St. John Properties Installs EV Charging Stations!

Pictured left to right Mahi Reddy, CEO and Founder of SemaConnect; Jerry Wit, Senior Vice President of St. John Properties and Justin Schaub, Director of Sustainability for St. John Properties.

ST. JOHN PROPERTIES UNVEILS SEMACONNECT ELECTRIC VEHICLE (EV) CHARGING STATIONS AT CORPORATE HEADQUARTERS AND MAPLE LAWN

Effort Supports Maryland EV Infrastructure Program

ANNAPOLIS, Dec. 13, 2011 – St. John Properties, Inc., one of the Mid-Atlantic region’s largest privately-held commercial real estate firms, and SemaConnect, a leading developer and producer of smart networked electric vehicle charging stations and sophisticated electric vehicle (EV) station software, today unveiled several ChargePro EV charging stations at two of its business parks: St. John Properties’ corporate headquarters in Baltimore County, and Maple Lawn, a Class “A” business community in Howard County. An event will be held at St. John Properties’ headquarters (2560 Lord Baltimore Drive, Baltimore MD 21244) on December 14 at 10:00am.

“Through Maryland’s Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Program we’ve built a complete network of charging stations,” said Mahi Reddy, CEO of SemaConnect. “Companies such as St. John Properties make it possible for us to continue building this EV charging network in Maryland and bring Maryland to the forefront as one of the most sustainable states on the East Coast.”

The Maryland Energy Administration allocated approximately $600,000 in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds to aid the development and integration of electric transportation into Maryland’s transportation system. The investment resulted in the construction of 65 charging stations throughout the Baltimore-Washington Metropolitan Area, providing the necessary infrastructure to allow electric vehicle owners to travel throughout the region. The Baltimore-Washington Electric Vehicle Initiative (BEVI) in partnership with SemaConnect is developing 55 electric charging stations.

“We are constantly looking for creative ways to incorporate sustainable products and techniques into everyday living, and we view the use of electrically-powered transportation as a rapidly emerging trend in the United States,” stated Jerry Wit, Senior Vice President, Marketing for St. John Properties. “Our employees and tenants, as well as visitors to our office buildings, now have the opportunity to recharge their electric charge batteries in a safe and trouble-free manner.” 

The need for convenient, public charging is quickly emerging as most major automakers are producing electric cars, or intend to in the near future. The early focus on EV infrastructure has been focused on installing charging equipment in homes and municipal garages. However, many commercial locations lack public charging.

St. John’s Maple Lawn includes three multi-story Class "A" offices buildings totaling over 285,000 square feet of space, with a fourth multi-story (100,000 square feet) due for delivery in Q4 2011. These top-notch properties feature attractive lobby environments and state-of-the-art mechanical and energy managements systems. The office buildings enjoy easy access to the region’s extensive transportation network, low-cost fitness center access, nearby childcare and a full range of dining, shopping and personal services within walking distance, making it the perfect location for EV charging stations.

The ChargePro 620 is Level II (240VAC, 30Amps) and can recharge a Volt vehicle in three to four hours and a 100% electric Nissan Leaf car in approximately six to seven hours. It comes with a J1772 plug that enables all new electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles to recharge, made possible through the initiatives at the Society of Automotive Engineers. Specifically designed for commercial-grade applications, SemaConnect’s ChargePro Charging Station is an intelligent, network-based EV charging system with features such as:

·         Smart Card authentication – for open or restricted access.

·         Smart Grid Integration – for easy energy metering and demand response.

·         Automatic billing/payment system – for easy revenue generation.

·         Sustainability Reporting–easily report your electricity usage and fossil fuel offset.

About St. John Properties

St. John Properties, Inc., founded in 1971 as MIE Properties, owns and has developed more than 15 million square feet of R&D/flex, office, retail and warehouse space in Maryland, Colorado, Louisiana, Virginia and Wisconsin. For more information about the company, visit www.sjpi.com.

About SemaConnect, Inc.

SemaConnect is a leading provider of electric vehicle charging stations and sophisticated software for station owners and electric vehicle drivers. Our ChargePro Charging Stations utilize CDMA and Zigbee Wireless technology and offer advanced features such as smart-grid integration, RFID card authentication, sustainability reporting and more. To purchase your charging station, contact us at (410) 384 – 4223, or visit www.SemaConnect.com. Follow us on Twitter @Sema_Connect and learn more about EV infrastructure on our YouTube Channel, SemaConnect.

Media Contact for St. John Properties:

Al Cunniff

acunniff@sjpi.com
Phone: 410-369-1277

Media Contact for SemaConnect:

Naly Yang

naly.yang@semaconnect.com

Phone: 410-384-4223

Arlington, VA Installs First EV Charging Station!

Potomac Overlook Regional Park is home to Arlington, Virginia's first electric vehicle charging station! Delegate Robert Brink, Arlington County Board member, Mary Hynes, SemaConnect spokeswoman, Naly Yang, and Martin Ogle, Chief Naturalist, spoke about legislation and energy plans.

The unveiling was held at the park's 26th Annual Potomac Overlook Open House & Heritage Festival. Guests enjoyed food, exhibits, and got to see the Chevy Volt, 2012 Toyota Prius Plug-in Hybrid, Smart EV, Ford Ranger and Pedego electric bicycle.

Arlington County Board member, Mary Hynes 

Delegate Robert Brink

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!