ChargeCar open house next week

[Ben Brown]

Next week we will be hosting a group of engineers from the Ford Hybrid
Electric Vehicle Calibration group. So, to show off the Ford EVs--and
just to get together with like-minded folks--we have decided to have an
informal open house at the Electric Garage (4621 Forbes Avenue,
Pittsburgh, PA 15213) next Wednesday or Thursday (17 or 18 October)
evening. We'll decide on the date and time early next week, pending the
weather forecast.

Come out and see:
* Ford plug-in hybrid vehicles
* ChargeCar converted Honda Civic EVs
* ChargeCar conversion parts kit
* Our public EV charging stations
* Other EVs--if you have one, please bring it!

We'll be also showing "Revenge of the Electric Car" on our "big screen"
outside, with fresh popcorn, maybe some other snacks.

More details to come...

Thanks, Ben

_____________________________________________

H. Ben Brown
Project Scientist
Robotics Institute
Carnegie Mellon University
5000 Forbes Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15213-3891
h...@cs.cmu.edu

[Nick]

Hi Ben, are there any plans to have this on the West coast?  Thanks, Nicolas

"As Above, So Below.  As Below, So Above"

About.me/TapTheSource
About.me/EV360

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[Ben Brown]

Based on the weather predictions, we have decided to hold the open house
this Wednesday, 17 October, from 6-8:30 PM.

Hope to see you there!

Thanks, Ben

[Ben Brown]

Next Tuesday, June 4 we will be hosting a group of students and adults
from the Minddrive project in Kansas City (http://minddrive.org/,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qXTxnLmbiMw), who will be visiting CMU as
part of their second cross-country drive with an electric vehicle. We
thought this would be a great opportunity to invite people from the CMU
community and the public at large to meet with the Minddrive group, see
their EV--(electrified 1967 Volkswagen Karmann Ghia--as well as other
EVs from the area, and talk to like-minded folks.

What: Informal open house
Where: The Electric Garage, 4621 Forbes Avenue,
Pittsburgh, PA 15213 (parking available at the garage)
When: Tuesday, June 4, 6-8PM

We particularly encourage EV owners to bring and brag about their EVs.

Hope to see you there!

Thanks, Ben

_____________________________________________

H. Ben Brown
Project Scientist

Robotics Institute, 4202 Wean Hall

[Ben Brown]

Next Friday, April 4 we will have an open house to celebrate
the installation of a new, Tesla HPWC (High Power Wall Connector) at the
Electric Garage. Thanks to Dr. Howard Kaplan for the generous donation
of installation costs, and to Tesla Corporation for the donation of
their charger.

We will also use this opportunity to recognize how dramatically the use
of the Electric Garage is improving every month, and we will discuss
future plans for the Electric Garage. We are also inviting Tesla to come
and help us thank them, as well as Solar City.

What: Informal open house
Where: The Electric Garage, 4621 Forbes Avenue,
Pittsburgh, PA 15213 (parking available at the garage)

When: Friday, April 4, 4-7PM
Who: Open to the public!

We particularly encourage EV owners to bring and brag about their EVs.

More details to follow next week. Hope to see you there!

Thanks, Ben


_____________________________________________

H. Ben Brown
Project Scientist

Robotics Institute, 4202 Wean Hall

[billwilliams]

Ben,

You should reach out to a Plugshare executive that is traveling to all four corners of the United States in a tesla. Here is the site with all the information! Spread the word.
http://roadtrip.plugshare.com/join-journey.html

Sorry I can’t make your event i am very happy to hear what you’ve done!

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[petr...@gmail.com]

Hi Ben,

If there were reliable safe and effective means to deliver more charging  power to vehicles that were capable of receiving larger power over a shorter charge time i.e Lithium Titanate and other developing technologies, would this detract from the argument that the charge time of electric vehicles cannot compete with refueling times of conventional vehicles?

Relating to having electrical charge stations being able to accomplish faster charging with available infrastructure, I think quicker charging could possibly be accomplished in a number of ways.

