http://www.voxy.co.nz/business/5/243817 Spark plugs in phone box electric car charging stations 17 February, 2016 Fuseworks MediaFuseworks Media
In an Australasian first, Spark announced today it is piloting the use of Electric Vehicle (EV) chargers fitted to phone boxes near Auckland, a move the company has dubbed ‘Spark Plugs’. Spark Plugs give electric vehicle drivers the ability to ‘top-up’ their car batteries at selected phone boxes, extending their car’s range and combating ‘range anxiety’ - the fear that you won’t be able to reach your destination, one of the main obstacles to widespread adoption of electric vehicles. Spark Plugs will help make planning long distance trips easier, with more places to plug in and recharge along the way. Spark Ventures CEO Rod Snodgrass said, "Using our lovely phone boxes as top-up charging stations is an incredibly innovative and modest idea, and yet another way to breathe new life into the humble phone box which has a reputation of being a bit out of date. More than a thousand of them are now WiFi hotspots too, which was another Australasian first, so they’re quickly becoming a kind of ‘digital Swiss army knife’. "More importantly, this piece of kiwi ingenuity is another part of Spark’s commitment to New Zealand. As the number of electric vehicles rises we imagine the possibility of a network of EV chargers all around the country, connected to thousands of public phone boxes, helping unleash the incredible potential of the electric vehicle community. "We are proud to be playing a small part in the growing electric vehicle movement in New Zealand - every little bit makes a difference to our future. Electric vehicle drivers justifiably feel good about doing their bit for the environment, and we want to help that feeling last a little longer. Five phone boxes near Auckland are part of the Spark Plugs pilot, with three already converted and operational at: - Waiwera Road, by the Waiwera Thermal Resort - Waitakaruru Country Store car park, Waitakaruru, State Highway 25 - Prescotts Garages, Kopu-Hikuai Road, Hikuai, State Highway 25A Two more will be coming online shortly: - Waipu Pharmacy, The Centre, Waipu - Wellsford - either at the Memorial Park or at another site on SH1, depending on consents. They will also be listed on Plugshare - a crowdsourcing app that plots charging stations all over the world. The pilot will run through to the end of April 2016, and if it’s successful, Spark will look at expanding the network, provided the necessary permissions and consents are obtained. [© voxy.co.nz] ... http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/BU1602/S00541/spark-plugs-in-phone-box-electric-car-charging-stations.htm Spark plugs in phone box electric car charging stations 17 February 2016 ... http://www.spark.co.nz/plug SparkPlug How to use SparkPlug: - Find a SparkPlug charging phone box location on www.plugshare.com - Drive up next to the phone box in your Electric Vehicle - Remove the SAE J1772 Electrical Vehicle connector from its storage cradle - Open the charging port on your Electric Vehicle and plug the SparkPlug connector into your car - Charging will start SparkPlug currently supports around 20A of charging capacity Sparkplug Terms of Use SparkPlug is available to use for free for a limited time only. Only use SparkPlug to charge your own electric vehicle (EV). Use SparkPlug responsibly, safely, fairly and at your own risk. Return SparkPlug safely to storage cradle when you’re finished. SparkPlug is not suitable for excessive use, or as your primary EV charger. Your EV must have current WOF and registration to use SparkPlug. Spark does not guarantee electricity availability, uninterrupted service or compatibility with your EV. Spark will not be liable for any loss or damage arising from your use of SparkPlug. Spark may stop providing SparkPlug, apply charges to the use of SparkPlug, or change these terms, at any time. These terms don’t impact any rights you may have under the Consumer Guarantees Act 1993 or Fair Trading Act 1986. [© Spark] For EVLN EV-newswire posts use: http://evdl.org/evln/ {brucedp.150m.com} -- View this message in context: http://electric-vehicle-discussion-list.413529.n4.nabble.com/L2-3kW-Spark-Plugs-EVSE-phone-boxes-au-some-also-offer-WiFi-tp4680601.html Sent from the Electric Vehicle Discussion List mailing list archive at Nabble.com. _______________________________________________ UNSUBSCRIBE: http://www.evdl.org/help/index.html#usub http://lists.evdl.org/listinfo.cgi/ev-evdl.org Read EVAngel's EV News at http://evdl.org/evln/ Please discuss EV drag racing at NEDRA (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NEDRA)