have to go through the casino.  If you're not careful, these could be the most expensive kilowatts you ever get.


But if you do manage to run the gammut, I recommend you find your way to Lucy and Ethel's on the corner of Bagley and Cass.  If you order the omlette, make sure you try the hot sauce.