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General Category => General Discussion => Topic started by: Richard230 on September 21, 2010, 03:30:55 AM

Title: Charging Docks reviewed in Popular Science
Post by: Richard230 on September 21, 2010, 03:30:55 AM
The October issue of Popular Science, in their "What's New" section on page 22, reviews three charging docks that will be on the market soon.

The Nissan Home Charging Dock is a 240 V, 3.3 kW, Level II dock designed for home installation and will cost around $2,200 installed.

The GE WattStation, which arrives next year in both home and public versions, has been designed by Yves Behar (the One Laptop Per Child computer designer). The WattStaion delivers a 24-kWh charge in four to eight hours. A commercial version will cost $3000 to $7000. Home wall-mounted chargers will cost closer to $1,500, according to the article.

The ChargePoint Level III fast charger station, is an "industrial-strength" charger that can recharge a car battery pack within 30 minutes at 480 volts DC. The article says that the SAE hasn't agreed on standards for Level III chargers and such standards are months away. The Coulomb Technology's prototype 480-volt DC ChargePoint station was developed by Aker Wade Power Technologies. The article states that these chargers handle voltage so high that they might require a trained attendant to ensure safe fill-ups.