An Achilles heel of many electric vehicles is the limited range they provide making them inappropriate for 75% of the driving population. Ironically the drivers who stand to benefit the most from the electric vehicle’s low running cost (the high mileage drivers) are least likely to be able to make use of an EV due to its limited range.

If vehicle range could be doubled many more drivers could take advantage of the technology. There *is* a simple way to double EV car ranges without expensive battery upgrades!!

The workplace is somewhere a vehicle is often parked for 8 or more hours. Charging at the workplace effectively doubles the commuting range of EV’s making them a viable choice for people with 100+ mile round trips to work. An 80 mile round trip can cost up to $20 per day using a gasoline vehicle. Driving an EV instead could save a long distance commuter $4,000 a year in fuel costs alone! Several people I know would like to buy an EV but simply can’t take advantage because of long commutes.

ICE’D at McDonalds !!

I analyzed the locations of 128 Blink Level 2 charging stations in the Greater Nashville area and found that only 16% are located at work places. 40% are located at retail locations that drivers are likely to spend less than an hour parked at. Drivers are not going to chose a car because they can shop with it, they are going to choose one that will get them to work and back everyday. We need to be able to charge ’em where we park ’em.

I believe a better placement for grant sponsored chargers is at employers premises. Retail locations make better placements for Level 3 fast chargers that can charge a vehicle in less than half an hour.