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Frequently Asked Questions
- What is the ChargePoint® Network and how do I use it?
- What are "sessions" and how do they work?
- Which Subscription Plan should I select?
- Could you provide some examples of how these plans work in practice?
- How do I sign up for service?
- Why does nothing happen when I hit the Confirm Registration button in the Sign Up screen?
- Is my Credit Card data safe?
- Can I upgrade my account?
- Can I cancel my subscription?
- I received my Smart Card in the mail - now what?
- How do I activate my Smart Card - I already have an account?
- How do I activate my Smart Card - I have not yet created an account?
- Why won't the Charging Station read my Smart Card?
- What do the different colors mean on the map of Charging Stations?
- What does it mean when a station is listed as a "SALES DEMO"?
- How are GHG Savings computed?
- Will any standard 120V charging cord work with your charging stations?
- What kind of Notification can I sign up for?
- Which browsers are supported?
What is the ChargePoint Network and how do I use it? (back to top)
The ChargePoint Network is the world's most advanced infrastructure for recharging the batteries of plug-in electric vehicles. To use one of the ChargePoint Network Charging Stations, a driver must hold an authorized Smart Card near the labeled position on the station's front panel. Once authorized, the station will unlock the door, allowing the driver to plug in his vehicle, and will energize the outlet. A driver receives a Smart Card in the mail upon signing up for one of the network's subscription plans on the mychargepoint.net web site. Signing up is a simple matter of clicking on the Sign Up tab, providing contact and billing information, and selecting a Subscription Plan.
See What are "sessions" and how do they work?, Which plan should I select?, and Could you provide some examples of how these plans work in practice? in this FAQ for more information.
What are "sessions" and how do they work? (back to top)
ChargePoint Network subscriptions are sold in units of "sessions", a transaction which covers the entire charging sequence from plug-in to plug-out. Sessions may be purchased in three ways: One at a Time; in a Block of 10 Sessions per month; or Unlimited Sessions per month. A session has a maximum duration of 24 hours, after which an additional session will be billed, and so on for each additional 24 hour period. Please note that local parking ordinances may further restrict the time over which a vehicle may be parked at and plugged into any charging station. Complying with such parking ordinances is solely the responsibility of the driver.
The network provides great flexibility to Hosts, the owner of the ChargePoint Network Charging Stations, in determining whether they want to recover some or all of the costs associated with providing a public service to drivers of plug-in electric vehicles. Such Hosts may designate their stations as "commercial" or "free", which has an affect on whether or not a Subscriber will be billed for a session at those stations, respectively. Sessions at "free" stations are, of course, free to all Subscribers, regardless of their subscription plan and regardless of the method they choose for buying sessions (i.e., One at a Time, Block of 10, or Unlimited). However, sessions at "Commercial" stations will be billed to Basic Access subscribers at the rates indicated in the Sign Up page. Also, sessions at "Commercial" stations will count toward the monthly sessions of a subscriber who buys his sessions in a Block of 10: the 11th and all subsequent sessions for such subscribers will be billed at the rates indicated in the Sign Up page. Subscribers to Unlimited plans may use both "free" and "commercial" stations as many times per month as they want in accordance with the time-of-day restrictions, if any, of their subscription plan
.
Which Subscription Plan should I select? (back to top)
For a limited time only, the ChargePoint Network is providing free Basic Access, which is the only option available during the initial launch. Simply select the Basic Access plan and your account will be billed a small one-time setup fee for which you will receive a Smart Card in the mail. The monthly access fee will be waived for all of calendar year 2009. See Example 1 in Could you provide some examples of how these plans work in practice? for more information. The remaining paragraphs in this section provide more details on the plans that will be available going forward.
First, decide how you would like to purchase your charging sessions: one session at a time; in a block of 10 sessions per month; or unlimited sessions per month. See What are "sessions" and how do they work? for more information.
Second, decide when you would like to charge your vehicle. The cheapest plan, Nighttime Charging, allows you to plug your car in at any time, but the charging station will only charge your car from 9pm to 9am, local time. Conversely, as a subscriber to the Anytime Charging plan, the station will charge your car whenever it is plugged in, day or night. Between these two is the Grid-Friendly Charging plan, which Coulomb recommends for most Subscribers. Subscribers to the Grid-Friendly Charging plan may also charge their vehicle at any time, while paying a lower fee in exchange for allowing the Utility Company to suspend charging of their vehicles briefly and temporarily whenever the load on the grid is approaching a severe, Peak, condition. All Subscribers, regardless of plan, may have their charging sessions suspended temporarily under Super Peak conditions, when brownouts or rolling blackouts are imminent
.
