Installation of the Month (July 2022): Kenwood Inn & Spa

A key focus for us over the last several years has been the installation of additional chargers at holiday hot spots, tourist destinations, and other key points of interest. Not only will it help dispel long-range travel anxiety among many new EV drivers, but it will also lead to a significant reduction in carbon emissions otherwise generated by gas-guzzlers during peak vacation seasons. Moreover, our egalitarian approach to site selection means we’re just as likely to install a charger at a McDonald’s as we are at a Morton’s since we understand the value in catering to a broad clientele. However, higher net worth individuals continue to drive EV sales in the US (a June 2021 Fuels Institute study specifies middle-aged males with household incomes over $100,000), so catering to venues that offer a luxury experience will encourage even greater participation by this group while serving as a bellwether for lower-income drivers who are attracted to the idea of electric mobility as a symbol of status.

In that vein, we’re featuring the beautifully appointed Kenwood Inn & Spa, a luxurious two-and-a-half acre getaway nestled amongst the hills of the Sonoma Valley and home to our first ever 100kW supercharger. The picturesque property is located at 10400 Sonoma Highway in the town of Kenwood and can be seen here.

The Kenwood Inn & Spa, part of the Four Sisters chain of boutique hotels, offers a Mediterranean-inspired ambiance, including 29 cloistered guest villas surrounded by lush green gardens filled with oak and walnut trees, stone fountains, and nearby rolling vineyards that will make you swear you’re in Tuscany. Guests can enjoy a heated pool, hot tub, wine bar with chessboards, on-site concierge, and signature bistro serving local gourmet specialties, all in a highly intimate and inviting setting. The spa offers an array of rejuvenating and customizable massage treatments designed to melt away stress and improve sleep. Continuing with the luxury theme, guests are treated to a glass of sparkling wine upon arrival and complimentary wine, cheese, and cordials each evening. Conde Nast readers rated Kenwood the “Top Resort in Mainland USA” in the magazine’s 21st Annual Readers’ Choice Survey. More about the property can be found here.

The DC fast charger we installed not only has an enviable 100kW total output but also features dual port charging technology that can offer 50kW parallel outputs. It’s slightly girthier than our standard chargers at 34 inches deep (versus 22 inches), 42 inches wide (versus 34 inches), and 1,350 pounds (versus 850). However, network compatibility, connector configuration, and the 15-inch color display panel all remain the same, while the efficiency rating was slightly improved to greater than 92% and max DC current notched up to 200A from 125A. What does this all mean for EV drivers? Ultra-rapid charging speeds – up to 80% in 15 minutes – with the same great reliability and customer service they’ve come to know from EVCS. Exactly what you’d expect from a luxury experience.

After charging up, guests can explore a whole host of attractions within a five-mile radius considering the inn’s highly central location, including Hood Mountain Regional Park, Morton’s Warm Springs, the Sonoma Botanical Garden, and Jack London State Historic Park. And for golf lovers, the Ted Robinson-designed Sugarloaf Course at the Valley of the Moon Club is just a quick jaunt down Sonoma Highway. Of course, what would a trip to Sonoma be without a tasting tour of the best local vino? Fortunately, top wineries like Deerfield Ranch, VJB, and Muscardini Cellars are just a stone’s throw away (although with your fully charged battery, it wouldn’t matter if they weren’t).

While making EVs accessible to everyone is a critical part of our goal, we acknowledge that many higher-income drivers want infrastructure specifically catered to their interests and lifestyle. As such, we’ll continue to partner with great destinations like Kenwood that elevate the EV experience through their luxury offerings. That said, we encourage EV drivers of any level to take a long weekend and pamper themselves whenever they can, what with all the money they’re saving on gas!

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Navigating California’s New EV Mandate

California’s going all in on electric. On August 25th, Governor Gavin Newsom made a very important announcement concerning the future of transportation in the Golden State: “We can solve this climate crisis if we focus on the big, bold steps necessary to cut pollution. California now has a groundbreaking, world-leading plan to achieve 100 percent zero-emission vehicle sales by 2035.” Big and bold, indeed. And while highly encouraging, it brings up a number of questions moving forward.

How EVCS is Repairing Reliability Concerns

One of the biggest concerns among EV drivers today is the reliability of public chargers. One recent survey from the Department of Bioengineering at UC Berkeley claims as many as 23% of public chargers in the Bay Area alone are, as Wired sums up, “nonfunctioning at any given time, stymied by broken screens, shoddy credit card or payment systems, network connection failures, or damaged plugs.” And that’s in a locale prioritizing the conversion to electric. Testimony from motorists seems to corroborate these findings. A CEC survey of 1,290 EV drivers found that fully 60% had experienced damaged or inoperable chargers, while almost half needed assistance from customer service. We find this wholly unacceptable and have taken measures to ensure that chargers in the EVCS network rise to the standard of operability our customers expect. Here are a few ways we’re doing that:

Mexico to Canada EV Road Trip: EVCS Interview

We sat down with EV owner and enthusiast Anthony Williams, a 60-year-old business owner from San Diego, who recently commemorated the 10-year anniversary of his first trans-American road trip in an EV by retracing the same route to see what had changed in the world of EV fast charging, for better or for worse. Below are some of his insights and feedback.

Installation of the Month (June 2022): KPC Anaheim Global Medical Center

“For us, healthcare is not only about caring for our patients, but also about investing in the people who live in our communities.” These are the words emblazoned across the home page of the KPC Anaheim Global Medical Center’s website. Facilities like these are attractive partners for us because, like us, their goal is the betterment of humanity. In fact, just replace “healthcare” with “electric mobility” and “patients” with “planet,” and you have the EVCS mission statement in a nutshell. Allying with kindred spirits creates a natural synergy for us through the sharing of core values like customer service and an improved quality of life. Imagine then our excitement when KPC decided to install four of our newest DC fast chargers on their Anaheim property, giving us the opportunity to continue expanding our network southward.

6 Reasons Why Fast Charging is Critical

EVCS Level 3 chargers are capable of charging an EV battery to 80% capacity within 20 minutes on most vehicles. They are sleek, efficient, convenient, work with any EV, can function in myriad conditions, and are connected by a powerful network with an easy-to-use interface. By all measures, Level 3 charging – or fast charging – is not only an important link in the electric mobility chain as society transitions away from fossil fuels but a critical one to the goal of mass EV adoption.