Howdy all! I'm looking forward to getting my 2020 Prius Prime next week to help with a 118-mile round-trip commute to work. While Austin, Texas, has many EV charging stations located throughout the city, there are two viable options for charging while at work: walk 15 minutes to a ChargePoint L2 station and pay $2/hr to charge, or plug into a 110V outlet in the company's parking garage. I've asked my company's site management about EV charging stations and was told the property management company plans to install charging stations, but no dates on when it might actually happen. Has anyone worked with their employer and/or landlord to get EV charging stations installed? Any lessons learned or tips to share? I'd also be interested in hearing how other companies have implemented EV charging at their sites, including costs, agreements, etc. Thanks!
OP, Based on where you live, I believe you'd cost your company about ~.59 cents for a full charge. This is based on the Commercial rate of 8.75 cents X ~6.5; then I round up a little. Maybe based on these cheap numbers they give it to you as a perk... Rob43
I totally agree. Some other employee at the same company that looks at FB or shops on Amazon a little bit everyday costs the company more in lost productivity. Rob43
I managed to get a very anti EV company to allow charging by providing the math and by finding out who the decision makers were in my case we had a new environmental person. we also had existing standard outlets. I strongly recommend you offer the cheap route (outlets) before you mention charge station due to the 10x cost savings also EV charge locations should ideally be in a very undesirable portion of the parking lot (far away) this minimizes the likelihood of being ice’d, and also keeps only those who need to charge in the spot. alsothe perception from management is very adversarial if they think you are getting a special spot, hence my suggestions above
My company has a half dozen ChargePoint stations but they are for company vehicles only. Employees with a plugin hybrid or full electric vehicle have to use any available 110V outlets. And to think the company offered a $12,000 discount on the latest Nissan Leaf for employees, but won't let them use the ChargePoints...
I worked with the owner of the facility I lead for them and they were willing to let me charge up for free. But their monthly electric bill is very large, so my little addition to their monthly bill will get lost. You never know unless you ask though.
While electricity cost/charge especially for a car like PRIME is not that large, logistics of having dedicated circuit and installing a charge station near the parking is something not easily implemented. There was a talk of installing a charge station for employees at my work. But that was over two years ago. It is still in planning phase???
We have an available 120V outlet where I can park in the shade and charge for free at our office. It saves me some electricity at home and saves me some gas. But it probably only costs my employer about $2 a week.
My employer does offer charging spots, but its pretty underwhelming (3 spots for two 12-story buildings). So far, I've been able to charge everyday, but I'm jockeying for time/space with a couple of Teslas, another Prius Prime, and maybe two BMWs. Oh, and the 3 spots only have two Level 2 chargers (but there are 120V outlets). I'm definitely considering asking for them to install more charging spots. However, one thing that might make it easier for the big ask is to look at state/utility incentives. In Texas, it seems like there may be a state and/or an utility incentive for installing EVSEs: Alternative Fuels Data Center: Electricity Laws and Incentives in Texas
There's a wall outlet in the back of the building where I work, so I asked them if I could plug in and they didn't care. I "fill up" every day.
I’m not sure they look that closely or care that much. They’re from the Midwest and when I showed up in my prime at work and asked, I’m not sure he knew what to say. Said he hadn’t seen one before, but the effect to their bottom line is small, and that’s his focus.
Thank you everyone for the discussion! I created a Slack channel for my company's location for EV owners, which had 15 people join the conversation. One of the participants told me about Austin Energy's "Plug-In EVerywhere" program with ChargePoint that allows EV owners to charge at Austin-area stations for $50/yr, which I immediately signed up for. In the past, EV owners at my company's location were told to utilize the parking garage outlets. However, there's been a change in ownership of the property, and the new landlord is trying to attract more tenants to the campus and are banking on the EV charging stations to be a draw. I'm hoping by getting the EV owners at the location together, we can accelerate the landlord's plans with information about local and state incentives, ensure there are enough charging stations, and help shape policy so that using the chargers are equitable for drivers and the landlord.