I can foresee the super capacitor, Lithium Titanate or another storage medium that can dump large power with little internal resistance as being a way to recharge vehicles, that are capable of larger charging input power, without significant changes to power grid infrastructure.

Thus in one scenario the recharge station will not necessarily connect to the grid via a regulation system but rather connect to one of the above mentioned storage medium through an appropriate regulation system.

Each switchable medium could be then switched to the mains or to charge a vehicle depending upon the need and present state of the medium.

In the case of a charging station for many vehicles the storage medium could be one of many such cartridges that can connect to a vehicle via the appropriate regulation system. The cartridges would be recharged from the main and then entered into a cycle to take their turn of transferring their energy into a vehicle or to be recharged from the mains.

Furthermore the storage medium size can be substantially larger than the storage medium carried on board a vehicle and thus be capable of charging many vehicles without recharging in between. The substation supplying the charge station can adequately supply the energy needs of the charging station with a properly designed regulation system.

In the case of a home station a much smaller supplemental energy storage medium can supplement the mains thereby reducing the needed power from the mains to support a faster charging solution.  

Optionally, in the case of a home charging station the supplemental energy storage medium can be charged over the course of a longer period gathering all the charging power demands of the vehicle within itself. The vehicle then can be connected to this energy storage medium at the home charging station to engage in energy transfer to significantly reduce the charging time of the electric vehicle storage system (for vehicles that use a storage medium made to handle faster energy transfers) without adding substantial infrastructure to the grid. This would also reduce the demand rate of the electricity bill.

I can also see this supplemental storage medium idea being used to provide remote charging stations away from power lines that are powered from solar, wind and other sources.

 Thus charging stations can be far from electrical grid support. For an analogy comparison. Most gas stations do not have pipe line to the refinery but are supplied fresh fuel via a delivery vehicle. In the case of secondary storage medium for use in recharging vehicles the medium can be resupplied via vehicle delivery and the exhausted medium being retrieved for recharge at the power station or another location.

I do see that the possible solutions I propose may have many hurtles to overcome but I think this is one way forward that will allow the utilization of faster charging battery systems without being overly shoe stringed by grid limitations.

I look forward the the meeting on the 4th.

Thanks,

Dean Petrella

[petr...@gmail.com]

[Ben Brown]

Here's a press release with a few more details regarding the Tesla High
Power Wall Connector and our open house this Friday.

http://www.cmu.edu/news/stories/archives/2014/march/march31_highpowercarcharger.html

[Ben]

Please join us for an Open House at the Electric Garage on Monday,
November 10 at 5 p.m. with Carnegie Mellon alumnus Alec Wisch (HNZ ’74)
and his Tesla Model S.

Alec’s 40th SUPA reunion seemed like the perfect time to plot his
inaugural journey from Florida to Carnegie Mellon on battery power
alone. He’s looking forward to sharing the stories of his trip with EV
enthusiasts at Carnegie Mellon.

Join us for a fun and informative chat with Alec!

What: Informal Open House

Where: The Electric Garage, 4621 Forbes Avenue,
Pittsburgh, PA 15213 (parking available at the garage)

When: Monday, November 10, 5-6:30 p.m.

Who: Open to the public!

We encourage EV owners to bring and brag about their EVs. We will serve
water and fresh fruit, as always.

Thanks, Ben
_____________________________________________

H. Ben Brown
Project Scientist
Robotics Institute

[Ben]

Just to remind you of our open house next Monday.

Ben

[Ben]

Folks,

As part of our ChargeCar project at Carnegie Mellon University, we
converted three Honda Civics to electric drive, all based on the same
drive train and accessories. (http://chargecar.org/conversions) The
project has expired and we are now offering these vehicles for sale,
individually or as a lot. If you'd like a small fleet, this is a good
opportunity to get three for a great price: $8000 for all.

Please see this Craigslist ad for details:
http://pittsburgh.craigslist.org/cto/5714682523.html

Thanks, Ben
_____________________________________________

H. Ben Brown
Project Scientist
Robotics Institute