Electric Vehicle Charging Stations in Ottawa-Gatineau

[CanadaGoose]

Originally Posted by roger1818

Thanks for the update. There seem to be 2 plugs at each location which is good (though I suspect it is 1 double headed unit). It seems like the "Farm Boy - Rail Yards" location (as Flo calls it) is "Out of Service" but the "Canada Science and Technology Museum" location is operational. No check-ins on PlugShare though.

It is still an active construction zone at Farmboy.

[CanadaGoose]

Good news!

NRCan has released a list of proposals that have received funded under the Zero Emission Vehicle Infrastructure program.

https://www.nrcan.gc.ca/energy-effic...plicants/22814

The City of Ottawa or Envari (a subsidiary of Hydro Ottawa) has succeeded and will have funding for 26 electric chargers at 130k.

City of Ottawa claimed they were looking to build 24 on their page.

[roger1818]

Originally Posted by CyrusKafaiwu

Good news!

NRCan has released a list of proposals that have received funded under the Zero Emission Vehicle Infrastructure program.

https://www.nrcan.gc.ca/energy-effic...plicants/22814

The City of Ottawa or Envari (a subsidiary of Hydro Ottawa) has succeeded and will have funding for 26 electric chargers at 130k.

City of Ottawa claimed they were looking to build 24 on their page.

Interesting. I am guessing this is under Envari's ZEVIP Project, which will combine submissions on behalf of its customers to help them qualify for NRCan's ZEV Infrastructure program even if they aren't applying for the minimum 20 EV chargers the programme requires. They can be for:

• Multi-Unit Residential Properties,
• Companies with light duty fleets, and
• Workplaces

This is certainly good news for the adoption of EVs, but I suspect most of them won't be available to the general public.

[CanadaGoose]

Didn’t know that idea existed, but it’s good.

But for this round, I think it is for just the City of Ottawa street parking that they announced to build 2021 in partnership with Envari.

I’d be interested to hear how it works out for condo dwellers.

[roger1818]

Originally Posted by CyrusKafaiwu

Didn’t know that idea existed, but it’s good.

But for this round, I think it is for just the City of Ottawa street parking that they announced to build 2021 in partnership with Envari.

I’d be interested to hear how it works out for condo dwellers.

That could also be possible. The NRCan link isn't totally clear.

Not directly related to Ottawa (though Ottawa could benefit), but Recipe Unlimited Corporation (formerly named Cara, which was derived from "Canada Railway") received funding for "40 electric vehicle chargers" in Ontario. They own a variety of popular restaurant chains (including St-Hubert, who already have EV chargers at many of their locations) and some of those may be installed in Ottawa.

[roger1818]

Originally Posted by CyrusKafaiwu

It is still an active construction zone at Farmboy.

Both Flo and PlugShare now list it as being "available." There aren't any checkins listed yet on PlugShare and the only picture is of an empty parking lot.

[CanadaGoose]

3.00 per a session after 8pm. The pilot will likely work well if Ottawa follows the same way.

https://electricautonomy.ca/2020/11/...ZzgigQZZz79qyQ

Toronto joins other Canadian cities with curbside EV charging launch

Emma JarrattPublished on 07 November 2020
Launch of City of Toronto curbside EV charging
John Tory (R), Mayor of Toronto, speaks alongside Brad Bradford, Councillor, Ward 19 Beaches-East York, at the launch of Toronto’s curbside EV charging pilot. FLO’s curbside charger is plugged into a City of Toronto Chevy Bolt
“No driveway, no problem,” says Toronto to EV drivers, as it deploys 17 Level 2 chargers in nine neighbourhoods offering resident-only overnight charging

A joint effort between Toronto Hydro, the city and a national EV charging network is bringing neighbourhood charging options to local drivers in Toronto who use street parking at their residence.

Nine locations throughout the city have been chosen for the initial opening phase of the pilot, with Level 2 chargers — supplied by AddÉnergie’s subsidiary FLO — attached to existing utility poles. The pilot will run for one year.

