• Posted: April 10, 2023
• 2023 Chicago Auto Show, Blink Charging, Chicago Automobile Trade Association (CATA), Connelly Electric, EV Charging, evse, EVSE installation, Gisselle Duran, Illinois IBEW Renewable Energy Fund, Joe Kilcoyne, Nick Pupich

 

Join Chicago’s EV infrastructure experts for a panel discussion that originally took place at the 2023 Chicago Auto Show. Executive Director of Powering Chicago, Elbert Walters moderates a discussion between Nick Pupich, director of controls and specialized solutions at Connelly Electric, Joe Kilcoyne, trainer at the Illinois IBEW Renewable Energy Fund, and Gisselle Duran, director of channel marketing for Blink Charging.

In the first of four panel discussions, Walters guides the EV charging experts through a discussion about infrastructure considerations for electric vehicles (EV).

Walters: Joe, can you please introduce yourself, what you do, and trends you’re seeing in the EV market?

Kilcoyne: I’m a business representative for IBEW Local 134 and a trainer for the Illinois IBEW Renewable Energy Fund. First, I’m going to talk about a mindset shift that’s going to have to happen as we move into EVs. This mindset shift is going to take place in a couple of key areas. First, we’re going to talk about budgeting. A lot of people have questions about how they’re going to budget for an EV. This is going to be a little bit different than buying a traditional internal combustion engine car because you might have some behind the scenes costs with the charging infrastructure. As-is, your home might not have the capabilities to charge an EV.  So we’re going to talk about that in regards to budgeting for an EV.

We’re also going to have a mindset shift on safety. Right now we’re pulling up to gas stations and filling up our car. If there is a spill out there, we drive down the street to the next charging station or next gas station at the time. If something’s broken, we move on. It’s the gas station’s responsibility to make sure that it’s safe.

When we look at EV charging at home, we’re going to have to take the responsibility to make sure that we’re maintaining this equipment properly, that we’re taking care of it to protect our investment and to protect our families from potential dangers.

We’re also going to look at the mindset of fueling up. There’s going to be a different conversation that you have with yourself. Right now when we get a quarter a tank of gas, that’s when we stop at the gas station and fill up. For some of us, we might fill up when we get to a half tank. Our minds are going to shift because we’re going to be looking more like topping off. When we go into a movie theater or when we go into a grocery store, we’ll plug in. And we’ll get a couple of percentage points back up while we run into that store then we’ll charge overnight at our home.

We’ll have to think about when we’re going to charge. All those sorts of things or become more apparent as we get used to it. We might start planning our routes a little differently. We might start understanding that when it’s cold out, our battery range goes down a little bit because something that happens in internal combustion engines, we take the heat off that engine and that’s how we heat the car in the wintertime. Well, now we’re using a battery to supply some of that.

Then, we have to think about how we’re going to be installing these systems. We have to look at installing both level one, level two chargers in our home and talking to a qualified electrical contractor to do that work so that we know that these systems are installed properly the first time and for the safety of ourselves and of our loved ones.

Walters: Nick, can you please introduce yourself. Also, some homeowners will think they can install EV charging stations themselves, can they?

Pupich: I’ve been in the electrical industry for 27 years. I have been a IBEW local 134 electrician for 16 years, been in the EV industry for 11 years with over 800 installs.

As a contractor, our number one aspect is safety. You want to have a contractor that will give you the safest and most cost effective install. Being in this industry for 11 years, I’ve seen many issues of improper installations that could have been avoided from proper front end solutions.

So for residential or commercial garages, it’s little things like just having a safety bollard or a wheel stop in front of your EV charger. I get at least 12 to 15 calls a year stating that, “hey, our EV charger has been damaged because a vehicle ran into it.” This could have been a real safe solution with just a wheel stop or a safety bollard.

Another huge issue that I always see is improper installation on your infrastructure. First thing you will need to do is know what you have in your residence, in your buildings. You cannot just install a charger without knowing what power capabilities that you have. I will receive a call that there was an improper install where an EV charging station was installed but is not working. We will come onto the site and find that, for one, it was the wrong voltage brought to this EV charger and two,  the distribution center was not capable of what this EV charger asked for. So now you’re dealing with a homeowner that now has to have their charging station installed done twice, and this is the worst thing.

