Tesla Charging Stations in the wild

[graham]

Charged up today at the Woodland charger while grabbing lunch at the In-n-Out.

208v @70amps (Too bad it is not 240v like San Ramon).

The Woodland charger is in a great location. Pretty close to Sacramento, I-5 and I-80. The charger itself is in the middle of the parking lot which has shops all around the perimeter. This means that any individual shop is close walking distance, but the charger is not storefront which might make it a target for a non-EV driver.

There is a Target, Best Buy and Costco there too although I didn't have time to shop there today. There are a bunch of other new unoccupied shops to be coming soon too. Overall a nice experience.

RAV4 EV was charging in the adjacent spot when I first got there. Possibly folsomev, or EVNut?

 

[graham]

ChargeIt! alerted me to some new Tesla chargers in Fairfield that I checked out while driving through the area this afternoon.

They are in a parking structure in the Fairfield Transportation Center which is just off the W. Texas exit off of I-80 Here.

They are in a big parking structure off of "Cadenasso Dr" Sort of next to a Taco Bell. The entrance looks like this (sorry about the thumb... stupid iPhone...)

Once inside, take an immediate right -- there are 2 Tesla chargers labeled at 208v, 40 amps. I tested the leftmost one at 40 amps and it did work.

There was a very helpful security guard there. He was quite tickled that a Tesla had come in to use the charger and wanted me to take lots of pictures of him next to my car, using his cell phone:

 

[vfx]

Graham, I like the way this is covered.

In one single page for each charger there should be

What type of connections are available (SPI, LPI, Avcon, 110V, 240V, Tesla, J11772. and updated reports if they are working or not and who to call for location and servicing.

A map to the site
GPS coordinates
Thomas Bro page(?)
Address, phone of charger
A description of where it is,
Images of the street entrance, the building and the charger to give context.
Distance to next 3 nearest chargers

Downloadable to handheld and car NAV system.

I just make lists. I don't have any idea how to do this.

Edit to Add: Actual avalible amperage of NEMA connector

 

[TEG]

Will they just add 'Tesla compatible' to evchargernews.com and that is the answer, or is someone else planning to make a different list?

 

[ChargeIt!]

I have had thoughts about this. EVCN & EVCM (News and Maps) is well established and has been working for many years. But technology (GPS etc) has moved on. Admin support is ... (not intending to offend or criticize) ... is low budget.

From what I've heard so far the EVCN/EVCM sites are being updated with the Tesla station functionality. That's better than nothing for now. THANK YOU TO ALL CONTRIBUTORS !

Glad you mentioned J1772 ... the finalization of that standard may be a month away ... and ... once that's UL approved (another year?) THEN we are talking about a MAJOR expansion of stations and functionality (more EVs too across the US).

Like vfx ... no idea HOW to do it ... but NOW is the best time to prepare a new more feature filled site accessible from iPhones and such with "emergency .. nearby" search function for someone quickly needing an alternative ("I am ICE'd" or the "station is down" where to now ?).

So ... keep updating EVCN, but start a whole new database and user interface.

Any EAA members here ? Any info on whether that's been discussed or is in preparation ?

Alternative: built-in with the EV's NAV system. But for someone planning a trip ahead of time also integrate with google (or yahoo or whatever) mapping ... so keep that piece of the functionality and expand features.

 

[TEG]

Another "pie in the sky" thought - someday it would be great to show available charge spots so it could know in near realtime if someone was already parked & charging at your planned destination. Without this it is analogous to a GPS that shows you a quick route, but doesn't take into account traffic. If the GPS is tied in with traffic and charging updates it could show you the actual quickest route to an available charge spot, not just the shortest distance to a possibly in use charge spot.

By the way, someday you might get price sensitive and sort charge spots by costs to use. e.g., Will it be cheaper to drive the extra distance to the Coulomb, or just use the Better Place nearby?

 

[ChargeIt!]

"pie in the sky" --- YES!! I like it ... the real-time reality, not the "pie" :biggrin:

P.S.: But then you'd also have to add "be gone in 30 minutes" (or limit each EVs use).

P.P.S.: And you'd have to know if there's already a "waiter" for that spot ...

We are getting trickier now ... what if 40 Roadsters decide to move their rally to Las Vegas and Barstow is "full" of waiters ?

 

[EVnut]

I have had thoughts about this. EVCN & EVCM (News and Maps) is well established and has been working for many years. But technology (GPS etc) has moved on. Admin support is ... (not intending to offend or criticize) ... is low budget.

No offence taken. The budget isn't just low. It is, in fact, negative. 100% volunteer effort - the bulk of which comes from one full-time volunteer. And countless hours have gone into keeping it up. It remains THE most complete and up-to-date resource of its kind. When I can just ask my GPS to guide me to the nearest (automatically and regularly updated list) charger, then we'll be off to the races.

From what I've heard so far the EVCN/EVCM sites are being updated with the Tesla station functionality. That's better than nothing for now. THANK YOU TO ALL CONTRIBUTORS !