“One objective at the heart of this project is to make it possible for Torontonians without a private parking space to own an EV and to be able to charge it conveniently in their neighbourhood,” says Brookes Shean, general manager, USA East and Central Canada at FLO.

“While we continue to navigate the unprecedented times of a global pandemic, we must also remain diligent in our commitment to finding ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions”
John Tory, Mayor of Toronto
Installed in two weeks

EV advocates have argued that Toronto lags other Canadian cities in installing curbside charging. However, once the pilot was approved, getting it up and running was unusually efficient — needing just two weeks to install the 17 chargers and have them ready for use.

New curbside EV charging station on Alton Avenue, Toronto
New curbside EV charging station on Alton Avenue, Toronto
The idea of curbside charging was first proposed in a 2017 Staff Report to Toronto City Council. In 2018, data showed the city was home to more than 6,200 EVs, a number that’s kept climbing. Transportation accounts for roughly 30 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions in the city. Toronto’s Electric Vehicle Strategy is critical to boosting the EV population in line with reduction targets.

According to the city, 71 per cent of residents who participated in a poll conducted in preparation for the pilot said they were likely to purchase an EV in the next five years, and more said that they would consider purchasing EVs if charging stations were available.

“Toronto is a leader in adopting emerging, sustainable and environmentally sensible technologies, and the EV charging station pilot is yet another example of this,” says Mayor John Tory, in officially launching the service Saturday in the city’s east end. “While we continue to navigate the unprecedented times of a global pandemic, we must also remain diligent in our commitment to finding ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.”

“Every government has a role in creating a pathways to EV ownership, this is a great step forward at the municipal level”
Brad Bradford, Councillor, Ward 19 Beaches-East York
Vancouver and Montreal led

As noted, Toronto’s curbside charging pilot comes after several similar projects in other cites. Montreal started its first pilot program in 2014, with Vancouver following suit in 2017. Ottawa is poised to join the curbside charging wave in the next few months.

Toronto’s chargers are reserved exclusively for overnight use by valid street parking permit holders and only those permit holders who drive EVs are able park in the designated charging spots. During the day the charging spots will be open to the public EV drivers as well. Rates during the day will be $2 per hour, while overnight will be a flat $3 fee.

This rate structure is “unique” compared to FLO’s other urban installations across North America, says Shean. The higher day rate encourages users to free up the station for daytime drivers. But the lower flat fee between 8 p.m. and 8 a.m. means residents can leave their car overnight connected and drive off in the morning with a full battery.

Rates during the day will be $2 per hour, while overnight will be a flat $3 fee
“We expect this to be a feature local residents will particularly appreciate and we are eager to see how this will translate into more EVs in the neighbourhoods where stations have been installed,” Shean says.

Funding for the pilot was provided by Toronto Hydro, with support from Natural Resources Canada. The City of Toronto provided signage, bylaws and the dedicated EV parking.

If phase one goes well, the city is prepared to expand the project to other areas.

Full list of residential curbside chargers:

500 Commissioners St. (M4M 3N7)
43 Alton Ave. (M4L 2M3)
Oakcrest Ave. & Westlake Ave. (M4C 1B8)
248 Shaw St. (M6J 2W9)
10 Palmerston Ave. (M6J 2H7)
29 Bowmore Rd. (M4L 3H8)
124 Mountjoy Ave. (M4J 1J8)
91 Elizabeth St. (M5G 1P4)
355 Wellington St. W. (M5V 1E7)
Editor’s note: This story was updated on November 7, 2020 to correct the date of the first curbside pilot in Montreal.

[roger1818]

Planning to install EV chargers in your condo? You’ll need a strategy

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Published on
06 November 2020
AUTHOR
Maxime Charron

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Installing EV chargers in condominiums/strata and multi-unit residential buildings can be a challenge. Charging consultant Maxime Charron shares a six-step plan for success
The first battery-electric and plug-in-hybrid electric vehicles entered the market over 10 years ago. Since then, countless home charging stations have been purchased and installed to provide the convenience of leaving home with a “full tank” every morning.

