March 2010 Archives

Coulomb Technologies, in cooperation with Green Power Technologies, today announced that its ChargePoint® Networked Charging for electric vehicles has been installed in Philadelphia's first energy efficient housing project, designed to achieve Platinum under the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) for Homes Program residential community, Sheldon Crossing in Philadelphia, PA.

The development, made up of 20 carriage-style homes, is located at 4711 Sheldon Street and will be officially unveiled on April 1, 2010 from 6-9 PM in conjunction with NBA Green Week. Special guests include the Philadelphia 76er basketball team, local officials, developers Denale Inc. and executives from Comcast Spectacor Foundation.

Official Press Release: April 1, 2010 Unveiling of Sheldon Crossing Includes Green Architecture, Eco-Friendly Products and Renewable Energy: Special Guests Philadelphia 76ers Basketball Team

March 29, 2010 Campbell, CA Coulomb Technologies, in cooperation with Green Power Technologies, today announced that its ChargePoint® Networked Charging Station (www.coulombtech.com/products.php) for electric vehicles has been installed in Philadelphia's first energy efficient housing project, designed to achieve Platinum under the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) for Homes Program residential community, Sheldon Crossing in Philadelphia, PA. The development, made up of 20 carriage-style homes, is located at 4711 Sheldon Street and will be officially unveiled on April 1, 2010 from 6-9 PM in conjunction with NBA Green Week. Special guests include the Philadelphia 76ers basketball team, local officials, developers Denale Inc. and executives from Comcast Spectacor Foundation www.comcastspectacorfoundation.org. Coulomb's exclusive North East distributor Green Power Technologies http://www.gptechnology.com/ installed and will maintain the charging station. Also at the event, the new smart fortwo electric drive vehicle manufactured by smart USA manufactured by Daimler AG.

The Green Design Home will be open for one month following this event. A portion of all the monies raised benefit The Comcast Spectacor Foundation and the many local charities it endows. This is the first installation of a ChargePoint Networked Charging Station in Pennsylvania.

"This new development is a showcase for the future of eco-friendly living," said Richard Lowenthal, CEO of Coulomb Technologies. "Charging stations for electric vehicles should be at the top of nearly every LEED checklist. We are pleased the developers have taken a progressive approach in looking at green transportation and electric vehicles."

In addition to the ChargePoint charging station, the home will showcase the best in green architecture, fixtures, appliances, furnishings, and art. Other amenities include reclaimed slate on the bathroom walls and floors rescued from a shuttered school, countertops made of reclaimed antique pine that would otherwise have gone to a landfill, and Smart Home Automation that allows climate control, lighting, security and audio-visual accessible from a smart phone. There are also radiant heated bathroom floors, a fireplace surround comprised of reclaimed coconut shells, dual flush toilets and water purification systems. All are environmentally sensitive and stylistically chic yet maximize energy and water conservation. Outside, a 'Tree of Life', crafted from debris at the construction site, will be dedicated and leaves on the tree available for purchase. The tree will be donated to Mayor Nutter and the City of Philadelphia.

The Sheldon Crossing charging station is a part of the ChargePoint® Network, which is open to all drivers of plug-in vehicles and provides authentication, management, and real-time control for the networked electric vehicle charging stations. ChargePoint Network unique features include:

• Charging status by SMS text or email notification
• Location of unoccupied charging stations via smart phones
• Authenticated access to eliminate energy theft
• Authorized energizing for safety
• Smart Grid integration for utility load management with future V2G capabilities
• An ChargePoint iPhone App

The network of electric vehicle charging stations is accessible to all plug-in drivers by making a toll free call to the 24/7 number on each charging station, or signing up for a ChargePoint Network monthly access plan and obtaining a ChargePass™ smart card. Other future payment options include using any smart (RFID) credit/debit card to authorize a session or using a standard credit or debit card at a remote payment station (RPS) to pay for charging sessions. To locate available charging stations, visit http://www.mychargepoint.net and click "Find Stations".

Hybrid cars seem to be the green car of the 21st century. They are reliable, relatively affordable, and use far less gas than most other cars on the road. You see them everywhere; in supermarket parking lots, at the mall, etc. The number of people who own them seems to be growing considerably as well. Chances you know someone who owns a hybrid or have considered purchasing one yourself. So, just how reliable are these step-up cars that are leading us towards full electric vehicles of the future? Why do people enjoy them so much... or not so much? Armed with a desire to find out what it's like to own a hybrid, I sent out a list of questions to friends and family members who do; questions including: how much you spend on gas a year, why do you like your hybrid car, and how many miles per gallon do you get on average. Before addressing their answers, I think it is important to define what a hybrid car is and how it works.

Hybridcars.com is a great site for anyone who wants to find out more about the hybrid car. It includes the uber popular Toyota Prius along with many others from Honda to Ford and Chevy. There are also links for information on electric cars, plug-in hybrids, and diesel cars. If you have questions, you will likely find an answer in the FAQ section. I would highly recommend this site as a jumping off point for anyone who is considering getting a hybrid car.

