My last post about Coin operated public charging stations was met with some confusion.
http://gm-volt.com/forum/showthread.php?87314-Coin-operated-public-charging-station-market
Some thought a coin operated charging station setup would be very expensive.
Some thought it would create overhead to hire someone to empty the coin slot.
Some thought it would invite theft.
One person “trainorders” got the right picture.
“I think it is a cool idea for small businesses who want to put in a low cost charging station and not have it abused by the people who leave their car there for hours to charge up for free. You could put a simple quarter mechanical timer mechanism on a charging station that gives someone an hour at a time. It would not be a money maker, but it would prevent abuse. You drop a quarter into the slot, turn the handle and the timer turns it off after an hour.
This is a good option for small businesses and avoid joining a costly network. The problem with credit cards is the merchants gets charged a .30-.50 transaction charge, plus a percentage. This is not a good deal if you are only charging a couple of bucks to plug in.”
The ideal setup for a fast food or coffee shop would be coin operated L2 charging stations.
Turns out coin operated outlet timers exist and are relatively cheap. $150 on eBay.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Coin-operat...Control-electronicl-device-110V-/250954351133
All that’s needed is one that’s rated for level 2 charging stations like the $850 GE Indoor/Outdoor Level-2 Watt-Station.
http://www.homedepot.com/p/GE-EV-ch...i_kw=&ci_gpa=pla&ci_src=17588969#.Up_Of02A19A
For less than $1,500 you can own a revenue producing charging station with “NO MONTHLY SERVICE FEE”.
If this catches on companies like Chargepoint will die. Get rid of the middle man I always say.
Seems like an opportunity is waiting for an enterprising individual.
http://gm-volt.com/forum/showthread.php?87314-Coin-operated-public-charging-station-market
Some thought a coin operated charging station setup would be very expensive.
Some thought it would create overhead to hire someone to empty the coin slot.
Some thought it would invite theft.
One person “trainorders” got the right picture.
“I think it is a cool idea for small businesses who want to put in a low cost charging station and not have it abused by the people who leave their car there for hours to charge up for free. You could put a simple quarter mechanical timer mechanism on a charging station that gives someone an hour at a time. It would not be a money maker, but it would prevent abuse. You drop a quarter into the slot, turn the handle and the timer turns it off after an hour.
This is a good option for small businesses and avoid joining a costly network. The problem with credit cards is the merchants gets charged a .30-.50 transaction charge, plus a percentage. This is not a good deal if you are only charging a couple of bucks to plug in.”
The ideal setup for a fast food or coffee shop would be coin operated L2 charging stations.
Turns out coin operated outlet timers exist and are relatively cheap. $150 on eBay.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Coin-operat...Control-electronicl-device-110V-/250954351133
All that’s needed is one that’s rated for level 2 charging stations like the $850 GE Indoor/Outdoor Level-2 Watt-Station.
http://www.homedepot.com/p/GE-EV-ch...i_kw=&ci_gpa=pla&ci_src=17588969#.Up_Of02A19A
For less than $1,500 you can own a revenue producing charging station with “NO MONTHLY SERVICE FEE”.
If this catches on companies like Chargepoint will die. Get rid of the middle man I always say.
Seems like an opportunity is waiting for an enterprising individual.