Get a Charge Out of Redmond: Support for Electric Vehicles is Switched On

The next time you’re in the combined Redmond City Hall/Library parking lot, take a look at the two new electric vehicle charging stations at the west end of the lot. The charging stations are designated Level II, which means they give out 220-240 volts versus the 110-125 volts that come out of an average Level I home electrical outlet. The higher voltage cuts down charging time — a full charge is 4-6 hours rather than 8+ hours.

The charging stations are part of the ChargePoint America Program, a $37 million project sponsored by Coulomb Technologies. ChargePoint has some 5,000 charging stations in nine regions nationwide that were installed free of cost. In return, ChargePoint is required to collect data from the stations, which will be then be analyzed by universities and federal agencies to determine usage patterns.

The City of Redmond will be charging $4 to $5 per electric charging session. The four charging stations (two are located at the City’s Maintenance and Operations Center) are connected via wireless to the national ChargePoint Network. Users can directly access the network to search for the nearest charging station as well as to reserve a station in advance if needed.

The following video shows how a ChargePoint electric vehicle charging station works: