Installation of the Month (April 2021): Hilton Hotel & Plaza San Gabriel

Hilton is one of the most recognizable and respected organizations in the world. They own 18 different brands and more than 6,400 properties in 119 countries. Since 1925, they’ve been a model of the hospitality industry – synonymous with customer relations, integrity and innovation, which extends into areas like sustainability and the environment. Their website’s “Corporate Responsibility” page cites a commitment to fighting climate change, stating: “We seek to operate and grow sustainably, reducing our consumption of natural resources… We are proud to have set carbon reduction targets aligned with the Paris Climate Agreement.” And they continue to back up this commitment, including recently asking us to install EV charging banks at one of their key Los Angeles locations.

As such, our featured site for April is the Hilton Hotel & Plaza located at 225 and 227 West Valley Boulevard in the city of San Gabriel, about 10 miles northeast of downtown LA. See it here:

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Hilton+Los+Angeles%2FSan+Gabriel/@34.0798006,-118.1020363,15z/data=!4m8!3m7!1s0x0:0xcc63da5b0a5522ce!5m2!4m1!1i2!8m2!3d34.0798006!4d-118.1020363

The 4-star property features luxuriously appointed guest rooms and suites with signature Hilton Serenity beds, blackout curtains, mini fridges, Italian marble bathrooms and bath amenities by Peter Thomas Roth. Downstairs, hotel guests can make use of a fully functional business center, conference rooms, fitness center, indoor lap pool and modern restaurant serving Asian fusion dishes. A rooftop terrace with fountain and spacious ballroom each offer stylish event accommodations. Next door, the Plaza boasts dozens of shops, eateries, even a day spa. Moreover, the property is less than a mile from the San Gabriel Square Mall and just a short drive from key points of interest like the Staples Center, Little Tokyo and downtown Arts District. See more on the Hilton website here:

https://www.hilton.com/en/hotels/laxsghf-hilton-los-angeles-san-gabriel/

Much of our focus has been on installing chargers at social and leisure destinations – areas outside of commuters’ workplaces and homes – to facilitate electric mobility as a viable lifestyle alternative to internal combustion. Retail outlets and hotel chains are a critical part of that strategy, especially now that COVID has led many more people to opt for road trips over flying, making this a prime time to exploit EV technology. For the San Gabriel property, our installation included four DCFCs on the hotel side of their underground parking garage and another four on the plaza side along with four Blink Level 2 chargers. The DCFCs are 50 kW Slim Lines with integrated cord retractors, 15-inch color displays, up to 480 VAC, and a better than 90% efficiency rating. The Blinks boast an ergonomic pedestal design, ground monitoring circuits, and an output voltage of 208 to 240 VAC.

The convenience of being able to charge your EV overnight during a hotel stay, while shopping or while attending an event at the property cannot be overstated. According to a recent Autolist.com poll of 1,600 car shoppers, two of the top three reasons given on why EVs would not be a consideration were driving range and lack of charging infrastructure. Overcoming biases against EVs will, therefore, require increasing publicly available charging sites that eliminate concerns about range, accessibility and convenience. Brands like Hilton are in an especially enviable position to motivate a change in attitudes, not only because they have innumerable locations, but also because they can offer complimentary charging for guests, further reducing the cost of transit, which addresses the third most cited reason for avoiding EVs.

All this said, we want to thank our client Hilton for trusting us with this installation and for giving their patrons not only the choice but an added incentive to go electric – yet another reason why they continue to be leaders in the world of hospitality!

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Top 10 Reasons Why Mass EV Adoption is Inevitable

According to evadoption.com, EV sales are expected to grow from 3.4% of all new auto sales in 2021 to 29.5% in 2030. In fact, they cite several models that forecast explosive growth in EV ownership across the US over the next decade. See the full sales forecasts here complete with bar charts and supporting data: https://evadoption.com/ev-sales/ev-sales-forecasts/. While skeptics might pooh-pooh these projections as overly optimistic, we believe they may actually fall short of the eventual reality. Of course, only time will tell, but below are our top 10 reasons why we believe EVs will be as commonplace as microwaves come 2030.

Installation of the Month (July 2021): LADOT Lot 657

One of our main goals has been to install charging infrastructure in underserved communities, especially urban population centers that are key to our mission of wider EV adoption. Los Angeles is rife with such neighborhoods, where low-income families who wish to participate in the greening of society cry out for cost-effective ways to be part of the solution. Lincoln Heights, one of the oldest sections of the city, is a prime example. The densely populated area boasts numerous Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander groups who have expressed interest in electric mobility, but historically lacked access to the requisite charging stations. Moreover, with a median age of just 24, Lincoln Heights is brimming with younger generation Angelenos who have already embraced the idea of sustainability, but simply need the opportunity to take action.

West Coast Electric Highway to Receive Extensive Upgrade from EVCS

ARCADIA, Calif. (August XX, 2021) – EV Charging Solutions (EVCS), one of the largest electric vehicle (EV) fast charging network operators on the West Coast, today announced that they are approved and funded by the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) to upgrade 44 and add three new electric vehicle charging stations on the Oregon portion of the original West Coast Electric Highway (WCEH). Eleven of the 47 stations will be called “superstations” and will include three DC fast chargers and one Level 2 AC charger. In all, more than 100 charging ports will be upgraded or added.

Is Policy Action Alone Enough to Reach Net Zero by 2050?

Recently, BloombergNEF published a telling article titled, “Electric Vehicle Sales Set to Rise Faster Than Ever, but More Policy Action Needed to Get on Track for Net Zero.” The author raises many interesting observations about where we are now in the transition to electric mobility; where we’re projected to be in 10, 20 and even 30 years based on current trajectories; and what we need to do if we’re going to be net zero by 2050.

Auto Trends Magazine: Occhiuzzo Debunks 4 Misconceptions Surrounding EV Fast Charging Stations

Our co-founder and CEO, Gustavo Occhiuzzo, is quickly emerging as a thought leader in the world of electric mobility, becoming someone stakeholders can count on to demystify obscurities and address falsehoods surrounding the installation and application of charging infrastructure. Like any new technology, resistance to adoption is often based on fallacious notions, some of which may be perpetrated by those with a financial interest in competing technologies. Therefore, countering such notions with facts is crucial if both drivers and site hosts are to make an informed decision about EV adoption. Occhiuzzo most recently addressed four of the biggest misconceptions surrounding chargers in the article below for Auto Trends Magazine.