Plugless Power EV Charging Station

Plugless Power, an innovative EV charging station that uses hands-free, wireless inductive charging, has been installed at Google’s headquarters in Mountain View, California. Developed by Evatran, the charging stations are built into parking spaces to automatically charge the electric vehicle while it’s parked. This is the first public trial of the system. Google utilizes a variety of EVs to get around their campus and also provides them in their employee car sharing program.

Click here to view the embedded video.

The obvious benefit of inductive charging is the convenience, but it is also safer as there is no risk of electric shock. However, a certain amount of efficiency is lost when transferring energy inductively. In general, this technology has an efficiency rate of 90% and according to Plugless Power, their system is expected to run at the same rate. An adapter that has been specifically designed for each EV model is retrofitted onto the vehicle. With Plugless Power, Evatran wants to play a part in  developing an infrastructure of convenient EV charging stations which they believe is the key to widespread acceptance of electric vehicles.

EV Charging Stations Map

Meanwhile, Google will do it’s part in aiding electrified motorists by adding EV charging stations to Google Maps. The feature is a more user-friendly way of getting finding the locations of over 600 EV charging stations across the country.  The information will be continuously be updated via the U.S. Department of Energy.

2012 Ford Focus Electric

Since the release of our 2011 electric car review, Ford has unveiled the new 2012 Focus Electric, first at the recent 2011 International Consumer Electronics Show, and currently at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit. Though showing up a little late to the electric vehicle party, Ford is flaunting the new Focus’ ability to recharge the 23 kwh lithium-ion battery in as little as 3-4 hours, half the time as that of the Nissan Leaf, by using a faster 6.6 kilowatt on-board charger plugged into an optional 240 volt charging station that can be installed in the home.

Ford Focus Electric Lithium-Ion Battery

The advanced battery system uses an active liquid cooling and heating system to keep the battery at a steady temperature in order to maximize mileage during fluctuations in driving conditions. Ford is also offering up an electric vehicle app for Smartphones which would allow the user to keep track of the charge level, map out the nearest charging stations, and estimate CO2 emissions and money saved based on driving habits to help maximize efficiency.

Ford Charging Station Sold at Best Buy

Ford has joined forces with Best Buy to sell and install the 240 volt charging stations to Focus Electric customers in their homes. The cost for this is set to run around $1,499, which is about $700 less than the charging station Nissan is offering through their car dealers. Another benefit to Ford’s charging station, manufactured by Leviton, is that it’s portable, since it’s not being permanently hard-wired into the home electrical system. Though there have been some questions raised about the feasibility of a non-permanent unit meeting electrical codes, Ford doesn’t seem to be concerned and Geek Squad technicians from Best Buy will perform an electrical audit as well as take care of all the red tape with the electric company. Best Buy is also set to provide charging stations for Mitsubishi’s new EV, the Mitsubishi i. See PlugInCars for more information on these charging stations.

Ford Focus Electric Illuminated Charge Port

Ford has yet to announce a list price for the new 2012 Ford Focus which is set to hit the market in late 2011, but insiders predict that Ford will continue on the competitive streak by selling the Focus below the Leaf’s MSRP of $32,780. The Focus has traditionally been Ford’s entry as an affordable car for the younger crowd and with the Honda Fit EV and the Mitsubishi i set to come in under $30,000, Ford could continue to make news in the electric vehicle sector.

Continuing our coverage of green computing devices, let’s take a look at the greenest monitors currently available. These monitors are energy efficient, and they eliminate most hazardous chemicals from their design. Some even incorporate recycled plastic into their casings. EPEAT is the most comprehensive green certification for monitors — the EPEAT certification incorporates Energy Star 4.0 requirements, and the European RoHS requirements.

Here’s a list of some of the greenest monitors currently available:

Lenovo’s ThinkVision L Series Monitors

Lenovo is a leader in building green monitors — 11 out of the 15 EPEAT Gold Certified monitors are manufactured by Lenovo.

Right now, I’m testing their  ThinkVision L197 Wide 19″ LCD monitor, which is Gold Certified, and according to my Kill-A-Watt meter, it’s drawing 13-14 watts as I write this post. By comparison my 22″ Acer monitor draws 23 watts, while performing the same task.

Lenovo says they were able to reduce the energy consumption of L197 and  L174 monitors by reducing the number of bulbs used in the system from four to two, while adding new brightness enhancement film. The L197 and the L174 consume 25% and 35% less electricity than any prior generation ThinkVision monitors.

The L197 also has 28% post-consumer recycled content in its plastic parts, as do the other ThinkVision monitors.

The EPEAT Gold-certified Lenovo monitors include ThinkVision L151, L171, L171P, L194 Wide, L190X, L220X Wide, L174 and L197 Wide.

Link: Lenovo ThinkVision L Series

The Lenovo monitors are available from Amazon.

Dell’s E207WFP Monitor

Last year Dell announced that it aspires to be the world’s greenest computing company, and last week they announced they are now a “carbon neutral” company. This claim seems bit premature, but Dell buys renewable energy directly from utilities to fulfill one-fifth of its energy needs. Dell also boasts a new record in recycling 102 million pounds of IT equipment from customers in 2007, a 20% increase over the previous year.

Dell has one Gold EPEAT certified monitor, the 19″ E207WFP. Like Lenovo’s ThinkVisions, this monitor has 28% post-consumer recycled content in its plastic parts. Lenovo’s monitors scored slight higher overall though, because there’s still some mercury in Dell’s monitor. But overall, its good green monitor from Dell, and we’d like to see more from them.

Dell’s E207WFP is available from Amazon.

LG’s Flatron W2252TE Monitor

LG recently announced that had released “world’s most energy-efficient monitor”, their Flatron W2252TE. The 22-inch widescreen LCD claims to offer a 45% power reduction on other models. However, it reportedly draws 22 watts, and as I mentioned about my 22″ Acer monitor draws 23 watts, so the reported numbers don’t seem to add up. LG also makes no green claims beyond the energy efficiency of the monitor, so it probably contains the usual hazardous substances.

It will be released in the UK this month — there’s no word on pricing yet.

News article: SmartPlanet