Electric Vehicle Charging Stations in Ottawa-Gatineau

[DarthVader_1961]

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/electric-vehicle-stations-ottawa-1.6894245

A snippet from the article….

Of the 133 chargers announced Friday, Ottawa Mayor Mark Sutcliffe said 25 will be in neighbourhoods chosen through feedback from residents

[Truenorth00]

Originally Posted by DarthVader_1961

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/electric-vehicle-stations-ottawa-1.6894245

A snippet from the article….

Of the 133 chargers announced Friday, Ottawa Mayor Mark Sutcliffe said 25 will be in neighbourhoods chosen through feedback from residents

Thanks for this. Just wrote to my councillor asking how to access this.

I think the public charging strategy is pretty dumb right now. They should be installing low end level 2 at every library, park and rec centre. With some target. Say 5% of spots by 2025. 10% by 2030.

[Tesladom]

Originally Posted by Truenorth00

I think the public charging strategy is pretty dumb right now.

These strategies are done by people who don't drive EVs, no wonder...

[Acajack]

As someone who has had an EV for almost a year, I feel there is a gap that needs to be addressed in public charging between level 2s (generally 7.2 kw) and level 3s which are generally 50 kw or more.

In terms of "in town" charging I am unlikely to plug into a level 2 for 7.2 kw when I am at the public library or grocery store.

It's just not worth it.

I wonder if maybe 20-25 kw might not be good for charging power when one is out and about in town and your car isn't doing anything else.

[roger1818]

One can categorize EV owners into two broad categories, those who can charge at home and those who can't. If you can charge at home (and have a modern EV with a decent range) the only times you will use public chargers are when it is free (who will say free to free energy) and when on a road trip. Other than that, the vast majority of your charging will be at home while sleeping as it is the cheapest and most convenient way to charge.

If you can't charge at home, things change significantly and finding ways to fit charging into your lifestyle becomes important and putting level 2 chargers where people park for extended periods would be very helpful.

I suspect EV owners who are vocal opponents of the cities plans are in the first camp and are being self centered about what their personal desires are, ignoring the needs of others. From what I can tell, the city's plan is to put chargers near where people live that cannot charge at home. Utilization might be low right now, but it is a chicken and egg type situation, and it will take time for it to grow. I would also measure utilization in charging hours (or better yet kWh), not charging sessions.

One thing I do have issue with is the city charging $2/hour. While it might be "in line with other municipalities" it is not a competitive rate. KRP charges $1.50/hour for charging at all of their buildings and I know of an apartment building in Stittsville that charges only $1.00/hour. By comparison, when charging at home with a personal charger, the equivalent rate would be $0.72 per hour (assuming a charging rate of 7.2 kW and 10 ¢/kWh (even the tiered rate is less than that)).

[Acajack]

These are good points.

I think on-street charging in certain parts of the city (where people are unlikely to be able to charge at home) is probably a lot more important than chargers at libraries, arenas, pools and other city facilities.

I know that Montreal has tons of on-street parking spaces that have been outfitted with level 2 chargers which are now no-parking zones unless you are charging.

These are typically in parts of the city dominated by plexes and rowhouses.

There may be some but I have not seen any on-street parking spaces converted to level 2 charging spots anywhere in Ottawa.

[YOWetal]

Originally Posted by Acajack

These are good points.

I think on-street charging in certain parts of the city (where people are unlikely to be able to charge at home) is probably a lot more important than chargers at libraries, arenas, pools and other city facilities.

I know that Montreal has tons of on-street parking spaces that have been outfitted with level 2 chargers which are now no-parking zones unless you are charging.

These are typically in parts of the city dominated by plexes and rowhouses.

There may be some but I have not seen any on-street parking spaces converted to level 2 charging spots anywhere in Ottawa.

Yes Montreal has a lot more housing without parking and the substantial difference in subsidies means a lot more EV penetration. I think in Ottawa EV ownership without home charging is still a small fraction of owners. There is a guy on my street with no parking using a residence placard who has a Model 3. He doesn't seem to commute so I guess uses superchargers for his weekend jaunts and roadtrips. It seems like a crazy choice to me but people like new toys however illogical they are.

[Tesladom]

Originally Posted by roger1818

One can categorize EV owners into two broad categories, those who can charge at home and those who can't.

Realistically, 95% of private vehicles in the city would fall into the Charge at Home (I include condos here).

I don't want to re-hash the same points I keep saying earlier in this thread, we need much more common sense about how we allocate power for EV Charging. Condos rape EV owners to set up charging, this doesn't have to be the case, you don't need a 60AMP dedicated circuit to each car, easy to charge 10 even up to 20 EV's on a single charged 3PH 200AMP load bank.
I can't imagine owning my car and using public charging infrastructure exclusively, especially in winter

For home owners, all you need is a 30 AMP circuit. The ESA and Hydro are forcing home owners to pay $$$ to upgrade panels to 200AMP at huge costs.

[AuxTown]

Originally Posted by Tesladom

Realistically, 95% of private vehicles in the city would fall into the Charge at Home (I include condos here).

