Charging Station standards

[DDB]

If they were smart they would have (or will) take a lesson from DVDs.

"...No single company "owns" DVD. The official specification was developed by a consortium of ten companies: Hitachi, JVC, Matsushita, Mitsubishi, Philips, Pioneer, Sony, Thomson, Time Warner, and Toshiba. Representatives from many other companies also contributed in various working groups. In May 1997, the DVD Consortium was replaced by the DVD Forum, which is open to all companies, and as of 2005 had over 250 members...."
and
"The official DVD specification books are available after signing a nondisclosure agreement and paying a $5,000 fee. One book is included in the initial fee; additional books are $500 each..."
and
"...ECMA has developed international standards for DVD-ROM..."
DVD FAQ

Here's why:
"In fact, before its third birthday in March 2000, DVD had become the most successful consumer electronics entertainment product ever."

DVD FAQ

IMO we're not there yet... There's going to be a quick-charge option on some of these EVs and because NOTHING but the Tesla has actually hit the market, we're stuck with 110 and 220 as the default VHS option. Moreover, cars are a little more expensive than movies, which can defray some of the costs. although I'd like a "standard," who the hell knows which one of these companies will develop the "best" one. I'd let the market sort it out.

 

[TEG]

It used to be you could find semi-public water faucets all over the place. These days water costs enough that most places lock them down for their own use. In filling stations it is hard to even find "free air" or radiator water anymore. You have to feed the machine quarters. The day of the ubiquitous $.10 semi-public payphone is gone too... If you find a telephone "in the wild" it tends to offer "highway robbery" prices for those unlucky enough to have to use one.

Perhaps the days of the semi-public power plug are numbered as well. Electricity prices have gone up enough that it may be a stretch to think that KOAs, shopping centers, airports and such would be willing to give away the power to any EV that decides to park there. Even more true as pack capacity goes up. A Tesla using 60kWh of someone else's power could cost them $20 a visit... Those EV charger spots probably aren't getting E9 EV recharging TOU rates. People would likely be using them during the day not at night.

So, perhaps a new standard will come into play that expects a credit card or some other form of payment before it provides you with metered power.
Some companies (like Coulomb Technologies) are getting into this as a market.

 

[vfx]

So, perhaps a new standard will come into play that expects a credit card or some other form of payment before it provides you with metered power.
Some companies (like Coulomb Technologies) are getting into this as a market.

Others here:

http://www.teslamotorsclub.com/technical/1381-charging-station-standards.html

I agree there is "no free lunch" anymore. Like high gas prices has been good for Evs so will high electricity prices will be good for solar and wind...

 

[dpeilow]

The Smart EV and I think NICEs use CEE Form, which is a well known standard.

 

[TEG]

ACP eBox:

Are ACP and Tesla the same?

 

[TEG]

Note - the different circular conductive charge connectors have some sort of "guide pin(s)" to line up the plug with the socket. If you are visually comparing them it can be useful to see which sort of guide the different ones are using to note if any two even have a chance of mating up.

 

[TEG]

Hmm... This one looks slightly different

 

[graham]

I can see the grooves in the top picture for the "quarter turn" that you are supposed to give the charger after you connect, but not the bottom. Was the red car an earlier model?

 

[TEG]

I think the red ones were an earlier version.

 

[doug]

That insulating plastic guide also looks a bit more robust. I believe the red car is likely to be EP2. It's connector is identical to the ACP one.

That connector cover on the eBox doesn't look at all kludgey.





.

 

[TEG]

(nevermind)

 

[doug]

I think you forgot your smiley there, Doug.

Had thought about it. I was hoping good-natured sarcasm could stand on its own.


.

 

[vfx]

The red car connector looks like it might be a bayonet style with simple pins protruding to lock the the cable mate.

 

[mt2]

That connector cover on the eBox doesn't look at all kludgey.

Yeah. I was going to ask earlier if they enlisted Cub Scout troops to make that gauze and glue thing.

 

[vfx]

Rocky Mountain Institute

Rocky Mountain Institute : Abundance By Design

"We found there were many misconceptions—including that technology to make all this possible was not available -- when in fact the opposite is true,

Sigh..

Smart Garage - Connecting the future

RMI united experts across several industries for three days in Portland, OR., for a summit meeting to identify the barriers and breakthroughs needed to electrify the U.S. auto fleet, and do it in a “smart” way in order to reap huge environmental benefits, as well as open up a host of profitable business opportunities.

In the broadest assortment of stakeholders yet assembled on this topic, the gathering instigated several key initiatives to bring closer to full realization the "Smart Garage" -- a new energy paradigm that allows America’s cars to plug in to homes and buildings, uniting our transport, building and grid energy systems.

The Smart Garage is not a physical garage, rather it's a metaphor for the place where buildings, the grid, and the vehicle come together. Cars can connect to the grid at the shopping center while you buy groceries, in the parking lot of your office, curb-side down town, or in your own driveway.

