Vehicle Recharging

Background

One of the main barriers for many people to switching from internal combustion engines (ICE) to electric, besides the cost, is access to recharging the battery. If you live in a single family house that you own, you can usually provide an outlet by a place where you park for overnight recharging, although you may end up paying for a new outlet with increased charge capacity. If you drive to work, and you can recharge while you are working, that is another solution. If you rent, and your landlord does not provide a parking spot where you can recharge, recharging may be much more difficult or impossible. 

Seattle vehicle rechargingPhoto: Robin Briggs

There are different types of electric rechargers. A Level 2 outlet will give you about 180 miles after an 8 hour recharge. A DC fast charger (sometimes also called Level 3), can add 50-90 miles in 30 minutes. A Tesla Supercharger provides about 170 miles in 30 minutes. For more background, see this article. The cost of installing these different types also varies depending on type. I've seen $1000-$2000 per outlet for Level 2, and $50,000 quoted for a DC fast charger for home use. Public rechargers need to be more robust, because they are more heavily used, and require credit card readers, data contracts and other elements not used on home rechargers. Recharging at a public parking spot usually requires a smartphone app and a credit card.

Seattle City Light recharging stationPhoto: Robin Briggs

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