So, please do your homework first. Also, technologies with the EV charges are all expanding. There are new technologies weekly. You will need a certified electrician with the capabilities to help you in this process. Also, with multi dwelling and if you have multiple EV charging stations that will need to be networked, you will need to know what your networking capabilities are in your existing infrastructure. I’ll also get about 10 calls a year where there’s about 3-5 EV chargers installed in a parking garage and they’re not connected. We find out that there is no infrastructure for a cell signal or a Wi-Fi for these chargers. So they’ll go through the whole install without ever knowing that they needed cell service or they needed Wi-Fi connection. We will have to come back and fix this for them. So the biggest thing is to have a Powering Chicago contractor because they are state licensed and bonded, they’re also ICC certified with EVITP certifications. In this EVITP certification, you will have an electrician that has over 8,000 hours of in-field training. That’s huge. When you have a Powering Chicago contractor, we will work with you at the front end of your project. We will come in and say, okay, what infrastructure do you have? What infrastructure do you need for your EV charger in your residence? Do you have the right voltage? Do you have the right amperage? So it’s a huge thing from the start to get the right contractor.

The EV industry is just expanding. The Midwest is like the wild, wild west. The East Coast and West Coast are already adapting. Midwest has been a slower approach, so you’re going to need the right installer. What we can also do for you is we will help you in the process with rebates and grant programs. We will see what are the newest rebates that are out for you and how we can get you a grant for that. So next time, when you’re trying to get your install, please get it through a Powering Chicago contractor.

Walters: Gisselle, can you share information about some of the EV charging technologies out there?

Duran: My name is Gisselle and I’m with Blink Charging. Blink Charging is a leader in supplying EV charging solutions globally. We’re going to talk about a few different things but essentially this is EV charging 101. So let’s talk about the types of EV chargers that exist. So we’re going to talk about level one, level two and level three.

Level one essentially is an electrical cable that connects directly into the electrical outlets in your home. Level two chargers are the most common and widely used in commercial spaces. These do require professional electrical setup and installation. And these are mainly what you see in shopping malls, parking garages, and hotels. We actually have two of those commercial level two chargers here in the booth, the IQ 200 and the series eight. We also have the home charger, the HQ 200, and that’s also considered a level two charger. And then there’s the level three, also known as DCFC (direct-current fast charger). These chargers use direct current so they enable a lot more power and they do power quicker, they charge the car quicker. However, that installation and infrastructure is a lot more complex and you typically see these along highways or in commercial parking lots.

And then let’s talk about home chargers a little bit. So when you’re in the market for a home charger, you have two options to consider. There’s level one, as I mentioned, and there’s level two. So level one, it’s again, it’s the simplest solution. It’s a cable that plugs into the electrical outlets in your home. So there’s no installation costs to accrue for, there’s nothing else to factor in. It’s simple, you plug in. Most cars still provide that level one cable with your EV car purchase.

Then there’s a level two charger. So the HQ 200 with Blink ships with a NEMA plug. With this, you can plug into an NEMA 14-50 outlet. It can also be hard wired in. So you have the best of both worlds according to what setup you may have at home. Now, if you’re not properly set up in your garage or an outside of your garage, then you will require the professional assistance of an electrician to set that up, set that installation. However, the benefits of having a level two, a network level two charger are great. It’s powered by a 240 volt and you are going to be able to deliver higher power to your vehicle. And so generally speaking, say with a level one, you may get, say three miles an hour for a charge with a level two, we’re talking about more in the range of 40 miles an hour. And so that difference is greater and it’s definitely more convenient.

Of course, you also have the ability to install the station indoor or outdoor. And that’s also another benefit. And then lastly, with a level two charger with Blink charging mobile app, you can really accommodate your charging to your needs. You can manage your session remotely through the app, you can pre-schedule a session and you can set reminders, you can monitor your kilowatt usage, your energy usage. And then ultimately, even with our station, you can connect to other smart home devices. So the benefits of having a level two charger, dedicated home charger are certainly great.