Yes, they're all being added as we find them. They were sure tough to keep track of there when they started sprouting up all over the place overnight!

but NOW is the best time to prepare a new more feature filled site accessible from iPhones and such with "emergency .. nearby" search function for someone quickly needing an alternative ("I am ICE'd" or the "station is down" where to now ?).

I agree! Who funds this, though?

Any EAA members here ?

Yup.

Any info on whether that's been discussed or is in preparation ?

Not so much. Money and time are the two limiting factors.

 

[EVnut]

ChargeIt! alerted me to some new Tesla chargers in Fairfield that I checked out while driving through the area this afternoon.

And your next stop was in Woodland, apparently. Where you charged next to my Rav4EV. (Discovered as I added my "I was there" report.)

 

[vfx]

What about Google money?

Even better, Have Google build it.

We know that:

Google gave Plug in America $100K (who gave $60K to college race teams)

Google leaders drive Tesla Roadsters.

Google has Google.org that has a plug-in vehicle locator as part of their RechargeIt.org division.

Google has a fleet of plug in vehicles that run on solar panels

Google has a site called "maps".


How much would it cost to pay a team to build the network we are describing?
How much to pay the volunteers a small stipend to keep it up? Of course right away it could be sprinkled with Google ads. Later, as more EV car and charger products come out they could buy ads on a very targeted audience.


I know a guy...

 

[folsomev]

When I can just ask my GPS to guide me to the nearest (automatically and regularly updated list) charger, then we'll be off to the races.

You can already ask your GPS for the nearest charger. GPS files are available on request. Automatically and regularly updated is a different story, however. For true automatic updating, we need network-enabled chargers. People are working on that.....

 

[folsomev]

What about Google money?

Even better, Have Google build it.

I know a guy...

We just got rejected by Google on a grant request. If you know a guy, let's ask him!

 

[folsomev]

I have had thoughts about this. EVCN & EVCM (News and Maps) is well established and has been working for many years. But technology (GPS etc) has moved on. Admin support is ... (not intending to offend or criticize) ... is low budget.

EVCM/EVCN have been leaders for years in GPS technology. Have you checked the "Precisifier," for instance?

Like vfx ... no idea HOW to do it ... but NOW is the best time to prepare a new more feature filled site accessible from iPhones and such with "emergency .. nearby" search function for someone quickly needing an alternative ("I am ICE'd" or the "station is down" where to now ?).

With some limitations, EVCN/EVCM work on iPhones via Safari right now. We plan to do some tweaks to improve stability and functionality. It is possible to submit real-time reports from the charging site via iPhone, if you follow the correct steps.

So ... keep updating EVCN, but start a whole new database and user interface.

Any EAA members here ? Any info on whether that's been discussed or is in preparation ?

EVCN/EVCM are not, strictly speaking, EAA sites. They are owned and operated by yours truly, independent of EAA, even though I am an EAA member.

Nothing is going on right now with regard to major rewrite, unless some funding becomes available, although we do expect to add a Tesla charger search function soon. We also have GPS files available on request. It will be a while before Tesla-specific GPS files are available, but such files are part of the plan for current upgrades.

Perhaps an EVCN/EVCM demo/familiarization session of some kind is in order.

 

[ChargeIt!]

"Precisifier", eh ? Never looked at that ... very cool ... thanks folsomev ... I am learning :redface:

folsomev & EVnut ... THANKS for all the great work !

 

[doug]

For true automatic updating, we need network-enabled chargers. People are working on that.....

We know Coulomb Technologies already does this. Really though, I think all metered parking in cities should be networked. It would save the energy and personal frustration spent driving around looking for a spot. Your GPS would direct you to an available parking space close to your destination. While you're on your trip, if that space gets taken, the system picks the next nearest open spot, and so on. Once you are within a few minutes of your destination, that parking spot is reserved for you. No time or energy wasted, no arguments over who saw it first. You could also get some feedback on how high demand is for parking before you set out and ultimately decide to take the train.

 

[ChargeIt!]

... "reservation" ... I like that. And your GPS knows when you will arrive.

 

[vfx]

Check out how the Volt is using GPS.

 

[Bradleybang]

iphone app for zipcar

Zipcar announces new iPhone app, gives new meaning to "unlocked" cell phone

I think a simiar process to this new zipcar iphone app could be used to accomplish this locate and reserve EV station desire.

 

[TEG]

The technology could get REALLY sophisticated someday.
My car knows it is at 50%, so it needs 3 hours to charge.
It knows my next destination is 80 miles away, and that I want to be in this area 2 hours for a movie. You see where I am going with this... A whole "AI" that knows the needs and destinations and wait times for a whole city of EVs. It would reserve you the charge spot closest to your current destination that has long enough availability for the charge you need to get to your next charge spot. It could get really complicated and useful. Like air traffic control.

 

[graham]

And your next stop was in Woodland, apparently. Where you charged next to my Rav4EV. (Discovered as I added my "I was there" report.)

Ah! that was you! I was wondering...

Woodland was actually one of my first stops.

San Ramon Friday night (which is good since I hear it broke on Saturday...)
Woodland Sat afternoon
Davis Sat night
Dixon Sun morning
Vacaville Sunday lunch
Fairfield Sunday afternoon.

Tesla charger tour of Northern California... Whee!