3 ms·

Is it just me, or is the solution not to add more chargers, but to add more cables connected to a single charger, and have it round robin charge all the attache

Is it just me, or is the solution not to add more chargers, but to add more cables connected to a single charger, and have it round robin charge all the attached vehicles throughout the day?

baddox 13y ago
I think that would fall under "add more chargers."
- Dylan16807 13y ago
  Setting up a full charger with dedicated electrical supply is quite expensive. Relays attached to extension cords cost effectively nothing. The idea of sharing a charger over a larger number of cars sounds much closer to the latter idea than the former.
killion 13y ago
Great idea, that would be a good way to have more plug-in points. Since a big part of the problem is getting a large enough electrical service to the chargers. You could also have the amperage be higher for the first hour or so of charging and then have it drop down over time or as demand increases. I'm not aware of any existing chargers that would support this. There isn't much innovation or price competition in this space. It sounds like a great opportunity for someone to come in and do it right.
mdorazio 13y ago
It's not always that simple - the electric lines have to support the load of additional vehicles. Even a relatively low charge rate of 12A (like a Volt) quickly exceeds the capacity of standard electrical wiring after about 3 vehicles. It's worse if you want higher speed charging, which requires 30A+ per connector. Adding the infrastructure to support more cables can actually be more expensive than running additional chargers, depending on how the lines were run.
- angusb 13y ago
  I think the idea was that instead of simultaneously charging several cars, it charges them one by one (round robin). You just have multiple connectors to stop employees having to leave the office to change the connectors over when one car finishes charging. But I guess it would require smart-ifying the charger base so it could decide when to send power to each of the cars.

Is it just me, or is the solution not to add more chargers, but to add more cables connected to a single charger, and have it round robin charge all the attached vehicles throughout the day?

baddox 13y ago

I think that would fall under "add more chargers."

Dylan16807 13y ago
Setting up a full charger with dedicated electrical supply is quite expensive. Relays attached to extension cords cost effectively nothing. The idea of sharing a charger over a larger number of cars sounds much closer to the latter idea than the former.

killion 13y ago

Great idea, that would be a good way to have more plug-in points. Since a big part of the problem is getting a large enough electrical service to the chargers. You could also have the amperage be higher for the first hour or so of charging and then have it drop down over time or as demand increases. I'm not aware of any existing chargers that would support this. There isn't much innovation or price competition in this space. It sounds like a great opportunity for someone to come in and do it right.

mdorazio 13y ago

It's not always that simple - the electric lines have to support the load of additional vehicles. Even a relatively low charge rate of 12A (like a Volt) quickly exceeds the capacity of standard electrical wiring after about 3 vehicles. It's worse if you want higher speed charging, which requires 30A+ per connector. Adding the infrastructure to support more cables can actually be more expensive than running additional chargers, depending on how the lines were run.

angusb 13y ago
I think the idea was that instead of simultaneously charging several cars, it charges them one by one (round robin). You just have multiple connectors to stop employees having to leave the office to change the connectors over when one car finishes charging. But I guess it would require smart-ifying the charger base so it could decide when to send power to each of the cars.