The Charging Landscape

[SemaConnect's commercial grade ChargePro Charging stations at a Bozzuto/PMI multifamily parking garage in Baltimore, Maryland]

The electric vehicles are here and with rising gas prices, more and more people are thinking about making the switch (or at least adding one to their line of vehicles).

But another budding industry is taking shape in this country and around the world and at rapid speed – the Electric Vehicle Charging Station industry. Other names are Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment, EV Chargers, EV Charging station – regardless the name, theses stations are popping up in our cities, on our streets and in our neighborhoods.

Business’s like Walgreens, McDonald’s and Best Buy are promising to install EV Charging Stations at their locations to help new EV drivers extend their range. New EV drivers are filled with questions about where to install an EV station in their garage if they purchase one.

And in the fog of all this excitement, I still get asked the same question.
“What is the difference between Electric Vehicle Charging Stations?”

The short answer:
If the charging station has a J1772 plug, and meets all code and is certified to UL standards then it is safe to use, regardless of which brand you purchase.

The long answer:
Charging stations are becoming a new breed, and can be broken down into various categories. The first difference is whether you are purchasing a station for residential or commercial use.

Residential stations might come with lower voltages and have a different make or model. Since the station won’t be strenuously used by various amounts of people, the need for added technology won’t be necessary since your EV will be jam packed with great features already.

Commercial stations should be more rugged, have software or an added technology feature. This is most suitable for making it easier for the station owner to have, giving you the ability to run sustainability reports, billing EV drivers and monitoring electricity usage.

Pike Research recently ran a study on the best EV Charging Station companies on the market right now. It’s a great list, however I’d suggest you to continue doing more research to find a charging station that is best suited for your needs.  Use the research as a reference, but not as a final list because your needs will differ greatly from another EV driver, another business or another industry.

As history has told us, bigger sometimes isn't always better, and there are smaller niche companies out there (SemaConnect included!) that produce a great product, provide wonderful customer service and will help you extend EV range.

Good Luck!

EVSE Start-Ups VS. Large Corporations

 

Timothy Hurst, over at Earth and Industry,  recently wrote an interesting article about EVSE start-ups and how they are going to weather the storm when corporations like Siemens, Toyota and GE enter the EVSE market. 


As a start-up ourselves we've pondered this question before....


What's a start-up to do once a larger company finally enters the market with a larger marketing budget, top-of-mind recognition, massive distribution channels and sales force?

 

We say-- stay true to what your company stands for, and that is exactly what we're doing at SemaConnect.  If the technology and services that you're offering is really that great, then it will survive.  Sure, a larger company might be selling more stations to municipalities and vehemently taking over the consumer market at a lower price point (just because they can!), but this does not make start-ups any less capable of offering the same, if not better, products and services.


Here at SemaConnect, we know our product line by second nature because we built it ourselves.  Yes, we sat there and drafted for months the idea for a charging station that took little space, yet was still smart, rugged and was able to communicate wirelessly.  We work excruciatingly long hours building an entirely new software for EV drivers and station owners that makes it easy to pay online, track your green house emissions and set time-of-use pricing.  We know that our technology is much more advanced than what a single family home would require, which is why we focus on commercial applications.  And this isn't even to brag, it's simply because we are passionate.  Which is why, we believe, we're still a fighting force in the EVSE market.

People ask, "Why even waste your time trying to compete?" and we say, "Because we have to!"  Because we can't imagine doing anything else.  Because the environment needs it.  Because we feel that we have something great to offer.  That's why we compete, and that's why we'll continue to compete until we feel that our station is no longer competent (though I doubt it).


I'm almost positive that other start-up EVSE companies feel the same way, or a rendition of this feeling, and we're completely supportive.  Electric charging stations as an emerging clean technology means that we're all contributing to something much more than simply making money, or seeing who can install more stations.  If we're all installing stations to promote the use of electric vehicles around the world (in turn reducing our dependence on oil and lessening our impact in the atmosphere) then it was a great day.


So do we find it a challenge competing with large companies?  Yes.  We welcome it.
Is it going to break our spirit and make our technology feel less competent?  Not at all.


It will be interesting to see this market unfold, but until then we're confident about our charging station and our software and having a great time!


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Naly Yang [first name pronounced as, NAH-Lee]  leads the Marketing Communications initiatives at SemaConnect, and manages the company brand.  She actively follows and reports on trends in the EVSE and EV industry.  When not brainstorming a new creative idea, reading, writing, or graphic design, she is an avid traveler, cook, and all around life lover.  Contact her at naly.yang@semaconnect.com or follow her on Twitter @Sema_Connect.