Thursday, March 20, 2014

Quick Guide to Buying Your First Home EV Charger

Quick Guide to Buying Your First Home EV Charger

By  · January 13, 2014
Close-up EVSE
It may surprise EV newbies to learn that an electric car’s charger is found on board the vehicle. It’s the equipment buried in the guts of the car that takes an AC source of juice from your house, and converts it to DC—so your car’s battery pack can be charged.
That's a fact. But it doesn’t stop nearly everybody from calling the wall-mounted box that supplies 240 volts of electricity a “charger.” Actually, that box, cord and plug has a technical name—Electric Vehicle Service Equipment or EVSE—and if you have an EV, you’re going to want to install one at home.
So, it’s slightly misleading to say we’re providing guidance about chargers, because we’re really talking about buying an EVSE—which is essentially no more than an electrical device allowing drivers to safely connect an electric car to a 240-volt source of electricity. It’s not rocket science, and you should not overthink the selection and installation of an EVSE.
That said, there are important differences between the various home chargers (uh, I mean EVSEs). And there are a few best practices to keep in mind.

Wednesday, March 12, 2014

Transportation Alternatives: An Interview with Paul Steely White, Execut...

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Having won accolades like Motor Trend's Car of the Year, the Tesla Model S has positioned itself squarely at the top of the electric car field.
Luckily for those who want to drop gasoline but don't have $70,000 to spend on a ride, there are plenty of other options.
Not that it's easy to know which is the best balance of price, range, looks, and power.
To help out, we've put together a comparison chart, noting the most important specs for the nine best electric cars (including two plug-in electric hybrids) on the road today or the near future.
The orange bar represents the most impressive car for each category. Note that charge times vary widely based on equipment and battery options for each vehicle. (We've selected charge times, provided by the automakers, for the more expensive options.)
Take a look by clicking the [MORE] link below:
electric vehicle car comparison chart


Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/electric-car-comparison-chart-2013-8#ixzz2voh9gWky

What Georgetown U is doing

GETTING AROUND CAMPUS: SUSTAINABLE CAMPUS FLEET
GUTS Shuttle BusGeorgetown operates a variety of alternative-fuel vehicles in our campus fleet:
  • Biodiesel - A biodiesel blend - B20 when available - is used in all diesel-burning vehicles in the campus fleet, including the University-run (GUTS) shuttle buses and the campus-operated waste collection trucks.Click to read more about biodiesel on campus.
  • Electric utility vehicles - The University's fleet of golf carts for local travel around campus contains 40 electric vehicles.
  • "The Veggie Car" - GU Outdoor Edmaintains a VW Jetta outfitted with an engine that burns reprocessed vegetable oil. The vehicle is used for travel to and from Outdoor Ed trips as well as for sustainability education purposes.
  • Electric Plug-in Passenger Cars - Georgetown participated in a research initiative with the Toyota Motor Company to test-drive prototype electric plug-in Priuses during 2010 and 2011. Read more at our Electric Vehicle Research Initiative page.

Thursday, March 6, 2014

Opequon featured at Eastern Pandhandle Home Show



From: Fri, Mar 14 2014 - 10:00am to Sun, Mar 16 2014 - 6:00pm The 19th Annual Eastern Panhandle Home Builders Association Home Show will be held on March 14-16 2014 at Martinsburg Mall in Martinsburg, WV.