By Stephen Williams
Through the decades the automobile has spawned dozens of cottage
industries—the drive-in movie, the car hop on roller skates, the car
wash and, of course, the ubiquitous filling station with its
unmistakable gas pumps.
Enter the EV (electric vehicle) charging station, the filling station of the future: no pumps, just plugs.
Owners of cars that use electric power in one form or another—cars
like Chevy’s Volt, which combines a battery and a gas-powered
generator—can now drive coast to coast, or from Maine to Florida, or
just about any place in between in the United States, without fear of
“range anxiety.” The 2013 Volt’s total driving range on a full battery
charge and a full tank of gas is an EPA-estimated 380 miles*; on a full
battery charge alone it’s an EPA-estimated 38 miles**.
The
U.S. Department of Energy is the driving force (pardon the pun) behind
collective efforts to pinpoint nearly 4,000 electric charging stations
with public access across the country with the list growing daily as
the DOE assembles data retrieved by its National Renewable Energy
Laboratory and updates the primary list twice a month.
In many states, plug-in-vehicle drivers also have access to charging
stations at libraries, shopping centers, hospitals and businesses. This
infrastructure is quickly expanding, providing drivers with the
convenience and confidence they require.
Niketa Kumar, a spokesperson for the DOE in Washington, told us that
the department has partnered with several industry electronics
companies, including Google, Tom Tom, Best Buy, Pacific Gas &
Electric Co. and Coulomb, “to improve collection and analysis of public
electric charging station data. With the support of more than 80 public
and private sector organizations,” she said, “including charging
equipment manufacturers, installers and charging networks; vehicle
manufacturers, Internet and GIS companies, and major consumer goods
retailers, we are working to provide consumers with consistent,
up-to-date information about the EV charging stations in communities
nationwide.”
*Fuel saved is based on this approved formula: Miles per gallon =
[Difference in Total Miles Driven in kms (current-previous) * 0.621/
Difference in lifetime fuel used *0.264]. Fuel Avoided = (Difference in
Total Miles/ Official MPG for U.S. passenger cars) — (difference in
Total Miles/ Miles per gallon).
The DOE also offers other
information for EV owners and those considering an EV or
plug-in—including mapping services—at its Alternative Fuels &
Advanced Vehicles Data Center
site. While the Energy Department does not itself offer smartphone apps
to help drivers locate charging stations, a variety of applications are
being launched to ease the process. For example, Coulomb Technologies
Inc. lists which ChargePoint stations are available, in use or out of
service, all in real time.
Among the EV location apps for the
iPhone—as well as for the iPod touch and the iPad—is Xatori’s free
PlugShare (available on the iTunes
site), which allows users to type in an address or zip code to find
stations on the PlugShare map. So where does the “Share” come in? Well,
the app also lists ordinary folks—the PlugShare community—who will offer
EV users the opportunity to plug in to their home outlets to recharge.
Of course, the worry of running low on electric juice doesn’t
faze drivers of the Volt. It’s electric when you want it, gas when you
need it. If the battery runs low, the Volt automatically transitions to a
unique gasoline range–extending capability.
Chevrolet currently offers an eight-year/100,000-mile limited
warranty*** on the Volt’s battery pack. See your local Chevy dealer for
details, or download the entire Volt warranty from Chevrolet.com/volt
- Courtesy of Chevrolet.com