However, due to the current growth in the market, every day people ask me about the cost of home charging. The most common question: why is it so much more expensive to install an EV charging station in a shared parking lot — say, an underground parkade of a condominium/strata building — compared to a single-family house?

We are here to answer that question and provide a strategy for condo and strata owners to succeed in the process.

No shared panel, no problem

Let’s start with a typical single-family home, where the electric panel is located in the garage or close to an exterior wall. The panel is not shared with any other parties and is directly connected to the home utility metering system. In this scenario, a simple off-the-shelf charging unit (dumb or networked) will be the best option. If there is enough room available on the existing panel to add a 40-amp breaker, the process is very simple:

1. Purchase an EV charging unit of your choice.
2. Contact a local electrician for installation.

If there’s no room to add a new breaker on the panel, the options include installing a device (a DCC-9/10 unit depending on the scenario) that manages the load between the house and the charger, removing the need for a service upgrade.

Condos need a strategic plan

In a perfect world, it would be as easy to install EV charging stations in a condo. However, that is far from the actual case. In a condo parkade, the power comes from a house panel on common property that feeds services in common areas shared by all occupants.

Because the power from the panel is shared, it would be a mistake for the condo council to approve single requests to connect charging units without a strategic plan in place. Doing so could lead to headaches in the future as more people make the switch to EVs only to find the building no longer has any extra available electrical power.

We often see this mistake playing out in newer condos where a few residents come together to get a few charging stations in their own parking stall. This sometimes works for the short-term, but even the newest condo building will run out of power quickly as more people are switching to EVs. This scenario will lead to heated conflicts amongst condo owners. It is why planning the right future-proofing strategy is crucial.

Step-by-step process

Instead, many things need to be considered before any charging units are installed. To help condo owners navigate through the exercise, I recommend the following step-by-step process:

1. Schedule first meeting with condo council to gauge interest and get approval to investigate.
   
2. Schedule site visit by a local EV charging provider to determine the electrical availability for EV charging and service options.
   
3. Council to explain to condo/strata owners the different options/issues, choose and vote on the EV strategy to be implemented. Those options include:
   • Visitor stalls for everyone to use
   • Future-proof by roughing-in 100 per cent of stalls
   • Assigning one stall at a time (first-come, first-served)
   • Use load-sharing technology (smart charger vs. smart panel vs. dynamic) to install more stations with the same amount of power in the electrical infrastructure
4. Choice of equipment/service protocols (Open Charge Point Protocol or Proprietary Network)
   
5. Smart (networked) vs. dumb chargers? (Smart require Wi-fi or cellular reception)
   
6. Get pricing for the selected options from EV charger suppliers/installers.
   
7. Council approves EV charging supplier/installer to provide work.
   
8. Proceed with installation.

Solutions will vary

One of the most important factors determining the chosen plan is the building’s electrical infrastructure. Older buildings are less likely than newer ones to have free power to be tapped into.

In some scenarios, it will be cost-prohibitive to install the electrical infrastructure to suit 100 per cent of all residential stalls in a condo building. The long-term answer in those cases will likely be to invest in a few sharable stalls and require EV-driving residents to fulfill the balance of their needs at the growing fast-charging public network, as we currently do with gas stations. With vehicle charging speeds and range of charge increasing, making an occasional stop at the nearby fast-charging site to recharge can be part of the weekly routine.

Editor’s note: This story was updated on November 10th, 2020 to more accurately indicate the correct DCC types.

https://electricautonomy.ca/2020/11/...ing-in-condos/

[roger1818]

Earth Day Canada and IGA pair up to launch unique EV fast-charging network

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Published on
25 November 2020

AUTHOR
Emma Jarratt

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Starting next year, EV drivers in Quebec and New Brunswick will get the chance to plug in and give back using Canada’s first DC fast-charger network run by a national non-profit

Earth Day Canada, a Montreal-based, national environmental non-profit organization, has announced the launch of an electric vehicle fast-charging network across Quebec and New Brunswick.

