Electric Vehicle Charging Stations in Ottawa-Gatineau - Page 7

1overcosc · #**121** Posted **Nov 16, 2017, 7:04 PM**

I think they are provided for free because the electric costs are so cheap, and up until now electric cars so rare, that it was probably simply too much hassle to come up with a payment mechanism for something that would only be lightly used. Now that electric cars are going mainstream, this is obviously going to need to change.

roger1818 · #**122** Posted **Nov 16, 2017, 7:50 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by 1overcosc

Now that electric cars are going mainstream, this is obviously going to need to change.

I agree. At a minimum they should be charging for all Level 2 and 3 chargers. While it would also be fair to bill for Level 1 charging, the cost per hour is so low, that the infrastructure to bill, would probably cost more than they would collect. In a pay parking lot, it could be just included in the cost of parking (whether you use it or not).

rocketphish · #**123** Posted **Mar 12, 2019, 5:01 PM**

Are Ottawa’s condos and commercial properties ready for electric vehicles?
Energy solutions firm Envari develops new program to assess suitability for charging stations

[Sponsored content]
By: OBJ360 Content Studio
Published: Mar 8, 2019 10:32am EST

It’s a modern take on the classic chicken-and-egg question: Which needs to come first – the electric car or the charger?

Envari, the Ottawa-based energy solutions company, is betting on the charger. Through its new assessment program, building owners and managers can determine what’s required to add charging stations for electric vehicles. Envari’s goal is to improve the infrastructure in multi-residential, commercial and retail properties in order to promote the use of electric vehicles.

“Consumers are saying they won’t buy electric cars because there are not enough charging stations,” says Adnan Khokhar, Envari’s Chief Energy and Infrastructure Services Officer. “Just as you see gas stations everywhere, drivers want to see the infrastructure for electric vehicles. They’re thinking, ‘If I drive from Toronto to Montreal, is there a place for me to charge my car?’ If there is no infrastructure, they won’t buy electric cars. We want to change that.”

The Envari assessment is geared towards condominiums, multi-residential units, commercial buildings and property developers. Khokhar says condos and multi-residential buildings are especially important, since 80 per cent of electric car users charge their vehicles at home.

“Adding chargers is not a matter of flipping breakers,” says Khokhar. “We want to assist businesses and condo boards in finding the right solutions and building the infrastructure to support consumers with electric vehicles.”

The assessment, which costs around $3,000, looks at the current electrical capacity of the building, metering configuration and voltages, as well as the age and condition of an electrical system. Based on these factors, Envari can also provide infrastructure and installation services.

“Charging stations may be a new revenue source for condo boards,” says Khokhar. “By engaging Envari to design a well thought-out electric vehicle charging system, condo boards can create a system where tenants pay individually for the associated energy use, rather than placing that burden on all building tenants.”

To schedule an assessment, visit https://envari.com/electric-vehicle-infrastructure/ for more information.

http://www.obj.ca/index.php/article/...ctric-vehicles

OTownandDown · #**124** Posted **Mar 13, 2019, 1:43 PM**

So I parked my 2017 Volt at the NAC garage, with four level 2 charge stations (free) yesterday.

There's a sign that says "Tesla Owners, Fast Charging Not Available. Use a public charging adapter."

So I think "ok, my Volt doesn't fast charge, let's go"

Two hours later I come back to a sign left on my dash that reads:

"NOTICE: FAST CHARGE CAR OWNERS. These chargers are NOT rated for fast charge. PLEASE use the slow charge mode only, by using the public charging adapter. 24 AMPS LIMIT."

I mean, lol @ whomever installed this station and has no idea, but also I'm pissed that the station shut itself down after 4km of charge. I paid good money to park in the garage!

Someone needs to learn their technology. I know my car charges at a Level 2 station at 32 Amps max. But I also know that I cannot limit that number unless I'm charging at a 120V regular wall plug. The car charges at whatever the offer is. Why is this limited?

ars · #**125** Posted **Mar 13, 2019, 3:52 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by OTownandDown

So I parked my 2017 Volt at the NAC garage, with four level 2 charge stations (free) yesterday.

