Charging the LEAF at an Autolib Station - Take 3

Last saturday, with my son, we did charge the LEAF at an Autolib Charging Station in La Defense ...

It is finally plugged in and charging after a few problems with the charging program I forgot to override before plugging in the J1772, so I had to unplug, charge timer off,  and replug


Of course we know that this is forbidden: we are using 2 charging spots here; one to park, and the one upfront because we plug into its charge port



About the Blue color code: it was green before we plugged in, and became Blue right after, so this Blue ALSO means: Third Party EV using the spot, not only spot booked 






Again, this spot configuration is very tight for the LEAF, and it was kind of difficult to get in without touching the charge ports, because we had to climb on a sidewalk to get in ....



A Model S would not fit at all, don't try :-)



I did not touch thanks to the backup camera



First text message from Autolib billing me for 20mn of charge (that is the minimum even if you charge few seconds) :-(



We are charging



thee was a beautiful sky ...







I used to work in this tower in the back







A little shopping for breakers for the DIY ESS Kit #2



I wanted to find the exact same enclosure, small, to fit on the Control Board







Back at the car, as soon as I unplugged I got an text message from Autolib: 83cts for almost and hour, kind of cheap for a 3kW charge :-)



And on their iPhone app, I can now see the invoices for these lats two charges

DIY EVSE Build Day by Kevin Sharpe from Zero Carbon World in the UK

Kevin Sharpe, founder of ZeroCarbonWolrd.org, gathered with friends to present the build of a DIY EVSE for any Electric Car in Europe

Very professional build and very instructive video, thanks Kevin !

"On Sunday 20th October 2013, Founder & Patron of Zero Carbon World - Kevin Sharpe, joined David Peilow and Grant Thomas for the UKs FIRST Electric Vehicle Supply Equpment (EVSE) Build Day. They built 3 32 Amp PORTABLE EVSE chargers. The whole event was followed live on Twitter using the hashtag #EVSEBuildDay.

What?

The objective was to show just how simple an Electric Car Charging station is; essentially 3 components. The completed units can charge all current and future electric cars as you can choose what connectivity.

Why?

This Portable EVSE will allow an Electric Car driver to connect to 'normal' electrical outlets found on Camp Sites, yachting marinas, commercial and hotels as well as the early Zero Carbon World Charging stations. This 32 Amp Commando Connection will allow a BMW i3 or a Leaf Mk 1.5 or a Tesla to charge at the full 32 Amps. Equally you could choose to fit a 16A commando plug, or indeed anything else you would like. Or build a simple 32A to 16A commando converter - we'll show you that as well!

An electric car, like the Nissan LEAF, comes with a charging cable (AKA EVSE brick) that trickle charges a Nissan LEAF at 10 Amps, meaning about 10 hours for a full charge. Using a dedicated charging station, or this Portable EVSE Charger, the same car could charge 60% faster at 16 Amps from a commando plug connection, and hence charges 60% quicker. If you have a BMW i3, or if you have paid £800 for the 6.6kWh charger in the Mk1.5 LEAF, you can charge at a full 32 Amps using this Portable EVSE, from a 32A Commando Connection reducing charging time to 4 hours.

As a Nissan LEAF / BMW i3 / Vauxhall Ampera / Citroen C-Zero / Mistubishi iMiev driver this will give you the flexibility to charge where and how you want. It's an essential piece of kit for the roving EV driver!"