The electric vehicle charger installed last week next to the Plunket Rooms in Bow Street is now open.
Waikato Deputy Mayor, Dynes Fulton and Raglan Councillor Lisa Thomson along with senior staff from WEL Networks were along on the afternoon of Monday 12th December to check out the charger.
The fast charger supports 3 different electric car standard charging standards – AC, CHAdeMO (DC) and SAE (DC). Having the three different systems, means that most electric cars can be charged. Two cars can be charged at the same time if one uses the AC connector and the other uses one of the DC connectors. The power capacity is equal to about 25 electric jugs all plugged in at the same time.
Charging is free at the present time. The fast charger is available 24 hours 7 days a week.
A full charge takes about 20 to 45 minutes depending on the battery capacity of the car. Visitors can have a snack at the nearby bakery or browse the local shops. The parking space next to the charger has a 1 hour time limit.
Electric cars typically have a range of over 100 km, so the charger will provide peace of mind for visiting electric cars that they’ll be able to easily make it to the next charging station. There are now close to 2,000 electric vehicles on New Zealand roads.
Operation is as simple as plugging in the car to the fast charger and pressing the start button on the screen. The screen on the charger gives the status of the current charge. On Monday, WEL Networks had a Nissan Leaf electric vehicle along to use the charger and give rides around Raglan.
The fast charger is remotely monitored so any system faults are signalled to the appropriate people.