(The recently opened Shell service station located at 5762 Hazeldean Road provides two electric vehicle charging stations for Stittsville residents. Photos: Phil Sweetnam)
Charging an electric vehicle with ease just became more accessible in Stittsville with the opening of the new Shell station located at 5762 Hazeldean Road. The station includes a convenience store, car wash, and importantly for EV owners, two 180kW electric vehicle charging stations.
More and more charging stations will be needed to meet demand as more people are shifting to electric powered vehicles. No subscription or connecting fees are required to use Shell’s system. Simply download the app on a mobile phone, register, include payment information and you are ready to charge.
The Shell app has other features that help you locate the nearest charger, check charging status and easily make payments. The Shell EV charging system at Hazeldean Road has two CCS1 high speed DC fast chargers which is the fast charging standard in North America. CCS1 can deliver 500 amps and 1000 volts DC providing a maximum power output of 360 kW with most EV’s getting a speedy re-charge up to 80% in under 30 minutes. If you require a longer charge or just for 10 minutes, the Shell Recharge is completely flexible, so customers can charge for the amount of time they require. Shell chargers don’t have a minimum charge time.
Shell Canada says, “Shell Recharge will help remove the barriers that prevent drivers from feeling the freedom of EV driving by providing a fast charging experience.”
To download the Shell app using an i-Phone: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/shell-recharge/id617977159 or visit Google store at https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.zecosystems.greenlots&pli=1. Note that Tesla owners need to supply their own adaptors.
Phil Sweetnam, and his son Craig, own electric vehicles and both are quite satisfied with the efficiency and their performance. Phil took some time to share his thoughts with us on recharging electric cars.
“When drivers stop to recharge their electrical vehicle the speed of recharge is very important! It is very expensive to provide the power of 500 Amps at 1000 Volts DC to recharge the battery as quickly as possible. The transformer adjacent to the charging station cords is large enough to service 50 homes which have a 200 amp service.
Today the most important issue is to have enough charging stations in the community at convenient locations. In a more mature market electric recharging stations will display the price per kilowatt of the electrical energy they supply. Shell Canada did not offer the cost per kilowatt but we understand that the current cost varies between 0.25 to 0.50 per kilowatt.
The high cost of providing quick recharges will mean it will be less costly to recharge at home where a recharge can take between 2 and 4 hours when a level 2 charger is used,” Phil stated.