I don't want to re-hash the same points I keep saying earlier in this thread, we need much more common sense about how we allocate power for EV Charging. Condos rape EV owners to set up charging, this doesn't have to be the case, you don't need a 60AMP dedicated circuit to each car, easy to charge 10 even up to 20 EV's on a single charged 3PH 200AMP load bank.
I can't imagine owning my car and using public charging infrastructure exclusively, especially in winter

For home owners, all you need is a 30 AMP circuit. The ESA and Hydro are forcing home owners to pay $$$ to upgrade panels to 200AMP at huge costs.

I decided against upgrading to 200AMPs for a few reasons. First, I am able to easily meet my charging needs with a 32amp breaker and charge my Tesla most nights while I'm sleeping. Second, I expect EVs to become more efficient over time and be able to travel longer distances using less electricity. They will likely never be as inefficient as the current generation.

I can run my a/c, all my inside appliances, my pool pump, and charge my car all well within my 100 amp panels limitations.

[qprcanada]

Originally Posted by AuxTown

I decided against upgrading to 200AMPs for a few reasons. First, I am able to easily meet my charging needs with a 32amp breaker and charge my Tesla most nights while I'm sleeping. Second, I expect EVs to become more efficient over time and be able to travel longer distances using less electricity. They will likely never be as inefficient as the current generation.

I can run my a/c, all my inside appliances, my pool pump, and charge my car all well within my 100 amp panels limitations.

I had my Flo Home X5 charger installed at home under a Hydro Ottawa program five years ago. The installation was inspected by the ESA and the 100A service in my home was never an issue. Since then I have never had an issue charging the car and running the AC simultaneously.

[roger1818]

Originally Posted by Tesladom

Realistically, 95% of private vehicles in the city would fall into the Charge at Home (I include condos here).

If you consider that this article states that 63 of the "chargers" will be installed at multi-unit residential buildings, dismissing condos and apartments is not valid.

[roger1818]

Originally Posted by qprcanada

I had my Flo Home X5 charger installed at home under a Hydro Ottawa program five years ago. The installation was inspected by the ESA and the 100A service in my home was never an issue. Since then I have never had an issue charging the car and running the AC simultaneously.

Same here (though mine was installed 4 years ago). In theory, if I had my oven, dryer, A/C and car charging at full power, I could blow the panel breaker, but that situation is unlikely.

The technology exists to monitor the input current in to the panel and reduce the charging current if it would exceed the panel maximum. This is commonly used in the UK, but rare here in North America.

[eltodesukane]

China banning Tesla cars.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eCzU5BF-110

[TransitZilla]

Originally Posted by Acajack

There may be some but I have not seen any on-street parking spaces converted to level 2 charging spots anywhere in Ottawa.

Yes, there are a few that have been installed. They are on the Flo network. For example, this location on Main Street: https://www.google.com/maps/@45.4088797,...c4zcp4LgAZg!2e0!7i16384!8i8192?entry=ttu

[roger1818]

Originally Posted by TransitZilla

Yes, there are a few that have been installed. They are on the Flo network. For example, this location on Main Street: https://www.google.com/maps/@45.4088797,...c4zcp4LgAZg!2e0!7i16384!8i8192?entry=ttu

And this one on Laurier:

https://goo.gl/maps/rue469d45JFgKqH17

A complete list of on street stations can be found here.

[Tesladom]

Originally Posted by eltodesukane

China banning Tesla cars.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eCzU5BF-110

Ottawa banning all cars!!

[OTownandDown]

Count me as one of those as well, five years ago I had my Flo installed with the Hydro Ottawa program.

As for out-and-about charging, I drive a plug-in hybrid, and I appreciate the Farm Boy free Flo chargers at Trainyards. I'll plug in to the level 2, it gives me about 5-10k of range while I'm shopping. Thanks for the free electrons, and I'll come back to the store just for that! I know its almost nothing, but I like free stuff, even $0.05 worth! Enough juice to get back and forth to the grocery store for juice!

I will only pay for a City-owned on-street Flo level 2 charge when I can't otherwise find parking. I'll pay the $1-2/hr to activate, or whatever it is . I once had a run-in with a parking guy who said I didn't ALSO have to pay for parking, if I was actively charging. Whether this is a true story, I've yet to research. Is this true? If it is, it's cheaper to park and charge than it is to park and pay for parking.

Edit: MODS, is it possible to re-do the survey and see how the demographics on this forum have changed?

Originally Posted by qprcanada

I had my Flo Home X5 charger installed at home under a Hydro Ottawa program five years ago. The installation was inspected by the ESA and the 100A service in my home was never an issue. Since then I have never had an issue charging the car and running the AC simultaneously.

[rocketphish]

Originally Posted by OTownandDown

Edit: MODS, is it possible to re-do the survey and see how the demographics on this forum have changed?

Yes! The poll has been reset and is now open for 30 days, with the same options.

For the record, here are the results of the previous poll, which closed on October 19, 2020:

[Truenorth00]

Doesn't seem to be open.

[rocketphish]

It looks like simply resetting the poll isn't allowing people to vote again, though it is allowing new voters. I'll try closing it, with the risk that it can't be reopened...

Please stand by...


Update: It seems that the poll functionality of this forum software is very limited. It can't even be deleted without forum administrator intervention. And creating a new poll is directly tied to the creation of a thread. So I'm going to have to take back my earlier enthusiasm and say that no, we probably can't just reopen the poll at this time. Sorry. If anybody knows otherwise, please let us know.