Could you provide some examples of how these plans work in practice? (back to top)
For a limited time only, the ChargePoint Network is providing free Basic Access, which is the only option available during the initial launch. The examples below provide more details on the plans that will be available going forward.
Example 1: A Subscriber to a Basic Access plan will be billed a one-time setup fee, a small monthly fee (waived for calendar year 2009 for a limited time), and will be able to charge at any "free" charging station at no additional cost. Any sessions at "commercial" stations will be billed at the rates indicated in the Sign Up page. This plan is recommended for the early adopters to the ChargePoint Network, as most of the initial deployments are expected to be "free" stations.
Example 2: A Subscriber to a Grid Friendly / Unlimited Plan will be billed a one-time setup fee plus a monthly fee allowing the Subscriber to charge his vehicle unlimited times at any charging stations, "free" or "commercial", without any additional monthly fees. This plan is recommended for frequent users of the network, once a large number of charging stations have been installed.
Example 3: A Subscriber to a Night Time Only / Block of 10 plan will be billed a one-time setup fee plus a low monthly fee. This monthly free includes up to 10 sessions at "commercial" charging stations per month, plus of course an unlimited number of sessions at "free" stations. After the 10 sessions are used up, additional sessions at "commercial" stations are billed at the rates indicated in the Sign Up page. Night Time Only subscribers can plug in their vehicles at any time, but the station will only charge their vehicles between the hours of 9pm and 9am. A Subscriber to this plan can override the time restriction by following the instructions on the charging station, at which point he will be billed at the rates indicated in the Sign Up page. Note that unused sessions from the Block of 10 do not roll over to the next month
.
How do I sign up for service? (back to top)
Click on the Sign Up tab. Fill in your name, address, phone number, E"mail address, etc., at the top of the page. Also select the make and model of your vehicle from the list, or enter your own vehicle if yours is not shown. Next select your plan Which plan should I select?. Next select what size of Smart Card you would like to receive in the mail: a "credit card" size Smart Card that is designed to fit in a wallet; or a "key" size Smart Card that is roughly the length of a standard car key and is designed to fit on a key chain. Then enter the Security Code at the bottom of the screen and click the Proceed to make payment button. If there are any errors in any of the fields, there will be red "help" text below the field informing you of the error. Correct all such errors, re-enter the Security Code at the bottom of the screen, and again click the Proceed to make payment button. This will take you to the Credit Card payment screen. Enter your credit card information and then click the Confirm Registration button.
Why does nothing happen when I hit the Confirm Registration button in the Sign Up screen? (back to top)
Most likely there is an error in one of the input fields. Scroll up to the top of the page to see if this is the case. Any field with an error will have some text below it in red explaining the error. Be sure to repair all such errors before proceeding. Also, don't forget to re-enter the Security Code at the bottom of the screen, which may have changed since you first hit the Confirm Registration button, and then click that button again.
Is my Credit Card data safe? (back to top)
The ChargePoint Network never stores your Credit Card data. Rather, such data is stored only by a secure, Tier I, Payment Gateway provider (CyberSource), in accordance with PCIDSS standards. In fact, the web page in which you enter your payment information, including the Credit Card number, is served directly by CyberSource. The ChargePoint Network never even sees your Credit Card number. Thus, there is no way for a hacker to steal the card data from the ChargePoint Network Operating System servers, as the card data is never stored on those servers.
Can I upgrade my account? (back to top)
Yes, you can upgrade or downgrade your subscription at any time. You will receive a pro-rated debit or credit, respectively, depending on the point in the billing cycle at which you make the change.
Can I cancel my subscription? (back to top)
Yes, you can cancel your subscription at any time. You will receive a pro-rated refund for the unused subscription revenue.
I received my Smart Card in the mail - now what? (back to top)
You must activate your card before you can use it. If you have already created an account on mychargepoint.net, then see How do I activate my Smart Card - I already have an account? Otherwise, see How do I activate my Smart Card - I have not yet created an account?
How do I activate my Smart Card - I already have an account? (back to top)
If you have already created an account, simply log in to your account on mychargepoint.net by clicking here. Under the My Account tab, select Activate Card. In the indicated field, enter the serial number on the back of your Smart Card (the number below the bar code), and click activate. This completes the activation process. Once activated, you may use your card to charge your plug-in electric vehicle at any ChargePoint Network Charging Station. Use the Find Location feature to find the nearest station to a specific location, or along a route.
How do I activate my Smart Card - I have not yet created an account? (back to top)
If you were given a ChargePoint Network Smart Card and have not yet created an account, the first step is to create an account. Go to the signup page, and select I already have a card. Fill in your account details, which must include a valid E-mail address. Where indicated, enter the serial number on the back of your Smart Card (the number below the bar code). When finished filling in your account information, click on submit. You will receive an E-mail with a link you can click on to complete the activation process.
Why won't the Charging Station read my Smart Card? (back to top)
The Smart Card must be held close to the indicated lock icon. Hold the card there for a second or two rather than swiping it quickly past the icon.
What do the different colors mean on the map of Charging Stations? (back to top)
Available charging stations are shown in green. Occupied stations are shown in blue. Charging Stations that are Unreachable are shown in yellow. A station is shown as "Unreachable" when it does not respond to a periodic heartbeat message. The most likely cause of an "Unreachable" station is one of the following: (1) the installation "rough in" has been completed, but the station is in transit and has not yet been physically installed; or (2) the station is a SALES DEMO and is currently powered down
What does it mean when a station is listed as a "SALES DEMO"? (back to top)
A station listed as a "SALES DEMO" is a portable, mobile, charging station that a ChargePoint Network Regional Distributor can bring to trade shows, public events, and customer meetings. The station appears on the map so the Distributor can demonstrate the ChargePoint Network Operating System portals, and thus the advanced features and benefits of a smart, networked, charging infrastructure. As such, the station is not permanently installed at the location indicated on the map. To arrange for a demonstration, please contact the ChargePoint Network Regional Distributor in your area.
How are GHG Savings computed? (back to top)
Coulomb uses EPA estimates to derive a formula relating GreenHouse Gas (GHG) Savings to the amount of energy delivered to the vehicle from the charging station. The following estimates are used in the calculations, with references:
- Driving an ICE (Internal Combustion Engine) vehicle emits 8.8 kg CO2/gal (19.4 lbs CO2/gal). [1]
- The US Passenger Car average efficiency for ICE vehicles is 23.9 mi/gal (mpg) [2]
- An Electric Vehicle (EV) has an average efficiency of 5.0 mi/kWh. [Note: This is a Coulomb estimate based on data for several types of Electric Vehicles.]
- Electricity generation, for the mix consumed in the CAMX (WECC California) region, emits 0.49 kg CO2/kWh (1.08 lbs CO2/kWh) [3]
- CO2 is 95% of GHG emissions [4]
Will any standard 120V charging cord work with your charging stations? (back to top)
All standard, grounded, cords with opaque plugs, that are rated for 15A, will work with our charging stations. Cords with clear plastic plugs -- ones through which you can see the wires and contacts -- are not supported. Neither are ungrounded plugs with only two contactors. The reason such cords are not supported is for public safety. The charging station will not energize the outlet (Level 1) until it detects that a plug has been firmly seated into the outlet and that the door is closed and locked. In some cases, the sensors which detect the presence of the plug will "see through" a clear plastic plug, and as such, the station will not energize the outlet. Coulomb recommends outdoor-rated, bright orange, charging cords with opaque connectors for use with our charging stations for Level 1 charging. For Level 2 charging, the SAE J1772TM Document connector and cord are physically attached to the charging station, and so this FAQ entry does not apply.
What kind of Notification can I sign up for? (back to top)
Vehicle Fully Charged: The power drops below a pre-configured threshold, which indicates that the battery is fully charged.
Plut Out Detected: Someone removed the cord from the Vehicle or the charging station. This immediately ends the session. The cord remains locked inside the charging station until you use your card to retrieve it.
GFCI (Ground Fault Current Interrupt) Trip: Occurs when the station detects a problem with the vehicle's battery charging circuit or the cord connecting the vehicle to the charging station. The station will retry after a 15min countdown, but give up after three occurrences. If you receive this notification, please contact the manufacturer of your vehicle, or the company that did the conversion, as it may indicate a problem with the charging circuit or the battery in the vehicle.
Overcurrent: The vehicle is trying to draw more current than allowed. The station will cut off the power and, as in the case of GFCI, retry after a 15min countdown. If you receive this notification, please contact the manufacturer of your vehicle, or the company that did the conversion, as it may indicate a problem with the charging circuit or the battery in the vehicle.
Which browsers are supported? (back to top)
ChargePoint Network Portals are officially supported in Microsoft Internet Explorer versions 7.0 and 8.0; Mozilla Firefox versions 3.0 and 3.5, with a minimum resolution of 1024x768 in all cases. Some Rich Internet Application content may not render correctly in other browsers, versions, and platforms.
