Outdoor Fast Charger

[JeffRay]

I am in negotiations with a commercial landlord and want to either have him install an outdoor charger or allow us to. I think a lot of the posts related to an indoor garage charger. I could be wrong. I would appreciate any guidance on what to spec out for the landlord. The item I guess would be against the building with the parking spot appropriately restricted to charging vehicles.

 

[GlennD]

I am in negotiations with a commercial landlord and want to either have him install an outdoor charger or allow us to. I think a lot of the posts related to an indoor garage charger. I could be wrong. I would appreciate any guidance on what to spec out for the landlord. The item I guess would be against the building with the parking spot appropriately restricted to charging vehicles.

There is two different objectives. If you just want a weatherproof unit look at Clipper Creek. If you want a commercial network interconnected unit that charges then look at companies like EVgo.

 

[wtzouris]

The simplest thing would be to have a basic 20 Amp 120v outlet with weather proof outdoor cover AND a 50 Amp 240v outlet with 14-50 receptacle and weatherproof cover. The 50 Amp outlet means a 50 Amp breaker, 3- conductor 6 gauge wire run to the panel. This allows you to draw 40 amps which is the maximum for the B-Class electric. (An alternative is a 40 Amp circuit with 8 gauge wire and 30-32 Amp maximum draw)

The reason to go with a 50 Amp circuit is that the wire isn't that much more expensive, the labor is about the same, and you can use faster chargers like the Jesla, Clipper Creek, and JAMP Jr, and other EVSEs without overheating the wires and tripping the breaker. Also the 14-50 receptacle means each person brings their own portable charger and takes it with them in the trunk. If you go with installed chargers, do a Clipper Creek HCS-40 32 Amp hard wired.

The HCS-60 requires a 60 Amp circuit because it can do up to 48 Amps. That's even higher gauge wiring? That initially would not benefit anyone because all current EV cars have an On-Board Charger that draws 20-40 Amps. (Chevy Volt/Gen.1 Nissan Leaf at the lower end and Mercedes B-Class/Toyota Rav4EV at the higher end)

 

[bcurious]

I am in negotiations with a commercial landlord and want to either have him install an outdoor charger or allow us to. I think a lot of the posts related to an indoor garage charger. I could be wrong. I would appreciate any guidance on what to spec out for the landlord. The item I guess would be against the building with the parking spot appropriately restricted to charging vehicles.

Jeff -
Leviton has an active program with NYSERDA right now for drastically lowered-cost (including installation) outdoor EVSEs at New York workplaces, if the commercial building could also be said to be a workplace. You can find some information here: http://www.leviton.com/OA_HTML/SectionDisplay.jsp?section=62210&minisite=10251

Perhaps you could try for both options, getting an outdoor receptacle installed for your own EVSE for use with your own semi-portable EVSE, and a commercial grade EVSE at very low installed cost to the landlord which is available for everyone's use.

 

[rdavis0521]

I tend to agree with William on this, putting in two receptacles. Obviously there are a couple of pros and cons to choosing to put only a plug/receptacle in vs a EVSE.

Pros:

1. It's a bunch cheaper.
2. The owner doesn't have to maintain a charging station, which can be damaged, or vandalized, or just get broken.
3. Some might say that having a receptacle on the wall or near the ground is less intrusive than a EVSE up on a pole or wall.

Cons:

1. It requires the EV owner to have their own portable charger, preferably a 240v variant as mentioned above.
2. It would be hard to designate a parking space as EV charging only, if there were no EVSE.
3. Owner probably wouldn't qualify for any programs for rebates etc in setting up and electrical charging station.

 

[JeffRay]

Did I mention that the landlord is the NYEDC (New York Economic Development Corporation)? They operate two gigantic buildings which are being repurposed for light manufacturing and in our case a biotech facility.

They have recently installed solar powered parking lot lampposts so I am hoping they will be receptive to outdoor charging stations. I don't mind going with a commercial one for all to share but also like the stealth one for moi.

Thanks all.

 

[TonyWilliams]

OpConnect specializes in commercial L2 charging that can communicate (the Clipper Creek stuff does not).

The also build all their own equipment. They did all the Walgreens.

 

[sendler2112]

I am in negotiations with a commercial landlord and want to either have him install an outdoor charger or allow us to.

Maybe you can at least get them to install an outdoor 240v outlet so that you can plug in your own portable charger. Better than nothing might also be to encourage them to buy a Chargepoint station whereby they could even operate it for profit so they didn't have to pay for your electricity use.
.
http://www.chargepoint.com/
.

 

[JeffRay]

I use ChargePoint at two locations. One in Long Island charges $2.95 to plug in. The other at a parking garage is free as they charge for parking while you charge. The feature I like is that you can get a text message when car is fully charged and check online as it charges up.