On a latest street journey, I ended in San Antonio for some juice. The Electrify America station I ended at had just lately been down for some upgrades, and it now has the corporate’s latest station design up and operating. You may study all concerning the new design right here, however studying a press launch and/or some tweets and really utilizing one thing are two various things, so I needed to share what it was like utilizing its next-generation stations.
In brief, they’re principally all the things Electrify America promised.
The charging {hardware} itself is much extra aesthetically pleasing. They nonetheless have the corporate’s signature Borg inexperienced accent lighting, nevertheless it’s not as vibrant and buggy because it was with the older stations. Every pedestal takes up much less area, and makes up for this by being 8 toes tall and encased in a way more trendy and clean shell.
The great issues from past-generation stations are nonetheless there. There’s nonetheless a big touchscreen, a card reader (which can take debit, however I don’t suggest it), and an RFID reader. Electrify America doesn’t challenge RFID playing cards like EVgo and ChargePoint, however when you set your telephone to permit the Electrify America app to make use of the NFC chip, you’ll be able to activate a station when different strategies fail.
A New Cable System That’s Far Simpler To Use
However, as nice as the brand new stations look, how they work is much extra vital. And, that is the place they actually shine!
As an alternative of getting two comparatively brief charging cables to succeed in completely different sides of a automotive, the brand new stations have one lengthy, lengthy cable. You may see it within the above picture connecting to the driving force’s facet CCS port on my Chevy Bolt EUV with loads of slack. It wasn’t onerous in any respect to get the factor plugged in, and it places lots much less stress on the port.
However, typically, it is advisable attain a bit additional to get to the plug. Electrify America considered that.
The lengthy cable is held up within the center by a pulley/winch system like many different stations on different networks. However, as a result of the stations are 8 toes tall, they maintain a whole lot of slack in reserve. You may pull them down so far as the display, after which outward a number of toes. This makes for with the ability to attain principally wherever you’d need on a automotive. I don’t suppose you’d attain a port positioned on the nostril of a automotive that had backed in with this setup, however you could possibly simply, simply attain nearly wherever alongside the again and sides.
This function alone makes the brand new Electrify America stalls infinitely simpler to make use of and extra helpful than its older stations.
Higher Energy Sharing
At older stations, every stall has a most energy output. These are often 50 kW, 150 kW, and 350 kW. The 50 kW stations are often a lone CCS/CHAdeMO stall, however typically these are good for as much as 150 kW, too.
However, at these new stations, each area is nice for “as much as 350 kW.” Anyone who is aware of even somewhat about charging stations and electrical utilities would in all probability suppose straight away, “How can they probably be getting that a lot energy? That’s INSANE!,” however thankfully it’s not like that. They don’t really need sufficient energy on the website coming in from the grid to concurrently present 8 stalls with 350 kW. In actuality, having all stalls filled with vehicles on the peak of their charging curves on the similar time is slightly unlikely.
So, the location’s energy is shared throughout these stations. If sufficient individuals did present as much as swamp it, they’d all get lowered charging charges. However, in actuality, when you have been to drag as much as me charging my Bolt EUV at 55 kW and plug an Ioniq 5 or EV6 in, you’d in all probability get your full charging velocity. I’m not taking sufficient away from the location to get in your means. Likewise, if another person was charging up previous 80% to succeed in a far-flung vacation spot and was solely pulling 20–30 kW, they’re not going to get in the best way of you getting a full cost.
This not solely helps each driver get probably the most energy potential to get on their means sooner, nevertheless it makes selecting a stall lots simpler. I’m a pleasant particular person, so I attempt to park my 55 kW EUV within the slowest stall I can to go away room for sooner autos. If I have been to park in a 350 kW area at an older EA station, somebody pulling up in a Taycan may need to accept 150 kW, for instance. That might be silly and unfair.
However, with these shared energy preparations, each me and the wealthy snob within the Taycan (simply kidding, you Porsche house owners are cool) can park in any stall and get the quickest potential cost for each of our autos. This makes super-peasants like me and other people in nicer EVs each joyful.
There’s Nonetheless A CHAdeMO Plug
For the house owners of Nissan LEAFs and different CHAdeMO vehicles, I’ve acquired some excellent news and a few unhealthy information.
The excellent news? They nonetheless have a CHAdeMO plug on the stations upgraded to the most recent {hardware}. So, if it is advisable cease by for a cost, Electrify America continues to be complying with the phrases of the Dieselgate settlement they usually’re begrudgingly leaving you precisely one plug at every of the websites that they put them in at. They’re not placing in new CHAdeMO plugs going ahead (at the least outdoors of California), however you’re at the least not going to lose floor for now.
However, the unhealthy information is that they aren’t going to place in a brand new station with the lengthy twine and the nicer energy sharing gear in for you. The CHAdeMO stall at each website I’ve heard of and on the one I attempted in California will hold older station {hardware}. In the event you’ve acquired a LEAF with the plug within the nostril of the automotive, that’s not an enormous deal so far as plugging in goes, however the reliability of older stations isn’t nearly as good because the reliability of the newer ones.
And, as you’ll be able to see, the CHAdeMO station on the Walmart in San Antonio was down after I glided by.
However, Electrify America isn’t the one supplier with CHAdeMO stations. EVgo, ChargePoint, and others are nonetheless placing in new stations with CHAdeMO plugs right here and there, so that you in all probability don’t have to rush out and promote your LEAF if it’s working good for you.
The Quick-Time period Dangerous Information For Everyone
Whereas these new stations are nice, the unhappy information is that they often don’t get put in in a single day by magic. When Electrify America decides it’s time to improve a station, you’ll get about 4 days of warning on Plugshare after which the station can be down for 2-4 weeks.
In lots of locations, this actually sucks as a result of the Electrify America station is usually the one station within the space, and also you gained’t be capable of go down that freeway in most EVs through the improve, or it will likely be an enormous inconvenience.
So, when you’re depending on EA’s community proper now for any journeys, you’ll want to examine on Plugshare the day earlier than you allow to see if any stations are going to be down. If they will go down, you’ll want to make different preparations. Typically, you’ll be able to cost as much as full on the station earlier than it and barely make it to the subsequent one after. Different instances, you’ll have to cease for some time at a L2 station or RV park to get sufficient cost to make it. Or, worst case, chances are you’ll have to discover a close by lodge with L2 charging and keep the night time.
However, this precarious scenario will in all probability solely final for a couple of extra months till they get the entire stations converted.
All photos by Jennifer Sensiba.
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