There's a sign that says "Tesla Owners, Fast Charging Not Available. Use a public charging adapter."

So I think "ok, my Volt doesn't fast charge, let's go"

Two hours later I come back to a sign left on my dash that reads:

"NOTICE: FAST CHARGE CAR OWNERS. These chargers are NOT rated for fast charge. PLEASE use the slow charge mode only, by using the public charging adapter. 24 AMPS LIMIT."

I mean, lol @ whomever installed this station and has no idea, but also I'm pissed that the station shut itself down after 4km of charge. I paid good money to park in the garage!

Someone needs to learn their technology. I know my car charges at a Level 2 station at 32 Amps max. But I also know that I cannot limit that number unless I'm charging at a 120V regular wall plug. The car charges at whatever the offer is. Why is this limited?

I would complain about that, literally no car will be able to charge there if they consider the Volt's power draw as a "fast charge"(and since almost no EV, outside of Teslas, have the option to change the charge draw).

JohnnyRenton · #**126** Posted **Apr 17, 2019, 3:03 PM**

I know this is a project in Toronto, but this condo at 38 Widmer, being built by Concord, is going to be the first in Toronto to offer EV charging in all of its parking spaces.

https://centraltoronto.com/content/tech/

This lead me to see if there are any other condos in Canada where this is the case (since they claimed to be first in Toronto, and not all of Canada). As it turns out, Vancouver now requires all new developments have EV charging in 100% of parking stalls.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/briti...uver-1.4576927

Does anyone know if any projects in Ottawa have followed that let yet? If not I can't imagine it will be long before Ottawa starts to see that trend too.

CityTech · #**127** Posted **Apr 17, 2019, 4:21 PM**

I believe Ontario's building code requires electric car charging in new residential construction but only for some spaces, something like 20%. Level 2 charging is required in all new freehold house garages as well.

roger1818 · #**128** Posted **Apr 17, 2019, 5:04 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by CityTech

Level 2 charging is required in all new freehold house garages as well.

Interesting. I was not aware of that. It is an easy change to make as it adds minimal cost to construction. Are they required to have an actual charger installed, or just be pre-wired for one? Are double garages required to be wired for 2 chargers?

CityTech · #**129** Posted **Apr 17, 2019, 5:13 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by roger1818

Interesting. I was not aware of that. It is an easy change to make as it adds minimal cost to construction. Are they required to have an actual charger installed, or just be pre-wired for one? Are double garages required to be wired for 2 chargers?

That I don't know.

qprcanada · #**130** Posted **Apr 17, 2019, 5:14 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by roger1818

Interesting. I was not aware of that. It is an easy change to make as it adds minimal cost to construction. Are they required to have an actual charger installed, or just be pre-wired for one? Are double garages required to be wired for 2 chargers?

Most chargers can charge two vehicles at the same time albeit at a lower charging rate if a second vehicle charging cable is added to it. I have an EVO charger and it allows for this.

danishh · #**131** Posted **Apr 17, 2019, 6:20 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by JohnnyRenton

I know this is a project in Toronto, but this condo at 38 Widmer, being built by Concord, is going to be the first in Toronto to offer EV charging in all of its parking spaces.

https://centraltoronto.com/content/tech/

This lead me to see if there are any other condos in Canada where this is the case (since they claimed to be first in Toronto, and not all of Canada). As it turns out, Vancouver now requires all new developments have EV charging in 100% of parking stalls.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/briti...uver-1.4576927

Does anyone know if any projects in Ottawa have followed that let yet? If not I can't imagine it will be long before Ottawa starts to see that trend too.

it would be extremely helpful for governments to provide grants to existing condominium buildings to incentivize adding EV charging. It's not enough to simply mandate it on new ones, it would take decades before most existing stock is renewed. Condo boards cant pay for this out of reserve funds, so it has to be a special assessment or increase in condo fees, which is practically impossible to get buy-in for from owners.