And then lastly, you know, we’re talking about how drivers can really leverage EV charging. You know, it’s great that we talked about the home charger and you can monitor your charging using the Blink mobile app and that’s at home. The Blink mobile app also allows you on the road to assist you in searching stations along your way. You plan your route and you know exactly where the stations are. You can set reminders or set them as a favorite, rather, and you can really search for amenities nearby. So the mobile app really is there to help guide the drivers to have an easy and worry-free experience when it comes to EV charging.

Walters: One question I hear a lot is how much EV charging costs? Since we have a contractor on the panel, I’d like to pass this question to him.

Pupich: There’s a difference between how many charging stations, if you’re only going to go single residential, cost could range between $800 to about $2,500. If we are going to multiply, let’s say 2 to 3 level two network charging stations, your cost now it’s going to be anywhere between $5,000 to about $9,000. Now, when we go up to the DC fast charging stations, your cost now is going to go anywhere from $10,000 to possibly $50,000 to $100,000, depending on how much infrastructure you’re going to need.

It is very important to do your homework before you’re going to make your purchase and you’re going to do your install. For me as a contractor, the best part of it is the beginning because you want to figure out the solution that is the most cost effective for a homeowner, for our customer. So it’s the process of finding out what infrastructure you have, what you need, and how we are going to get you the best cost. We’re going to find the best rebates for you. We are going to get your grant rebates. So all I can say is do your homework upfront, just do not buy a charging station and say, ‘we’re ready to go.’ You are going to get burned every time.

Walters: As a follow up, what can impact those prices?

Pupich: If you have a garage, sometimes in Chicago, you have a concrete back backyard. So sometimes we will have to notch out the concrete to get a feeder out to your garage.

For multi dwelling units, there are a lot of issues with where your power source is located and where you want your EV charger. Sometimes my best suggestion is to keep your EV chargers as close to your power source as you can. You limit your install cost tremendously. Sometimes you might need directional bore to if you have a garage or whatnot. Also in your garage spaces, if you do have a network networked EV charger, you will have to make sure that you have sufficient cellular service. If you do not, we would have to come in and put a cellular repeater for you or a Wi-Fi repeater for you. So those are sometimes the issues that we do face in the residential industry. Work with your contractor to get the right solutions.

Walters: Joe, what are some of the qualifications should contractors have to ensure you have a quality install?

Kilcoyne: Electric vehicle systems are electrical systems. The IBEW builds electrical systems. This is what we do. This is our bread and butter. This is what our apprenticeship is based on. This is what all of our journey level workers do every single day. This is just another aspect of an electrical system. So we have all that training that goes into sizing the conductors, sizing the conduit, making sure that we’re following the code. All of those sorts of regulations, code following proper installation methods are there day in and day out with every electrical system we built.

So when we step into the electric vehicle space, there are no exceptions there. We follow the same rules, the same codes, all of that to make sure that we’re installing a system that is going to be safe, efficient and effective. Nick mentioned the ICC, Illinois Commerce Commission, regulation on being certified through there for electric vehicle installations. We have the EVITP, Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Training Program, which our members can undergo after they become journey level. So there is a significant amount of hours on the job training with all of those systems. In addition to that, our local trains heavily on installing these specific electrical systems to make sure that they are safe the first time, like Nick mentioned.

We’re already looking at an investment here. We’re going to pick out any of these vehicles around us today. That’s an investment. We want to make sure that we’re protecting our investment. Like Nick said, the last thing you want is to have a system installed twice because it wasn’t done right the first time or you have a safety consideration. Like you could have something where someone gets hurt or you hurt the vehicle, you damage something on the vehicle, and now you have more cost there because you didn’t understand how it works. So there’s a certain level of responsibility as consumers that we have and we feel that there’s this amount of responsibility on us to talk to consumers about these issues, to make sure that they’re understood the first time. And we keep everyone safe and we keep everybody driving the vehicle that they invested in.

When we think about that investment, when you buy an internal combustion engine, you have a cost there and now you’re going to be paying for fuel as you go. When we look at electric vehicles, the cost to fill up is going to be less typically. So you’re looking at almost a return of investment where you can actually pay off this equipment because you are traveling around for less cost for both your leisure time and your daily commute to work. When you start lowering those costs, you start being able to pay off this equipment that we’re talking about. We’d encourage you to look at the calculations to see what it would cost to pay that off as a return of investment and think about how that investment is protected by those contractors and electricians that we represent to get the job right the first time.