Just saw that my Giant store has a Volta charger now. They are a free charging network with units installed by a local business. There are DC chargers in addition to the usual Level 2. Advertising partially supports them; the one I saw has a sizable screen. Volta was mentioned at another site, and I ended up taking a brief look at their terms and conditions. You have to sign up and get the app. There are charging fees when you exceed a kWh or time limit, plus potential parking fees. Been a couple months since I read them, but there could be other limits, like network use per month, that trigger fees. There was a bit that would allow Volta to charge if a customer is deemed abusing the system. If used as intended, using the charger when running errands at the location, it is free. Volta Charging - The Most Utilized EV Charging Stations
I've used/seen them at shopping malls, grocery stores, and first saw them at Walgreens. Common theme is 2 hrs free, honor system. Some are "defective" and stop at 40 mins.... REVVL V+ 5G ?
There are some at various Stop&Shop markets in Mass and Conn. My rough guess would be at ~15% of the Stop&Shop markets, and often in the areas with higher average incomes.
their webpage made me smile. Down towards the bottom it states how many millions of gallons of "gas" their charging network has saved. So - does Volta measure the "gas" that power electric generation in "gallons? just kidding of course, but it does make one wonder how many BTU's difference there is between natural gas generators for recharging and gallons of gasoline that go into the tank. Apples to apples.
Gas turbines are more thermally efficient than the engines in may cars, and motors in EVs do a better job of converting energy into motive force. Then Volta chargers may not be powered by natural gas. Could be coal, or could be nuclear, hydro, wind, or even cow poop. Their chargers are apparently available cross country.
The only ones in South Orange County were near the Metrolink train station and Angel Stadium, or whatever they call it now. Like evgo, they were very very expensive. Everyone - enjoy the free while it lasts .
Looking at the map of available charger installations, the closest Volta Charging to me are the 625 listed in the Philly area. The farthest (in the US anyways) are probably the 298 in the Seattle area or the 660 in the LA area. Other notable locations are Houston and Chicago, Volta Charging - Find a Volta Station Only one week left if interested in finding an event close to where you live. Drive Electric Earth Day
The absence of cable management is often a problem as cars drive and park on them. Few J1772 connectors survive being parked on. Also, that large screen also looks like another failure point. I had to use a Blink charger only to find the South facing video display is rapidly fading to illegible. Regardless, good luck to them. Bob Wilson
People (around here) are horrible about putting the cable back after charging. Sometimes they are even twisted like the phone cords from base to handset. I tried one yesterday and it was broken, (the other one had a Volt charging). "Only for Whole Foods customers" was on the sign. Also 2 hr limit... REVVL V+ 5G ?
Make of EVSE? Broken how? Yesterday, I had my wife drive by the two Whole Foods, ChargePoint EVSE. One had a broken latch and the other, I'd tie-wrapped the cable management to an unused cable. I showed her the workaround for a broken latch as I've seen at least three incidents. Bob Wilson
It was (I believe free) Volta station. (It had the huge ad screen). Nothing looked physically amiss (latch intact and clicked) but the (very thick) cord was twisted like a twisted handset cord. I untwisted it mostly and wrapped it up on the hook. It just would not charge and Volta app confirmed it was down. REVVL V+ 5G ?
Sometimes they can be turned off after hours. Especially the single chargers at smaller retail locations. It's still possible sometimes to use them if they are turned off by calling the network company support, depending on the owners agreement with the network company.
After hours is when juice is often the cheapest. Kind of a backwards logic having them off. But of course owners don't have to be rational.
Network support usually doesn't tell anyone why a charger is down, and time of use cost reductions in this area are only available for business customers. And small business probably don't gain much if they choose that program. But it might be one reason to ask the network to shut off the single charger at night.