According to hybridcars.com, hybrid cars work by:
Relying solely on a gasoline internal combustion engine, [and use] both a gas engine and electric motors. The energy used by the electric motors is stored in rechargeable batteries.The ability to partially use electricity as a fuel means that you burn less gasoline. The computer system on a hybrid makes the decisions about which energy source to use at different times, based on maximizing efficiency while providing the same level of safety and comfort as conventional cars.

With this information in mind, I feel it will be easier to understand how owners of hybrid cars feel about their vehicles.

According to everyone questioned in my study, a typical new hybrid car costs between $20,000 and $30,000. While it may seem a little pricey, everyone queried felt that this was a reasonable price to pay, as most full gasoline or diesel cars are going for about the same price. This price does not include how much they spend on gas. Miriam Rosenblum of Denver, CO says her 2002 Toyota Prius costs her $80 a month in gas, which comes to roughly $1000 a year. Her cousin (who has the same name) in Boston, MA, who owns two hybrid Prius, a 2004 and a 2008, said, "Our 2004 Prius is driven about 425 miles each week. The tank is filled about once a week for about $26. Our 2008 Prius is driven about 50 miles a week. [The] tank is filled very infrequently." Jonathon Rosenblum of Seattle, WA owns a Suburban Outback and a 2005 Prius, and he spends $150 a month on gas. The Prius is responsible for about half of that cost, but only because he drives it more often than the Outback.

So, it is obvious that the hybrid saves people a lot of money on gas, given that it uses both gas and electricity. But what about gas mileage? I asked my friends and family what their gas mileage was like both on and off the highway and how this compared to their previous car. Jonathon Rosenblum said, "Until last year, we averaged 51 miles on a tank in the summer, [and] about 46-47 in the winter. Now we average about 49 on a tank in the summer, and about 46-47 in the winter. Nowadays we get in the low 40 driving around town, low 50s on the highway. Our last car was a Ford Focus, which got about 30 mpg." Myron and Rachel Rosenblum of Lexington, MA said their 2005 Toyota Prius averages about 48 mpg in the summer and 43 mpg in the winter, which they claimed was far better than their Plymouth Van. In Denver, CO, Miriam Rosenblum says her mileage varies from 40-50 mpg, depending on the time of year. I found it interesting that everyone said their mileage goes down in the colder months of the year. Miriam Rosenblum says that one of the reasons for this is that the battery takes longer to charge in the winter, thus mileage goes down. Hybridcars.com has this to say: Hybrid cars are designed to operate in the same range of conditions and temperatures as conventional vehicles. For example, Honda's specs indicate that its Integrated Motor Assist system will operate as low as 22 degrees below zero Fahrenheit. We have seen reports of a Prius in Barrow, Alaska suffering from a frozen and damaged battery pack--at 56 below zero. Master hybrid technician Craig Van Batenburg reports that nickel metal hydride batteries can take heat up to 140 degrees Fahrenheit. He said, "It just doesn't get that hot. The air cooling works fine." Gas mileage during cold weather is diminished for all vehicles, hybrid or not.

So, what about getting the car repaired? How much does it cost, and is difficult to find a place to repair it? Most people take it to the dealership to get the car repaired as there seems to be a lack of places where people know how to work on hybrid cars at this time. Miriam Rosenblum's cousin said, "We are concerned that the mechanics be familiar with Prius technology, so we always take the two cars to a large Toyota dealer who handles a lot of Prius cars in their service center". Hybridcars.com suggests that you take your car to a dealership: Considering that Toyota offers a 100,000 mile warranty on emission components and battery pack, and that Honda offers an 80,000 mile warranty on the same--on top of the traditional 3-year/36,000 mile warranty on the conventional systems. Dealer service centers do usually charge a little more, but classes are popping up all over the country to teach independent car mechanics about hybrids. After all, there are more than one million of these cars on the road, and mechanics have to meet this demand. This timing works out well for new hybrid buyers. By the time your warranty is finished, there will be many more qualified hybrid mechanics available to you.

As with all cars, there are things people like and dislike about hybrids. Miriam Rosenblum said she likes her hybrid because she "[doesn't] have to spend as much on gas, it pollutes the atmosphere much less than a regular car, [and] it's fun to drive". Everyone queried agreed, some of them going further to say they like the design and features. In addition to the hybrid motor systems in these cars, most also benefit from enhanced aerodynamic body design and low resistance tires. Since 1997 when Toyota first began selling the Prius in Japan these details have been scrutinized and what's available today is hyper efficient. Jonathon Rosenblum likes that his hybrid is comfortable, efficient, not fancy, and does what just what he wants it to do. However, like all cars, there are problems. Miriam Rosenblum said that that her warning light came on and it took a very long time to figure out what was causing it. Her cousin said: Our 2004 Prius recently had to have both of its headlights replaced. It cost $375 per headlight plus the installation / labor costs to replace due to the complicated systems that govern the headlight system. We find this to be ridiculous that Toyota designed such an expensive head light system for the car. Also, in very heavy rains we have had electrical failures. With the 2004 Prius, the dashboard warning lights all came on during a torrential rainstorm even though all the systems were still functioning. When the car dried out they turned off. With the 2008 Prius the data screen went blank during a rainstorm.

