Tesla will provide Model S owners with improved charger connectors, following a half-dozen incidents in which wall plugs melted or smoked while vehicles were recharging. The redesigned adapter includes a thermal fuse designed to shut off charging if overheating is detected. Overheating can stem from inadequate household wiring, said Elon Musk. Tesla has already sent… Read more »
Search Results Found For: "Plug & Charge"
New paper: US policies to support plug-ins are ineffective
Governments around the world are taking many different measures to encourage the adoption of plug-in vehicles, but it’s far from clear which of these policies will prove to make sense in the long run. A new paper published in Energy Policy argues that current US policies are inefficient and ineffective. One of the main culprits… Read more »
December plugin sales: LEAF has best month ever, but Volt wins top spot for 2013
It was a banner year for plug-in vehicles, as 2013 sales (94,019) almost doubled 2012’s figure (52,581), and several new models made strong debuts – US buyers now have a choice of 16 mainstream plug-in models, compared to 9 at the end of last year. Overall US auto sales are up 8% in 2013, according… Read more »
A new roadmap for plugging EVs into California’s electrical grid
As EVs proliferate, the challenges of integrating them with the electrical grid will grow in importance. While an increase in peak demand is a concern, pessimists’ predictions that an influx of EVs will “overwhelm the grid” are vastly overblown. In fact, with some intelligent planning, EV batteries could be a valuable resource that improves the… Read more »
WiTricity to provide wireless charging technology for Prius Plug-In
The Prius Plug-In is going wireless, and WiTricity will be providing its resonant power transfer technology. This week, the Massachusetts-based MIT spinout announced an intellectual property license agreement with Toyota, which has been an investor in WiTricity since 2011. Toyota announced plans to add wireless charging to the Prius line in August. “We have heard… Read more »
Volvo won’t sell V60 diesel plug-in globally
Disappointing news for American lovers of Volvo station wagons: Senior VP Lex Kerssemakers told the Australian outlet Drive that the company will not offer the V60 diesel plug-in hybrid wagon globally. Instead, Yanks and Aussies will have to settle for a gasoline plug-in powertrain that will debut in the new XC90 SUV in late 2014…. Read more »
ChargePoint network grows to 50,000 users
This week, the ChargePoint network reached a milestone as driver number 50,000 joined up. Unsurprisingly, the 50,000th ChargePoint member resides in the San Francisco Bay Area. Less than an hour after signing up, the new user plugged in a Tesla Model S to a ChargePoint station at the Marin County Civic Center in San Rafael…. Read more »
Volvo’s plug-in hybrid buses save fuel, delight drivers
Field tests in Sweden have shown that Volvo’s plug-in hybrid buses reduce fuel consumption by 81% and total energy consumption (diesel plus electricity) by 61% compared to a comparable Euro 5 diesel bus. The silent, smooth ride is an added benefit. “Our performance results are even slightly better than we had anticipated. The plug-in hybrid… Read more »
ClipperCreek charging station comes with a choice of wall plugs
ClipperCreek has announced that its LCS-25P, a Level 2, 5 kW charging station, is now available with a wide selection of factory-installed wall plugs. The LCS-25P can be ordered directly from the factory with your choice of NEMA L6-30, 14-30P, 14-50P and 6-50P plugs, at a price of $549 (the hard-wired LCS-25 version is $495)…. Read more »
Washington and Oregon drivers love I-5 DC fast chargers
EV drivers are putting the West Coast Electric Highway to use – new data from the Washington state Department of Transportation shows that the state’s 14 DC fast charging stations have delivered more than 10,000 charges since the first of them went into service in May 2012. Total monthly usage doubled to 1,125 charging sessions… Read more »