EV Incentives, Charging, & News
Electric Vehicles have proven that they are not a trend, they are the way of the future. The number of them on the roads has increased over the years and will not be slowing down anytime soon. There are plenty of ways that you can get onboard with the electric vehicle revolution as a driver, business owner, and community. There are incentives available, chargers for different needs, and plenty in electric vehicle news for everyone to get excited about.
Electric Vehicle Incentives, Chargers, & News
Incentives: Purchasing an electric vehicle can be more expensive than a conventional vehicle upfront. However, the maintenance costs of an electric vehicle are far less than that of a conventional vehicle. Additionally, there are federal and state incentives available to help offset the costs and encourage the purchase of an electric vehicle. Through the Federal Government, you can receive up to $7,500 in the form of a tax credit for purchasing an electric or hybrid vehicle. All hybrid and electric vehicles have their own tax incentive values. Furthermore, each state has their own tax incentives available for purchasing a hybrid or fully electric vehicle. You can save a large portion on the cost of a hybrid or electric vehicle through both state and federal tax incentives. Buying a hybrid or electric vehicle is a great way to do your part in lowering your carbon emissions.
State Incentives
NY EV Make Ready Program: A new EV incentive program is now available in New York for businesses and municipalities. The EV Make-Ready Program will help to cover the costs of making a site ready to install EV chargers. This includes utility electric infrastructure and EV equipment needed to connect and serve the EV charger, but does not cover the cost of the EV charger itself. The equipment and infrastructure must be installed by utility approved contractors, which Apex Solar Power & Roofing is. The program will cover up to 50% of the costs for non-public locations, up to 90% for public locations, and up to 100% for locations in or near disadvantaged communities. Additionally, you can retroactively apply for the incentive for projects that started on July 16, 2020 and after. This is a great opportunity to make your business and community EV friendly.
Types of EV Chargers: There are different types of EV chargers available for charging at home and on the road. Level 1 & 2 chargers are for at home use and Level 2, 3, & 4 chargers are for commercial use. It Is helpful to know what types of chargers are compatible with your vehicle, fit into your driving habits, and how quickly they can have you back on the road.
- Level 1 & 2 Chargers: A Level 1 charger is what comes with your electric vehicle at no extra cost. It feeds 120 volts and can be plugged into any standard household outlet. The drawback of a Level 1 charger is that it takes a long time to fully charge the battery. Level 1 chargers are great to have in case of an emergency but a Level 2 charger is more beneficial for anyone that uses their electric vehicle daily. A Level 2 charger feeds 240 volts and charges up to 10 times faster than a Level 1 charger. With a Level 2 charger stopping at home, or at a charger in your community, for a couple hours can extend your travel substantially.
- Level 3 & 4 Chargers (Fast Chargers): Level 2, 3, and 4 chargers can be used for commercial charging. However, only Level 3 and 4 chargers are considered Fast Chargers. Level 3 and 4 chargers charge your electric vehicle at a much faster rate than Level 2 chargers. Level 3 chargers can charge an empty battery in 20 minutes to an hour. Level 4 chargers are the Tesla Superchargers which are even faster than the Level 3 chargers. However, Level 4 chargers are only compatible with Teslas. Additionally, these chargers are designed to charge batteries that are very low. Fast Chargers rapidly charge your battery and it will start to slow down the pace of the charge when it reaches 50%. It will tapper off even further when the battery hits 80% charged. The suggestion is that once your battery hits 80%, on one of these chargers, that you cease charging unless you absolutely need your vehicle fully charged. Some stations will cut off the charge at 80%.
EV News: The electric vehicle market saw a boom in 2020 and it does not look like it is going to be slowing down. Tesla was one electric vehicle company that saw its shares see triple digit growth in 2020. While this is great news for the electric vehicle market, the cost of entry into the market is higher than that for a conventional vehicle. Therefore, electric vehicle companies NIO and Facedrive are finding innovative ways to bring the cost of electric vehicles down.
NIO is using a leasing program for the batteries of their vehicles to bring the price of purchasing an electric vehicle down. Participants can also exchange the battery of their vehicle after a few years of use with this program. Facedrive is using a leasing and exchange approach. They offer three different subscription levels and have seventeen models available. Participants can select the subscription package that suits them and then switch easily between the electric vehicles available in that package. Both NIO and Facedrive are finding innovative ways to bring more drivers into the electric vehicle revolution. It will be exciting to see what the future holds for electric vehicles and what innovations are right around the corner.
If you are looking for an electric vehicle charging station at your home or business reach out to us today. We would be happy to go over with you the options available that fit your needs and the incentives you can receive. Get started today!
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