Opportunity

“In this time of economic uncertainty, Smart Garage is an important national opportunity to build out a new, green infrastructure in the U.S. Bringing together electrified vehicles, energy-positive buildings, and a smarter and cleaner electricity grid will generate jobs and wealth, while decreasing our dependence on oil and greenhouse gas emissions," said Michael Brylawski, cofounder and leader of RMI's MOVE team.

"The key Smart Garage technologies--batteries, PHEVs, charge stations, communications technologies--are ready. Success depends on aligning a diverse array of companies on the vision, and ultimately engaging customers on the dramatic benefits it can have in their daily lives.”

Attendees included leaders from the utility and auto industries, innovators of clean energy solutions, IT systems providers, consumer products, metering, advanced battery technology and even retailers. Among the companies represented were major auto manufacturers such as Nissan and GM, utilities such as PG&E and Duke Energy, IBM, P&G, WalMart and Google, among many others.

The summit -- which focused on system-wide barriers and solutions that leverage collaboration across the value chain -- found essential elements of consumer demand, industry preparedness and government leadership are coming together, setting the scene for a great leap forward in the next five years.

"What proved most surprising was the concept of the Smart Garage is a lot closer to realization than we previously thought," said Laura Schewel, a transportation systems expert with MOVE and manager of the Smart Garage project.

"We found there were many misconceptions—including that technology to make all this possible was not available -- when in fact the opposite is true," Schewel said.

"There are still definitely some barriers currently preventing the immediate adoption of Smart Garage. To move forward, the group at the summit created several key initiatives, which RMI is driving, to break down these barriers even further. Initiatives range from research into advanced batteries and their potential second life options, to convening a group of leading 'seed' cities to make themselves a welcoming 'ecosystem' for electrified vehicles."

Conclusions

Conversation at the summit meeting in Portland concluded that:

Attainable and valuable first steps in this new energy paradigm revolve around building infrastructure and refining business models for key stakeholders to unleash private investment.
Consumer demand and private investment will drive the overhaul of the U.S. electrical grid, creating the infrastructure needed such as millions of plug-in charging stations for cars, all the while creating opportunity for profit and consumer benefits.
Benefits will include opportunities for new businesses and start-ups, job creation, cheaper fuel for drivers, more consumer choice in vehicle ownership, positive impact on the environment, breaking the nation’s dependence on foreign oil, increasing the use of alternative energies, and turning a profit.
The concept of Smart Garage technology and infrastructure is no longer a futuristic vision. Activities in multiple sectors are already underway -- such as the push for a Smart Grid, and thousands of converted plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) are already hitting the road.
In the first wave of convergence between buildings, vehicles, and the grids, cars will charge up in a "smart" way. This means the time of day they charge, how fast they charge, the location and more will be dictated by driver preferences (including electricity bill limits) balanced against utility and building needs. All of the benefits mentioned above are available only when the car is charging up (uni-directional charging). In the longer term, bi-directional charging (often called V2G) can use vehicle batteries as storage, opening up more benefits, though more more costly and technically challenging.
The event participants converged on the near term vision of a uni-directional Smart Garage, while agreeing that new infrastructure should be V2G-capable where possible to allow for moving to V2G in the future.
RMI's Smart Garage model is an Open Source initiative.

The Smart Garage

 

[vfx]

PGE (not that one) set upa station:
ABC News

 

[doug]

EDTA 2008: This is how ChargePoint's public electric car charging station will work - AutoblogGreen

AutoblogGreen

Anyone know what kind of connector this is? (I think it's just a plastic mock up.)

 

[graham]

From the comments of the article:

12-05-2008 @ 6:22PM
Mike Harrigan said...

I'm from Coulomb Technologies and wanted to answer some of the questions asked on the blog:

1. integrate with Prius key: Yes. We are working with OEMs to allow our system to read their RFID tag or include our RFID tag somewhere within their fob.

2. on using a credit card: we will accept credit cards through a remote payment station or by calling a toll-free number. To minimize the cost of the unit as well as the cost of individual credit card transactions we chose to use a subscription model and bill monthly.

3. RFID problems. You have to be *really* close - like within a fraction of an inch to activate so accidental reading and phishing will be very difficult if not impossible. WRT having the car authenticate, the plug is inaccessible (behind a locked door) until the user is authenticated. This is done to prevent damage due to vandalism, bad weather, etc. as well as safety.

4. 8 hour charging. Sure if your battery is completely depleted and you are charging at 110v. Much better if you need a partial charge or can charge at higher power (e.g.: 220v/30a). Besides, would you rather be able to charge in 8 hours or not at all?

5. Pointless game. OK. That's your choice. For those who don't have a garage or need to charge during the day this is the answer to a real problem. Most people like the idea of having an option to charge their plug-in car in places other than a home garage.

Good news that they are going to be 30amps. That should make them useful on occasion.

 

[doug]

Good news that they are going to be 30amps. That should make them useful on occasion.

Yeah, a rate of 6.6 kilowatts (220V*30A) should charge a reasonable clip, just as long as the connectors are compatible.

 

[dpeilow]

It looks like the 9th one here: