Electric Vehicle Charging Stations
Locations
LPC has installed five publicly available Level 2 charging stations at the following locations:
- Development Services Center – 300 East parking lot on Kimbark Street
- Longmont Museum – 400 Quail Road (out of service due to construction)
- Longmont Public Library – 409 Fourth Avenue
- Longmont Service Center – 1100 South Sherman Street
- St. Vrain Memorial Building – 700 Longs Peak Avenue
Cost of Charging
Charging at any of the City’s Level 2 stations costs $1 per hour.
Easy Payment System
All of the chargers in Longmont will accept a credit card for payment. Our chargers are also networked through EVGateway, allowing you to manage all of your charging station transactions by downloading the free EVGateway mobile application and setting up an account.
If you experience an EvGateway charging station problem, please use the EvGateway Mobile App to provide a description and pictures, or call the helpline number on the charging station. You can also access details like your charging status notifications, billing, and account information through the app.
Plugging Your Business Into Vehicle Charging
The City chargers aren’t the only ones in town – a number of Longmont businesses have set up charging stations as well, making the community even more welcoming to electric vehicles. If you’d like your company to do the same, here are a few steps to get started.
- Who do I call? Whether you want to install just one charging station or an entire bank of them, start by calling the Longmont Planning and Development Services Department at 303-651-8330.
- How long will it take?
- If the existing electric service is sufficient and properly situated for the planned station, it could take as little as one to two weeks to get the project reviewed and approved, and the necessary electric infrastructure installed by LPC.
- If the existing service is not sufficient, it typically takes one to two months for a single charging station. A bank of charging stations for commercial resale may take up to six to eight months, depending on the specific requirements.
Looking for Rebates?
Both Longmont Power & Communications and our partners at Efficiency Works offer rebates on electric vehicle chargers or infrastructure. Check out our Save Money and Energy page to see what’s currently available.
Going Electric FAQs
- Low maintenance costs
- No tailpipe emissions
- Never smelling like Gas
- Quiet operation
- Planning out of the ordinary trips to make sure you have enough range
- Installing a home charging unit
- Battery degradation over time
A plug-in hybrid vehicle has a gasoline engine to supplement the range the car can travel when the battery has been exhausted, whereas an all-electric vehicle is only powered by batteries that are recharged from an external source.
The answer to this question varies greatly, but the most important part of the equation is the battery and this is truly a case where size matters. In 2018 depending on the model purchased, batteries can vary from 17.6 kWh (Smart for two) to 100kWh for 4 of the Tesla Models, and estimated ranges go from 58 miles to 351 miles.
Similar to drivers of conventional gas powered vehicles, at some point they might be driving “low on fuel”, however unlike conventional vehicles, electric drivers don’t have the option of walking to the nearest gas station and coming back with a can of electrons to recharge their battery. The worry of “Do I have enough to make it home?” is often referred to as “range anxiety”. Perhaps not a cure, but one of the most significant aspects of operating an EV is that most days start with a completely full battery. If every day someone came by and filled your gas tank, how many days in the year would you need to stop at a gas station to refill before returning home?
Given all the feedback provided by today’s EVs, it actually is quite difficult to completely drain a battery unless you disregard all the warnings. If you do manage to drain the battery down, the last few miles most models will go into an emergency low charge “creeper mode” that moves the car along at about 15-20MPH so that you can safely make it off the highway before it is completely dead. Additionally, most manufactures offer road side assistance where a flatbed tow truck will pick up the car and bring it to a public charging facility for little or no cost.
Car chargers, sometimes referred to as Electric Vehicle Servicing Equipment (EVSE), are grouped into 3 categories, Level 1, Level 2, & Level 3. The higher the level number is, the less time it will take to recharge an empty battery.
There are a lot of variables that go into answering this question. These include the amount that the batteries have been discharged, the level of charging equipment being used, and the overall size of the battery being charged.
The upfront costs are somewhat higher than a comparable gas powered vehicle, however, with rebates and a lower maintenance cost, the total cost of ownership is often lower for EVs than other vehicles.
As with just about any machine, the environment where and how it is operated greatly impacts how long it will last. If the environment is extremely hot or cold, battery life and capacity is reduced. Also, how the battery is used and recharged can impact performance and longevity. As a part of regular maintenance, most dealers will perform a battery health check and can advise the customer how best to keep the batteries from wearing out prematurely.
Just like humans, batteries don’t like extreme temperatures. Because of their chemical makeup, the batteries must not be allowed to freeze, so their design includes heaters that run off the charger when plugged in, or off the batteries themselves when not. Since some of the energy then has to be used for heat, range in cold temperatures is diminished (in some cases by as much as 30 percent). High temps also present challenges. As with most electronics, excessive heat is not good for the batteries and will shorten their lifespan. While it does diminish range somewhat, it’s not as large of an impact as cold temperatures.
While many EV owners do install charging units at home, it’s not always necessary. If you have access to charging at work, or a free or low cost charging network you may decide not to invest in-home charging equipment. Also, if you don’t have long commutes, your 120V outlet may be all that is needed to recharge overnight through “trickle charging.”
All EV’s sold in the United States must pass the same tests that gas powered and hybrid cars do. In some ways EV’s may be more safe as the weight of the batteries requires a heavier suspension and give most vehicles a lower center of gravity compared to a comparably sized gas powered vehicle.
In Colorado, especially on the Front Range, there are numerous locations to charge. Longmont Power & Communications offers five level 2 locations around the City. To see a map of all public and even a few private locations where a charge can be obtained see https://www.plugshare.com/
We’ve all done it – forget to plug in our phones and wake up the next day with a phone that’s almost dead. Usually that isn’t such a big deal, because we can plug it in and still use it if we have to. Unfortunately, that’s not possible with a vehicle, but most EVs sold today have ways to communicate. For example, owners of the Nissan Leaf can set reminders to plug the car in when it is parked near a preferred charging location, and when you’ve forgotten, the car will message you with an email or push notification to your phone.