Despite these problems, everyone would recommend the hybrid car to their family and friends. In fact, the reason so many people in my family own hybrids is because they recommended it to each other. Miriam Rosenblum said, "3 of our family members bought Prius on our recommendation....because it is a good car".

"I would not hesitate to recommend the present car to people interested in buying a well designed comfortable and efficient mode of travel", said Myron and Rachel Rosenblum.

In many regions of the United States and the world hybrid cars are becoming a very common choice. With fluctuating gas prices and a desire to ditch our reliance on foreign oil many consumers see the economic and patriotic benefits of going green. Hybrid cars aren't perfect but they've been on the roads now for over a decade and they have certainly proven themselves.

A Discussion of the 2006 Documentary Who Killed the Electric Car?

If you have never had any feelings for a car before, you will after watching this riveting and heartbreaking 2006 documentary directed by Chris Paine and released by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment involving the creation, commercialization, and ultimate destruction of the electric car. At this point, in 2010, it is safe to assume that many people have never heard of, or much less seen, an electric car on the road. I certainly had never heard of an EV1 before watching this. About a decade ago, primarily in California, this was not the case.

This documentary focuses primarily on California and the bold Zero Emissions Mandate (or ZEM) the California Air Resources Board (CARB) passed in 1990 in an effort to reduce the amount of hazardous CO2 being pumped into the air. Wikipedia states that "the program goal [was] to reduce the pervasive air pollution affecting the main metropolitan areas in the state, particularly in Los Angeles, where prolonged pollution episodes are frequent".

Automobile companies, such as General Motors (the company Paine spends a great deal of time critiquing), had two choices regarding the mandate; comply or fight back. As the narrator mentions, the car companies would ultimately do both. GM complied in the beginning by making and producing the EV1, a car that ran on electricity and could go roughly 60 miles on one charge. Those who owned and drove the car, including such celebrities as Mel Gibson, Tom Hanks, Alexandra Paul, Peter Horton, and Ed Begley, Jr. adored the little car for its efficiency and speed. Ultimately, demand for the electric car grew.

If there was such a demand, why then, did the electric car vanish? Why do we not see everyone driving them? The documentary spends a great deal of time trying to answer this question, and there is no easy answer. Paine lists several suspects who contributed to the demise of the electric car, including the car companies, the oil industry, and, shockingly, the government.

Car companies such as GM, according to the film, are guilty due to not only suing the state of California over ZEM (causing the mandate to eventually be dropped), but doing anything and everything they could to prove there was no demand for the car. Eventually, they pulled the cars off the market and crushed them at secret, highly guarded crushing sites. You may be shocked to know that Toyota and Honda secretly destroyed their electric cars as well. Watching the small, perfectly reliable electric cars being driven away to destruction while their owners watched in tears will break the heart of anyone who has ever loved a car, or anyone who simply wants to do the right thing for the environment. Owners and supporters did their very best to prevent the destruction of the electric cars, even going so far as to try to buy them from GM, to no avail. Many of the protesters were arrested for trying to prevent GM from taking the cars away.

The oil companies are also guilty because they feared the loss of their business to a competing technology. The oil companies so feared the loss of their business, they bought patents to prevent modern NiMH batteries produced by Iris M. Ovshinsky from being used in electric cars, which would have made the electric car even more efficient than it was when it first hit the market.

The government, shockingly, is nearly as guilty (if not more so) than the car companies for destroying the electric car. Not only did they join the car companies in suing California over ZEM, but they also promoted the purchase of vehicles such as the gas guzzling Hummer with preferential tax breaks.

After all of the discussion about the production and demise of the electric car, you have to wonder just how effective and reliable the electric car really is. Is it really better than gasoline cars? Well, consider this: According to the film, for every one gallon of gasoline burned by a gasoline car, nineteen pounds of CO2 are pumped into the atmosphere. There is no doubt that that is a major contributor to global warming. Also, when a mechanic works on your car, they get really dirty from all the oily parts. With an electric car, your mechanic could go home every day without a spot of grease on him. If that wasn't enough to convince you, perhaps the fact that respiratory problems such as asthma have soared in California since the 1980s from the amount of pollution caused in part by gasoline cars.

So is there any hope of the electric car returning to the market? Happily, there is. There are plans to release a plug in hybrid car. The plug in hybrid is much like the hybrids already on the road, but can be charged easily at home, reducing the need to charge your car at a charging station. And, if the documentary is to be believed, the car could get 160-180 miles before needing to be charged again. Talk about efficient and earth friendly! When is this car expected to be on the market? Unfortunately, not until about 2020 according to some sources, though there are several shops already offering after-market conversions such as Pat's Garage in San Francisco. I don't know about you, but I am eagerly awaiting its release. In the mean time, there are other businesses such as Evolveit Motors (formerly Salida Conversions) that sell full conversion kits including technology formerly used and purchased as remnant inventory from the Ford and GM prototype programs.