Saturday, January 7, 2012

Thank you, Progress Energy

A few days ago, Progress Energy installed a free 240v charger in my garage. The deal was that in return for the free charger, they get to monitor my usage, to get a better idea of EV charging patterns.


To be honest, I don't think it will change the pattern of my charging that much. I have the Volt set to only charge during off-peak hours, so the major difference is that it will charge faster.

This does mean that I'll be able to get almost a full recharge during the 1-4pm winter off-peak afternoon window, so that might come in handy if I do a lot of driving in the morning and then need to go out in the afternoon. And a few years down the road, when my wife gets a new car (which we'd like to be an EREV minivan-class vehicle), it will make charging two cars easier (especially since such a vehicle will have a bigger battery than the Volt).

The one quibble I have with the new charger is that the charging plug doesn't have as good "plug feel" as the Volt's standard 120v charger. The Volt plug has a really positive "click" feel when you insert and remove it; this one always leaves me wondering a bit if I've got it fully seated. Also, the position of the unlatch button (on top of the plug) isn't as convenient.

But you can't beat the price!