In early September, the customer information Auto Test Center installed four specialized electric-car chargers to get ready to test the wave of electric cars and plug-in hybrids due to hit the market soon. These four chargers, made by Coulomb Technologies, are mounted on an exterior wall of our shop, near a parking area. They look almost like gasoline pumps, with a substantial control box and a fat 19-foot, 240-volt power cord those docks to the unit when not in use.
They also provide Level 1 charging with a 110-volt outlet, which is concealed behind a flap door. The charger is supplied by regular mains current on a 32-amp circuit--nothing a modern residential household couldn’t manage. However, chargers like these do not come cheap. The price was about $4,000 apiece, not including installation. But our chargers are high-end commercial-grade devices. Those units designed for home use won’t need all the bells and whistles and typically cost a good deal less, about $1,000-$1,500
They also provide Level 1 charging with a 110-volt outlet, which is concealed behind a flap door. The charger is supplied by regular mains current on a 32-amp circuit--nothing a modern residential household couldn’t manage. However, chargers like these do not come cheap. The price was about $4,000 apiece, not including installation. But our chargers are high-end commercial-grade devices. Those units designed for home use won’t need all the bells and whistles and typically cost a good deal less, about $1,000-$1,500
