A great idea for hit Reality TV shows transfers to your garage and the EV within. Wayne Gerdes – CleanMPG – Aug. 10, 2022 What a fantastic idea! Garage makeover showcases how EV drivers can still enjoy chips, footlongs and pizza while their vehicle sits silently absorbing its next drives energy. Chevrolet unveiled a complete garage makeover inspired by a Bolt EV owner who realized she was missing out on her favorite gas station impulse buys since she charges her car at home and skips the gas station altogether. After years of hearing stories from Bolt EV owners who love living the EV lifestyle — especially the perk of not having to buy or pump gas thanks to charging at home — there were a few things many EV drivers said they missed. Namely, they miss the guilty pleasure snacks found at the gas station mini mart. Not really but it is a great premise. With many EV owners now charging at home, Chevrolet decided to transform one Bolt EV owner’s garage into the “ultimate EV garage” to demonstrate how EV drivers can have the best of both worlds: enjoying tasty snacks they love, while charging their EV at home. Chevrolet collaborated with celebrity designer and builder Wendell Holland, recognized for his popular television shows in home design, to redesign Denver resident and Chevy Bolt owner Pamela Talley’s garage into an at-home convenience store. Chevy even polled the brand’s social media audience to gather followers’ favorite gas station snacks and incorporated these into the makeover. Pamela’s garage is now stocked with gas station favorites such as a frozen drink machine, hot dog warmer, beef jerky buffet, chips, candy, a drink fridge and more. Who would not want to park their PHEV or EV within this? With many consumers considering the switch to EVs, Chevrolet is helping owners see the opportunity to reimagine their own garage. Chevrolet is making it easier for Bolt EV and Bolt EUV owners to charge at home by covering standard installation of an L2, 240V outlet for eligible customers who purchase or lease a 2022 or 2023 model year Bolt EV or Bolt EUV. In collaboration with Qmerit, Chevrolet’s official EV charging solutions installation partner, the offer gives customers access to faster charging right where they want it. While charging at home is important to EV owners, GM is also investing nearly $750 million in the EV charging ecosystem through Ultium Charge 360. This investment will expand access to charging at home and at work, as well as public charging around town, metropolitan fast charging, and fast-charging stations along highways to enable long distance electric travel. Today, a Chevy customer with the myChevrolet mobile app can access more than 100,000 public chargers through this integration with more than 11 major charging networks.
While I like this, so many of the items screamed out creature bait to me, I know it was supposed to be fun though
I'm a stick in the mud. Just ask my wife. I don't like the premise. I don't like the loss of one parking space. I don't like the encouragement of eating junk food. I don't care much for social media either, or reality shows. Unfortunately, the wife is hooked on them. I hope the renovation went with an 11 KW capable L2 charger. That's what Chevrolet should be offering its customers. I'm about to start my own garage reno. We have a large, attached two car garage. We are borrowing four feet of it to add to ground floor house space for a master suite conversion of an existing small bedroom and bath. Our present master suite is on the second floor and we're going to want first floor living as we age. That still leaves an intact two car garage and we are reconfiguring the two separate garage doors into one big one. Lally columns down the center will be removed and replaced by a beam for more flexible parking and movement as well. The garage will also be insulated. Funny enough, no change to my 6.6 KW L2 charger. (okay, EVSE if you want to get technical)
Here's something that should make home EV charging stations much easier to add in the future. I don't know what it will cost, but it will certainly avoid the cost of electric panel upgrades. A device called "ConnectDER" which will be available through Siemens. https://cleantechnica.com/2022/07/31/installing-home-ev-chargers-just-got-much-easier-and-cheaper/ https://www.motortrend.com/news/electric-vehicle-home-charger-siemens-connectder-level-2-ac/
