Chevy Volt Home Charging Station: The Voltec 240V
Geschreven op 10-10-2010 - Erik van Erne. Geplaatst in Vervoer en OV
Chevrolet has an agreement with a supplier to offer Chevrolet Volt owners one of the most affordable 240V home charging units on the market.
Priced by SPX Service Solutions at $490 before installation. The Voltec 240V home charging unit can charge the Volt’s battery from depleted to charged in about four hours, compared with 10 hours with the standard 120V charge cord that plugs into a household outlet. Installation of the Voltec 240V charging unit is estimated at $1,475 but can vary based upon electrical requirements.
In addition to Chevrolet’s Voltec unit, SPX will sell a variety of home charging stations and manage all aspects of installation for Volt owners, including the home survey, installation, permitting, Department of Energy and utility coordination, and identification of available programs and incentives for reduced charging rates. The Volt can charge just fine from a standard outlet and comes with a 120V-to-J1772 charger. Using that method will take around ten hours to reach a full charge from empty, while using 240V charger Voltec charger will cut that down to around four hours. For people who have short commutes or plan to leave the Volt plugged in every night, a 240V system might be overkill since the Volt has a gasoline-powered generator on board to extend its range should the electrons dry up.
The Voltec system’s $2,000 overall cost, however, is in line with the Aerovironment 240V charge station for the all-electric Nissan Leaf. Nissan says that charger will cost $2,200 installed, though Leaf fans began complaining that Nissan was forcing owners to use just one installer and the automaker has since pointed out that there are cheaper alternatives available. Of course, there are ways to get free chargers (i.e. luck out and live in place with local incentives or be one of the first Volt buyers), but most people looking to add a Volt to their garage will need to cough up an extra $2,000 to receive quick-charging functionality. Source: Autoblog Green
Erik van Erne zegt:
2 november 2010 om 15:29 | Permalink
The Chevy Volt: An Electric Car With Its Own IP Address
Given the Volt’s reliance on its software and electronic components, it’s no wonder that GM relied heavily on IBM’s software to put all the pieces together.
As explained in Monday’s press release, GM used IBM’s suite of Rational software products (which includes design and simulation tools) “to develop some of the Volt’s critical electronic controls for the vehicle’s innovative battery system, electric drive unit, and cabin electronics.” According to LeBlanc, IBM’s software allowed disparate engineering teams to collaborate, put products to the test and it helped them model and better understand how various electronic systems would interact.
That’s a significant departure from the past, when GM’s engineering teams would develop components independently, with minimal sharing during the development process.
Forging ahead, the GM/IBM partnership for the Volt is expected to be a template for the development of new GM cars: “We hope to extend the Rational platform to other vehicle lines. Cars are only going to be more complex, every automaker will have to deal with that higher level of complexity and interaction.” Source: TechCrunch