Home recharging units could be a shock

Peter Gorrie

WHEELS COLUMNIST

Planning to buy an electric car?

Of course, you’ll want to plug it in occasionally to recharge the battery.

As I wrote a couple of weeks ago, it’s expected that most charging will be done at home; secondarily at workplaces; with a little at malls, commercial parking lots, along streets and in other spaces accessible to the public.

The simplest option, of course, would be a regular, 120-volt electric outlet at your home. Depending on the car and its battery size, it would go from depleted to fully charged in eight to 12 hours.

The Chevy Volt will even have a “cord set” — as standard equipment: The thoughtfulness of carmakers knows no bounds.

But an industry — with lavish government backing — is developing around getting electric drivers to move up from that slow, steady and cheap type of charging.

I got some details on a teleconference organized by the Washington-based Electric Drive Transportation Association, whose members include the major American players in battery power and plugs.

The information is U.S. oriented, but these things will, eventually, make their way here, too.

There are two steps up from 120-volt charging. The second level runs at 240 volts and cuts recharging times roughly in half. Beyond that are fast chargers, using direct current and drawing a lot of electricity; they’re invariably advertised as getting a battery up to 80 per cent capacity in 15 to 30 minutes.

You won’t put a fast charger in your home: they’re designed for public locations and fleet use.

But a growing number of companies will prod you to ascend to Level Two. It will be a wall-mounted unit, requiring its own 40-amp circuit, installation by a professional electrician and government permits and approval.

I originally thought a 240-volt receptacle, like those for stoves and driers, would suffice. But no such luck — at least, according to the industry people.

“You’ll need a charging station,” says a spokesperson for the association.

The companies in the teleconference said their versions will start at a U.S. price of more than $1,100, plus whatever installation and permits cost. And you won’t just plug in and be left alone. The point is to hook you into one of several networks that provide your electricity utility with information about your “charging tendencies” that enables it to control the flow of electricity and manage the grid.

To sweeten this intrusion, companies will offer features such as directions to the closest public charging station that’s not in use, or, if you’re plugged in, a signal that charging is complete or interrupted. Chances are — for security and billing purposes — you won’t get access to a public station unless you’re on a network.

This stuff will be done through cellphones or other communications devices or, in-car services such as GM’s OnStar.

The cost remains to be seen. If you’re simply comparing the fuel for covering a certain distance — assuming gasoline is 85 cents per litre for a vehicle that uses 9.4 litres per 100 km, while electricity runs 11 cents per kilowatt-hour — battery power is about one-sixth as expensive as internal combustion.

That comparison holds true for home charging at 120 volts, where you’re independent of outside connections. For the bigger units, add the cost of the station and, possibly, fees for the network services.

Surcharges could be imposed at parking lots and other public stations. California recently decided against regulating them; arguing competition should keep them in line.

That’s as it should be. Electric vehicles will succeed only if they and the industries supporting them make environmental and economic sense.

And so far, the simple home system is doing best in that test.

peter.gorrie@sympatico.ca

More videos from Wheels.ca and our partners