Ideally, let the condo boards apply for government grants to do all the electrical work (which is going to be mostly labor costs and local labor!), and then let condo owners buy their own L2 chargers for their stalls and apply for whatever incentives or rebates exist on those.

rocketphish · #**132** Posted **Apr 17, 2019, 10:36 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by roger1818

Interesting. I was not aware of that. It is an easy change to make as it adds minimal cost to construction. Are they required to have an actual charger installed, or just be pre-wired for one? Are double garages required to be wired for 2 chargers?

https://evdirect.ca/ontario-new-evse-regulations/#3

rocketphish · #**133** Posted **Apr 17, 2019, 10:41 PM**

In highly related news:

Quote:

Canadian gov’t outlines EV incentive details, list of 27 eligible models and trims
Federal gov't wants 100 percent of new vehicle sales to be zero-emission cars by 2040

by Nicholas Maronese, Postmedia
April 17, 2019 | Updated 5 hours ago

The Canadian federal government April 17 released details regarding the incentives it plans to roll out to buyers of zero-emissions vehicles across the country.

The incentives, worth either $2,500 and $5,000 depending on the vehicle’s range, will be drawn from a pool of $300 million over three years, Transport Canada said in a release, and apply to a list of new vehicles purchased or leased on or after May 1, 2019.

The release also listed new zero-emissions vehicle sales targets for the country of “10 percent of new light-duty vehicle sales” by 2025; 30 percent by 2030; and 100 percent by 2040.

“To be eligible for incentives, a vehicle must have a base-model manufacturer’s suggested retail price [MSRP] of less than $45,000 for passenger vehicles with six or fewer seats, and less than $55,000 for vehicles with seven or more seats,” the ministry explained.

“For eligible vehicles with six or fewer seats, higher-priced versions (trims) are eligible as long as the final manufacturer’s suggested retail price is $55,000 or less,” and for vehicles with seven or more seats, trims with a price up to $60,000 will qualify.

Vehicles can still qualify even if “delivery, freight and other fees, such as vehicle colour and add-on accessories” push the sale price above those limits.

That added window makes eligible many more vehicles than critics first assumed when the $45,000-MSRP threshold was first announced, including Driving‘s own David Booth, who noted that price point was too low to do much good.

The rebate will be $5,000 for “battery electric, hydrogen fuel cell, or longer range plug-in hybrid vehicles” with a range of 50 km or better per single charge; and $2,500 for “shorter-range plug-in hybrid vehicles” with a range under that distance.

The list of eligible vehicles currently includes some 27 models and trims, including the

Audi A3 e-tron;
Chevrolet Bolt and Volt;
Chrysler Pacifica plug-in hybrid;
Ford Fusion Energi and Focus Electric;
Honda Clarity plug-in hybrid;
Hyundai Ioniq, Kona and Sonata EVs and hybrids;
Kia Niro, Optima and Soul EVs and hybrids;
Mini Cooper Countryman plug-in hybrid;
Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV;
Nissan Leaf Plus;
Toyota Prius Prime;
VW e-Golf; and
smart fortwo.

“We are working with Canadians across the country to support practical and affordable solutions to fight climate change,” Catherine McKenna, Minister of Environment and Climate Change, was quoted.

“The transportation sector is key to Canada’s economy—but it also accounts for a quarter of our emissions. Making sure Canadians have access to options to get where they need to go in a cleaner, cheaper, faster way will protect our environment and grow our economy.”

The new federal program will also fund continued expansion of electric vehicle charging stations.

The incentive program was rolled out as part of Budget 2019, and is still subject to Parliamentary approval.

https://driving.ca/auto-news/news/ne...dels-and-trims

Truenorth00 · #**134** Posted **Apr 17, 2019, 11:20 PM**

I have a beef with EV subsidies. They are fundamentally anti-urban.

Since you need to have a garage to charge, this effectively means we are giving a subsidy to people who live in larger homes and drive. Effectively subsidizing sprawl.

