How To Charge Your Electric Vehicle

I get asked this question a lot.

And most people don't believe me when I tell them how easy it really is!  On an electric vehicle charging station, there will always be a connector that you can release and then plug into the inlet on your electric vehicle.  This cord is standard, and it is formally called a J1772.  I like to call it the "connector."

Why a J1772?  Not sure, you can ask the Society of Automotive Engineers.

This connector is safe, reliable and easy to use.  There are 5 pins if you look into the connector directly.  3 pins are used to deliver the electricity to your vehicle, and 2 pins are for transferring and collecting data.

All you have to do when you get to an EV charging station is release the connector from the charging station, plug it into your vehicle and you're ready to go!

Although you should keep in mind that as more and more EV charging stations get deployed, you will see an influx of charging station passes, or what we refer to at SemaConnect as our SemaCharge Pass.

This card works very similarly to your average metro pass, with some sophisticated add-ons.

In order to use the card, you'll have to sign up and put a balance on the card.  Then each time you go to charge your electric car, all you have to do is hold the card up to the charging station, and it will authenticate your unique card and information.

So what makes it sophisticated?

When you set up your card information, you'll also be setting up your online account in order to use the web-based software.  Here you can manage your charging bills, add more money to your card, run sustainability reports, and locate charging stations.


Need more info? Check out this video I made:


Send me your feedback and tell me how easy it was for you to charge your EV!

Governor O'Malley & SemaConnect Charging Stations

Happy Earth Day! 

This morning was a great event!

Governor Martin O'Malley, Delegates Jim Malone and Jon Cardin, Jill Sorensen of BEVI, Paul Wiedefeld of BWI and SemaConnect CEO Mahi Reddy celebrated Earth Day by unveiling 8 new ChargePro Charging Stations and the roll out of over 80 EV charging stations in the state of Maryland by June 2011.

We're so happy and proud to be part of this initiative!  We look forward to helping EV drivers fuel their vehicles and manage their charging through our software.

Check out some of the photos!  Please excuse the grainy texture of the photos.  Will upload better quality ones soon.  Consider this the sneak peak version.

Governor Martin O'Malley plugging in SemaConnect's ChargePro Charging Station

SemaConnect CEO, Mahi Reddy, and Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley proudly unveiling 8 charging stations at BWI Thurgood Marshal Airport

Mahi Reddy, Jill Sorensen, Dan McDonald, Governor O'Malley, and Malcolm Woolf

 A million thanks to everyone who made this possible!

(Photos: Click here)

Yay! We're Officially METLabs Certified!

We are so proud and happy to announce that SemaConnect's ChargePro 620 Electric Vehicle Charging Station has now achieved METLabs Certification!

What does this mean?

For the Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment Industry, or the EV charging station industry, reaching certification means that your system has undergone rigorous testing and is now "safe," to use.  You might have heard about MET, UL, CE, ETL, etc.  You'll notice on practically all of your electronics that there is some symbol to showcase that the product that you're using is safe.

This is a huge milestone for SemaConnect, and will continue producing a quality product and software.

Thank you to the entire team at SemaConnect for their hard and tireless work in achieving this.   Thank you to everyone who continues to support SemaConnect and the work that we do.  It is very important us, and means so much.

Here is the Press Release:

SemaConnect Achieves MetLabs Certification for the

ChargePro Electric Vehicle Charging Stations
MetLabs Certified ChargePro EV Charging Stations comes bundled with

sophisticated software making it the safe, easy and affordable choice.

ANNAPOLIS, Md. – SemaConnect, a leading developer and producer of networked electric vehicle charging stations and sophisticated station owner and driver software, today announced that it’s ChargePro 620 charging stations has achieved MetLabs certification.  The stations are making it safe, easy and reliable for commercial applications such as municipalities, businesses, hotels, fleets, parking garages, and multifamily homes to install, use and manage.

“We are very pleased that our stations have been certified to UL standards by MetLabs.  MET has performed dozens of tests on our systems addressing various aspects including electrical safety, corrosion resistance and weather resistance,” said Mahi Reddy, CEO of SemaConnect.  “This thorough testing has validated the SemaConnect ChargePro as a world class system designed to high standards of safety and reliability.”

As the U.S.’s first OSHA-licensed Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratory, MET Laboratories is an internationally recognized resource for regulatory certification of electrical products for the worldwide marketplace. Testing both the North American and UK Tesla Roadster, MET is an experienced provider of testing services for electric vehicle product manufacturers.  Testing covers product safety, electromagnetic compatibility, and environmental simulation, including requirements for flame testing, water absorption, impact testing, and chemical exposure.

“We are proud to be one of the very first labs to test to UL 2231-1 and UL 2231-2.  These are new standards that require special setups to simulate an electric vehicle under charge.”

Charles Haggins, MET Laboratories Baltimore Safety Lab Manager.

The ChargePro is Level II, which is the primary and preferred method for charging in commercial locations. Sophisticated web-based software for station owners and EV drivers come bundled with each station, making it easy to:

·      Generate new revenue for station owners

·      Produce fossil fuel and sustainability reports

·      Send SMS or Email notifications to drivers of charging status

·      Authenticate drivers using RFID smart cards

·      Smart Grid integration for flexible pricing and load management

About SemaConnect, Inc.

SemaConnect is a leading developer and producer of networked electric vehicle charging stations and sophisticated software for station owners and EV drivers.  Municipalities, fleets, offices, multi-family homes, retail/hotel and parking garages now have a safe, easy and affordable charging station option.  To request a charging station, visit www.semaconnect.com or call us at (410) 384 – 4223.  Follow us on Twitter @Sema_Connect and learn more about EV infrastructure on our YouTube Channel, SemaConnect. 

Electric Car Charging Stations Installed In Baltimore

Watch coverage of our Level 2 EV Charging Stations in Baltimore City here!

RADIO: The Issues With Electric Vehicles

Mahi Reddy, CEO at SemaConnect was recently on The Marc Steiner Show on WEAA 88.9FM discussing the issues with electric vehicles with Kristin Zimmerman, member of the Volt Infrastructure Team in General Motors Research and Development, Mahi Reddy, CEO of SemaConnnect, Jill Sorensen, director of the Electric Vehicle Initiative for Baltimore and Washington (BEVI), and Charlie Garlow, Electric Vehicle builder, longtime electric vehicle proponent, and BEVI member.

Listen to the whole show here!

Why Electric Infrastructure Makes Sense

[image courtesy of NPR]

In the past couple of years there has become an emergence for sustainable options from automobiles to plastic bags to even eco ipod cases.—and with good cause!

Specifically for the auto industry, the push for electric vehicles has now passed the brainstorming phase and has entered new terrain: the mass market.  But why is there still so much confusion about why an electric vehicle makes sense, and more importantly, why it would be easier to build an electric infrastructure that is able to support it.

There are a plethora of reasons why it would, and wouldn’t makes sense, but here is something to think about…

Electric vehicles require electric charging stations in public locations across the nation in order for it to become a feasible option for the mass market to consider purchasing an electric car.  Why not hydrogen?  Why not diesel?

The answer? 

Because of something called, The Electric Grid.

Without a doubt it’s an old framework that needs some serious mending, however, its transmission lines run from the most metropolitan cities to the most rural and discreet locations through the U.S.  From the streets of Los Angeles to the back roads in North Carolina, electricity exists. 

This makes the idea of building an electric vehicle charging infrastructure that much closer to probability.  That also means, that the U.S. is intrinsically geared to take on such a task. 

What are your thoughts?

Apartment Building Allows Electric Cars To Charge Up

Read about our Charging Station install in Baltimore City here.