This didn’t seem to post so apologies is this is redundant.
Some time ago, I asked why there was a Tesla charging station. I was told it was for experimental purposes. I was good with that. I think that was long ago enough for the results of the experiment to be known. What are the results? That being said, and not because I have an agenda, I think it is time to turn off the experiment unless there is a real reason to continue. Lets face it… Teslas are subsidized by the government. https://www.tesla.com/support/incentives And the power that comes from the charging station is not environmentally sound since the power comes from natural gas as best I can tell https://www.eia.gov/state/?sid=TX So I suggest we unplug the “special” Power and parking space allocated until we also add a gasoline pump… I personally have a hybrid but that is because I am interested in the technology, BUT I support no illusions it is “saving the planet”, rather I think it is an interesting test in energy conservation. So … I think there is no valid reason for this experiment to continue. Please correct me if I am wrong. Otherwise… lets free up another parking space.
As an addendum… IF someone is willing to put solar panels on the roof… AND … acquire batteries to supply energy 24/7 for Tesla recharging… AND willing to pay for it all because this is not a Makerspace expense. I say Keep the charger and parking space… Otherwise…
I understand that we also have charging for other electric cars as well
Natural gas is cleaner than gasoline and it moves pollution out of the city so
that is good for ozone
The Tesla charging station is NOT an experiment. The cost of operation of the car chargers doesn’t even show up on our electric bill. It is a rounding error. It isn’t enough to justify putting in equipment to monitor it.
The Tesla charging station was donated by Tesla, along with $1500 to pay for the 100A circuit to it. Part of the agreement for the donation was that it would be outside, available for use by any Tesla driver as part of the Tesla “Destination Charging” program. It advertises Dallas Makerspace to every Tesla driver in the area via the center console of the car. This is very cheap, very good quality exposure of Dallas Makerspace to people that have disposable income and think outside of the box.
Many (most) of the Tesla owners that have used the charger have donated after using it.
As of last summer (2016) Dallas Makerspace was paying a commercial rate of $0.079/KWh for electricity (down about 9% from summer 2014). Our current rate is even cheaper, but I don’t have it handy.
To get the cost per hour, multiply the cost per KWh ($0.079) by the Kilowatts drawn by the car (208v x Amps). Many EVs, like most 2011/2012 Nissan Leafs, pull only 15A when charging and will cost less than $0.25 per hour to charge. The Tesla EVSE is on a dedicated 100A circuit and is set to the 80A charge rate, but it only gives that higher rate to the few Tesla cars that are equipped with dual chargers.
Amps Volts KiloWatt $/Hour Examples
15A 120v 1.8KW $0.14 Bikes, Scooters, Motorcycles, older DIY
15A 208v 3.1KW $0.24 Volt, iMiEV, older LEAF, most Hybrid, most DIY
30A 208v 6.2KW $0.49 new LEAF, BMW i3/i8, Focus EV, some DIY
40A 208v 8.3KW $0.66 most Tesla, RAV4 EV, high-end DIY
80A 208v 16.6KW $1.31 Tesla Model S/X (Dual Charger)
Plus I just think it is cool that we’re a Tesla charging station. It sends a great message to everyone that DMS supports alternative energy vehicles. Now if we could just get solar on the roof.
In two years I’ve seen one Tesla charging. Guy wanted a tour, would be surprised if he didn’t donate.
Steve, I can understand the sentiment but the data we have seems to indicate this is most likely a net positive for the space and a cost that’s so low the best option is to leave it be. We’d save more money if people just closed the dock doors faster.
We probably could - but it just wouldn’t be particularly cost-effective since we rent the facility and would either abandon it or cough up a lot of money to tear it down and re-install it at another location should we move.