Where do you Charge your electric Car?
Hello, and welcome to our latest round of "Ask Doug, " your favorite weekly feature where you ask Doug various automotive-related questions, and Doug spends roughly 45 seconds on Google trying to find the answer before presenting it to you as if he knew it all along.
If you'd like to be a part of "Ask Doug, " you can be! Just write me a message on my Facebook page, or send me an email at OversteerDoug@gmail.com, and I'll be happy to look at your message and scoff while printing a letter from someone else.
Anyway, this week's question is all about electric vehicles - specifically, where you should charge them. It comes to us from a reader I've named Roderick, who I've decided lives in Illinois. Roderick writes:
Hi Doug,
I was reading something about electric cars the other day that said that around 95 percent of electric-car charging is done at home, with one of those wall chargers you have to get an electrician to install in your home garage. But what if you live somewhere like an apartment, where your only choices are an underground garage or parking your car on the street? I seriously can't figure this one out.
Thanks,
Roderick
Here in Philadelphia, I don't have my own garage. In fact, I only know about two people who do. My friend Peri, who lives in Atlanta, doesn't have a garage - even though he owns a Toyota Land Cruiser and a Porsche 911. My friend David lives in New York and pays hundreds of dollars a month to park his car in a public garage, which isn't ideal for charging. My friend Jim, in Colorado, lives in a charming condo in downtown Boulder and parks in a parking lot. I could go on and on, but I think you get the idea.
And so, Roderick, like you, I've often wondered: What exactly do you do if you don't have a garage? How do you charge an electric vehicle?
This problem also vexed the City of Philadelphia, where I live, and so they thought about it, considered it, mulled it over and came up with a plan: If you own an electric car, you can get an electric-car-only parking spot installed in front of your home. I'm serious. If you have a Nissan Leaf, you can suddenly get private parking directly in front of your house. If you've ever seen "Parking Wars, " that A&E show about the Philadelphia Parking Authority, you probably know how amazing this is.