The network, called EcoCharge, will consist of 100 DC fast-charging stations located at 50 IGA grocery store locations, for drivers who want to power up while stocking up.

EcoCharge is unique among charging networks in Canada in two ways: first, it’s the only such network run (and chiefly financed) by a non-profit organization; secondly, it’s the only one that offers to donate a portion of charging proceeds to charity.

Specifically, all charging fees collected on the 22nd of each month (Earth Day is April 22) will be donated to a local charity in the host’s jurisdiction.

Inspiring citizens

“Earth Day Canada wants to inspire citizens to transition to electric vehicles by focusing on the customer experience,” said Pierre Lussier, president of Earth Day Canada in a press release about the announcement. “Using the EcoCharge network means contributing to protecting the environment in two ways — encouraging the electrification of transportation and supporting Earth Day Canada’s programs at the same time.”

The 100 charging stations will be situated in both rural and urban IGA locations and will provide a full charge to any EV model (Tesla adapters are available) in 20 minutes — “the time it takes to shop for groceries” — notes Earth Day Canada.

With units operating at 62.5 kW charging speed, it claims to be the fastest network of multi-vehicle charging stations in Canada. All units feature two connectors: CCS Combo and CHAdeMO.


A map of the new Earth Day Canada and IGA charging station locations. Source: Earth Day Canada

Practical solution

“The presence of independent IGA stores in all regions of Quebec allows us to offer a practical solution to electric vehicle drivers who will be able to charge their vehicles in the time it takes to shop for groceries,” said Luc Daigle, president of the IGA Extra Daigle Supermarkets in the release. “Contributing to the installation of charging stations in the parking lots of our supermarkets is another way that we are doing our part for the environment.”

All but two charger sites are in Quebec — from Témiscaming in the west, to Rouyn-Noranda and St-Félicien in the north, and Gaspé in the east. The New Brunswick stations are in Edmundston and Caraquet. The full network is expected to be online by fall of 2021.

The project is financed with a combination of public and private funds: $8 million from Earth Day Canada, $5 million from Natural Resources Canada, $1.75 million from participating IGA grocers and Fonds Éco IGA.

Charities can apply

Charities eligible for the monthly program include those that do work in ecological or food security fields. Those that want to be included are encouraged to apply through Earth Day Canada’s website. Local IGAs and Earth Day Canada will choose recipients together.

And if all goes well with the launch, Earth Day Canada has plans to push the EcoCharge network national, says Lussier, in an e-mail to Electric Autonomy Canada.

“Our dream and vision is for Canadians to be able to drive across Canada powered by the EcoCharge network.”

https://electricautonomy.ca/2020/11/...fast-charging/

[roger1818]

A charging rate of 62.5 kW is a bit odd, but it does seem reasonable for a grocery store. Fast enough to get a decent amount of charge in the amount of time you are likely to be there, but not unnecessarily fast for the average amount of time a person will likely be there.

According to EcoCharge's website, there will be 2 locations in Gatineau, both planned for Summer / Fall 2021:

IGA Extra Gatineau
1248 boulevard de la Vérendrye E, Gatineau

and

IGA Famille Charles Chelsea
1703 Route 105, Chelsea

I can't find anything about rates.

[Truenorth00]

Question. How do you guys manage all these different charging networks or do you maintain loyalty to just one?

It's kinda getting ridiculous how many different companies are building their own network. Dunno how that fragmentation is helping adoption.

[roger1818]

Originally Posted by Truenorth00

Question. How do you guys manage all these different charging networks or do you maintain loyalty to just one?

It's kinda getting ridiculous how many different companies are building their own network. Dunno how that fragmentation is helping adoption.

How do you manage all those different companies (including independents) building gas stations or do you maintain loyalty to just one?

[CanadaGoose]

Originally Posted by roger1818

How do you manage all those different companies (including independents) building gas stations or do you maintain loyalty to just one?

The only two apps I use:
ChargePoint (which just acts like an Apple wallet card)
Electric Circuit (which lets me enable Flo and Electric Circuit stations)

Tesla, you just plug in and they just bill your credit card.

Technically, a FLO card works with ChargePoint and Electric Circuit. So technically you only need one card for the majority of charging stations.

And Petro Canada / Electrify Canada accept Credit Cards.
——
Paying for charging is a very very tiny issue. It’s just having a Presto card really


——
Regarding the 62.5KW, who knows? Electric cars are accepting faster charging speeds over time. At least it will bring the speed closer to Tesla Urban Supercharger level like the Rideau Centre.

It is also noted these stations can be converted to 125KW spilt power in the future.

——
My question is when will Orléans get a ChaDeMo station? And why are ChaDeMO stations being built without an accompanying L2 charger

——
In news, Aylmer opened. Place dOrleans is getting 4 L2s. All the Gatineau electric circuit L2s were upgraded from 208v to 240v.
Tesla started offering a program where property owners can install L2 Tesla only chargers and can charge a fee to users.

[Tesladom]

Honestly the Tesla one is the best, you just plug in.
I agree that having all these different networks is a PITA, probably a good opportunity for an APP developer to make a universal access app, "one account - all the networks in a single tap"
Gee why am I writing this on a public forum... Darn there goes my $100Million app!

[Tesladom]

Regardless, there is no need for all the charging stations. I've had my Model 3 for over 2.5 years and I only charged using public access charging at Ikea (because it was free and why not try?)
I use (well.. used to before COVID?) my car to travel, my clients are in Montreal, Ottawa and Toronto region, use my Tesla all the time, I'm still surprised to see how many react to the lack of public charging as a barrier - not true!! There is just a lack of decent EVs (ie non-Teslas)

This is what is needed:
- Supercharding or DC Fast Charging Network along major highways, no less than 150KW.
- Destination Chargers at all hotels and airports, not grocery stores!!
- Need some sort of funding to enable condos and street parking charging. Condos are raping EV owners, I've seen price like $15k for a charger install, ridiculous.

Also, here is a question you NEVER need to ask anymore -
"How long does it take you to charge at Home?"

I have 40AMP (32amp derated) at home, 56km/hr charging speed which is way too much, all I need in 240v 20AMP (this is my setup at my cottage). I think these Condo owners are overbuilding the infrastructure to accommodate power like 80AMPs, there's no need for this amount of juice!

Most people could actually work fine with a 120v, you would be surprised, if your car is sitting at home for 12 hours, you could get 100km of charge every night. People over-estimate the power draw and infrastructure needed for EVs

[roger1818]

Originally Posted by Tesladom

Honestly the Tesla one is the best, you just plug in.
I agree that having all these different networks is a PITA, probably a good opportunity for an APP developer to make a universal access app, "one account - all the networks in a single tap"
Gee why am I writing this on a public forum... Darn there goes my $100Million app!

The Plug&Charge (ISO 15118) standard will make things much better. It is an industry standard method of allowing the charger to identify your vehicle when you plug it in and bill you using your preferred payment method (similar to Tesla's proprietary system).

Also, Mogile Technologies is working on (with money from the Canadian Government) a standard payment method for charging stations across the country.

If both are implemented, you will only have to setup your payment information once and will then be able to just plug your car into a charger from any network, and it will know how to bill you for your charge (even if you have never used that network before). No cards or special accounts needed.

[Truenorth00]

Originally Posted by roger1818

How do you manage all those different companies (including independents) building gas stations or do you maintain loyalty to just one?

Putting gas is kinda frictionless. I don't need a membership to use a given gas station. And even discounts are minimal. Not the case with charging. That's why I asked.