This program is politically expedient, but would have been much better if they had paid to help retrofit apartments and condos so that people who actually live with a lower footprint can help expand the market for electric vehicles. Suburbanites are going to buy EVs eventually anyway, thanks to higher fuel prices, carbon tax, or quite simply the technology becoming affordable enough to make the switch.

corynv · #**135** Posted **Apr 18, 2019, 12:43 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Truenorth00

I have a beef with EV subsidies. They are fundamentally anti-urban.

Since you need to have a garage to charge, this effectively means we are giving a subsidy to people who live in larger homes and drive. Effectively subsidizing sprawl.

This program is politically expedient, but would have been much better if they had paid to help retrofit apartments and condos so that people who actually live with a lower footprint can help expand the market for electric vehicles. Suburbanites are going to buy EVs eventually anyway, thanks to higher fuel prices, carbon tax, or quite simply the technology becoming affordable enough to make the switch.

Untrue, you can have chargers outside, so just in your driveway (I have a friend whose parents does that in ottawa just outside downtown), plus in Condo/Apartment buildings with parkcades they can just have chargers every so many spots (i'm sure they can buy bigger chargers and let 2-4 spots share one depending on the layout). Same with urban malls with similar parking setups.

JohnnyRenton · #**136** Posted **Apr 18, 2019, 2:06 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Truenorth00

I have a beef with EV subsidies. They are fundamentally anti-urban.

Since you need to have a garage to charge, this effectively means we are giving a subsidy to people who live in larger homes and drive. Effectively subsidizing sprawl.

This program is politically expedient, but would have been much better if they had paid to help retrofit apartments and condos so that people who actually live with a lower footprint can help expand the market for electric vehicles. Suburbanites are going to buy EVs eventually anyway, thanks to higher fuel prices, carbon tax, or quite simply the technology becoming affordable enough to make the switch.

I could understand the incentives at first, to help push that initial adoption. But at this point car companies are all in, and consumers are rapidly changing their minds about EVs. There is no turning back. If anything, it incentivizes car companies to keep EVs in the more upscale and luxury market since it could be viewed as extra money for consumers to spend.

The governments should shift their focus to infrastructure. And by that I primarily mean filling in the gaps for more remote areas. A lot of businesses will already add EV charging on their own accord (just look at cities like Winnipeg, Regina, or northern communities where plug ins for block heaters are commonplace). Help fund infrastructure and technology. Don’t subsidize lifestyles.

Truenorth00 · #**137** Posted **Apr 18, 2019, 2:32 AM**

It's pretty clear they did this to blunt some of the growing backlash against the carbon tax and to buy suburban votes in the upcoming election.

It's not really defensible as sound policy. They could do virtually anything else with the $300 million being spent and cut more emissions than this rebate program does.

Truenorth00 · #**138** Posted **Apr 18, 2019, 2:35 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by corynv

Untrue, you can have chargers outside, so just in your driveway (I have a friend whose parents does that in ottawa just outside downtown), plus in Condo/Apartment buildings with parkcades they can just have chargers every so many spots (i'm sure they can buy bigger chargers and let 2-4 spots share one depending on the layout). Same with urban malls with similar parking setups.

There's a lot you can do. In theory. In reality it goes like this for most cases:

"I want to buy an EV so we need a charger in the building."

"Cool. You can pay for the engineering cost and installation and we're good as long as it doesn't cost the board a dime."

"That'll cost $10k."

"Not our problem."

CityTech · #**139** Posted **Apr 18, 2019, 5:30 AM**

^ half the time the board/landlord will still say no even if you offered that $10k.

YOWetal · #**140** Posted **Apr 18, 2019, 7:22 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Truenorth00

There's a lot you can do. In theory. In reality it goes like this for most cases:

"I want to buy an EV so we need a charger in the building."

"Cool. You can pay for the engineering cost and installation and we're good as long as it doesn't cost the board a dime."

"That'll cost $10k."

"Not our problem."

Taxpayers are already paying a big chunk of the cost of your EV, you aren't paying gas taxes so are getting subsidized use of the roads and now you think your condo board should pay the $10k to install a charger?