Originally Posted by roger1818

The Plug&Charge (ISO 15118) standard will make things much better. It is an industry standard method of allowing the charger to identify your vehicle when you plug it in and bill you using your preferred payment method (similar to Tesla's proprietary system).

Also, Mogile Technologies is working on (with money from the Canadian Government) a standard payment method for charging stations across the country.

If both are implemented, you will only have to setup your payment information once and will then be able to just plug your car into a charger from any network, and it will know how to bill you for your charge (even if you have never used that network before). No cards or special accounts needed.

Very interesting. Makes sense. This is kind of what I was wondering about.

[Truenorth00]

Originally Posted by Tesladom

Honestly the Tesla one is the best, you just plug in.
I agree that having all these different networks is a PITA, probably a good opportunity for an APP developer to make a universal access app, "one account - all the networks in a single tap"
Gee why am I writing this on a public forum... Darn there goes my $100Million app!

Dunno if pay at pump is necessarily the challenge, as some can adopt open payments. I'm thinking that loyalty seems to have substantially more benefits with charging networks than gas stations. This is why I'm asking if people bother with that at all or simply just pay whatever they have to.

More interested to hear from non Tesla users (who I assume use the Tesla network almost exclusively) and/or those who don't charge at home or work.

[Truenorth00]

Originally Posted by Tesladom

This is what is needed:
- Supercharding or DC Fast Charging Network along major highways, no less than 150KW.

Agreed with this. The situation with the OnRoutes is a ridiculous joke at this point.

Originally Posted by Tesladom

- Destination Chargers at all hotels and airports, not grocery stores!!

The build out at grocery stores are primarily meant to service those who can't charge at home or work. And given the complications with installing chargers in Multi unit residences these numbers are going to be substantial for a long time to come. It also makes sense, because it's the one place where concurrent activity is routine and regular and of a sufficient duration to ensure a reasonable charge.

Originally Posted by Tesladom

- Need some sort of funding to enable condos and street parking charging. Condos are raping EV owners, I've seen price like $15k for a charger install, ridiculous.

I've been saying this for a while. But I get told us condo dwellers are irrelevant since there's way more people in homes who it's easier to cater to first. This is why fast chargers at grocery stores are a great idea.

Originally Posted by Tesladom

I have 40AMP (32amp derated) at home, 56km/hr charging speed which is way too much, all I need in 240v 20AMP (this is my setup at my cottage). I think these Condo owners are overbuilding the infrastructure to accommodate power like 80AMPs, there's no need for this amount of juice!

Some of that is probably just to enable sharing of the spot by enabling multiple cars to fill up on a given day or evening. Especially since most condos are going to repurpose an existing visitor spot, they don't want to take up more spots than necessary. Put in 15-20 kW per spot and the average owner will use it for 2-4 hrs per week, which means each spot could easily support 20-40 cars. Reduce the power and you need another spot.

[Tesladom]

Originally Posted by Truenorth00

Some of that is probably just to enable sharing of the spot by enabling multiple cars to fill up on a given day or evening. Especially since most condos are going to repurpose an existing visitor spot, they don't want to take up more spots than necessary. Put in 15-20 kW per spot and the average owner will use it for 2-4 hrs per week, which means each spot could easily support 20-40 cars. Reduce the power and you need another spot.

You need to know the ABC's for EV - Always Be Charging, its not good to only charge once a week, will lead to degradation. Having access to a constant low AMP feed is much better than fast charging once a week. Especially in Winter, you have a lot of Phantom drain and poor efficiency.
People claim to lose 30% range in winter, that is only partially true - you can expect to lose 30% efficiency on a single trip (I may get only 350km for example on a trip out of 500), but the real hit is much over 50% if you make multiple smaller trips, not uncommon for me in winter months to get 150km of driving distance out of 300+km of range, short trips sap a lot of range.
I use TezLab for my analytics