Category Archives: Local EV Event

FIT Treat or Treat 2017

October 29, 2017 Space Coast EV Drivers Team

The Residence Life Sustainability club invited us to bring our EVs to their annual Treat or Treat event. This year they had set up each dorm building as a different themed haunted house with different levels of fright. There were almost 3000 people there so this was by far one of the biggest events we’ve attended yet! We were invited to help spread the ecological and economical savings our cars have given us so far to go with the overall sustainability theme of the event. One of the main ideas was for the children to get some trick or treat practice before the big day on Halloween so there were other vendors and exhibitors there with fun games and things for kids to “win” candy. We just had free candy to go with our free information for the parents and older kids all about driving electric. Everyone loved being able to see the cars right next to our tent and all seemed surprised to know they were our personal cars. Most people we talk to assume we are some sort of salespeople trying to sell them cars. We always explain how these are the cars we drive every day to work, school, the mall, and the movies so we are the people to answer your questions. The costumes were awesome and everyone had a great time talking electric vehicles to so many people.

Here’s the full album of photos: https://photos.app.goo.gl/fOIw32xOomhO3fZs1

Local EV Event

FIT First Year Experience

October 14, 2017 Space Coast EV Drivers Team

A couple of us took a long lunch break to showcase our personal EVs at the FIT campus to show to the First Year students during their course on Sustainability. We didn’t have a lot of different makes and models to show since it was during the work day but we had plenty of information and handouts for them to read about later. The students had lots of great questions and we were able to answer them from our years of real world knowledge of driving them every day. We let them sit in the cars and look under the hood and explained how little it costs us for fuel and maintenance compared to a regular car. We also opened their eyes to the ever growing used market for these electric vehicles and plug in hybrids that are coming off lease or get traded in for newer models.

We are now looking forward to the next event at FIT for their Treat or Treat night!

Full album of photos taken during this event: https://photos.app.goo.gl/dGMI4GMLKLY78ygl2

Local EV Event

October Monthly EV Meetup

October 12, 2017 Space Coast EV Drivers Team

This month we met up at the Dixie Crossroads restaurant in Titusville. The main idea was to show the owner and manager how much extra business installing a charging station would bring. We explained how they are in a great location by showing them the plugshare map and how they are just off the interstate and highway where there aren’t many options for charging. They were VERY interested when we told them about the FREE to install, FREE to use, FREE to maintain, and they pay you back for all the power used each month charging stations from Volta Charging: http://www.voltacharging.com/

We went over the numbers from our big, annual, nation wide National Plug in Day event we had on Sept 16 in Satellite Beach: Almost 350 total attendees, right around 42 electric vehicles, and we gave just under 120 test ride and drives. We all agreed this was not bad at all considering we had the hurricane come through the weekend before!

Then we went over the events in our calendar to make sure everyone knew about them and was planning to attend. As always, make sure to check our Upcoming Events page to see where we’ll be if you want to ask us questions, take look inside and even possibly take a ride or drive in on of our personal electric vehicles.

Local EV Event, National Drive Electric Week

National Drive Electric Week 2017 Recap

September 23, 2017 Space Coast EV Drivers Team

The 2014 event took place in Melbourne, while 2015 and 2016 took place in Satellite Beach and this year we once again held our 2017 National Drive Electric Week event at the Schechter Center in Satellite Beach . The big note from this event is that it was planned for the weekend right after hurricane Irma caused a lot of problems throughout Florida. Due to the hurricane, we didn’t have quite as many electric vehicles show up that were registered but we were still amazed that we had 42 over the course of the day. Some showed up early then left later on to do hurricane clean up, and others did some clean up early but still showed up later staying to the end.

Let’s just say it. We were blown away by the number of EV owners that volunteered their time to show their car and talk to attendees all about them and answer their questions this year. We had plenty of owners that gave test rides and some owners let lucky attendees drive their EV around the block. Everyone agreed that being able to not only see the cars and talk to the owners but to actually go riding or driving in them really showed the attendees just how great EVs are. Current owners talked facts and figures letting attendees know that these vehicles are available and affordable convincing some that an EV could realistically be their next car.

We opened the event with a speech from Steve Osmer, vice mayor of Satellite Beach. He kicked off the festivities by reading the official proclamation signed and sealed by the mayor. He also took the time during his speech to say a few words about how this event lines up exactly with their environmental and green efforts brought forward by the city’s sustainability board.

Everyone loved the FREE raffle prizes that were donated by some of our very own Space Coast EV Drivers club members, Schneider Electric, and Nissan Leaf. The kids especially loved the Simon says game allowing them a chance to grab a few prizes while having some fun.

We had two food trucks out of the four that were registered to be there. The hurricane made it hard to find generators and messed up the food supply for some of them. Both the Coastal Kitchen and Good Moos food trucks sold out of most of their food and were a big hit. Everyone loved the ice cream and smoothies from Good Moos to help stave off the heat from the great, 90+ degree sunny weather we had that day.

Sadly, we had a few exhibitors that had to cancel due to the hurricane as well but we still had plenty to help make a great event such as: Melbourne BMW, Solar Energy Systems of Brevard, Citizens Climate Lobby, Florida Institute of Technology Engineering Electric Race Team, Space Coast Progressive Alliance, and Brevard Solar. Much thanks to all of our exhibitors that came out and a very big thanks to Denis DeSousa from Melbourne BMW who sponsored the water/soda tent, supplying our volunteers and attendees alike with refreshments in the heat. We love having exhibitors as part of the event and the benefit of having solar installers on hand is being able to show attendees how some of our members who already have solar on their house drive everywhere using pure sunlight as fuel. True zero emissions!

The Kennedy Space Center once again brought their Lunar Rover to display as it is also an electric vehicle. Kids and adults alike loved to sit on it and take selfies. We weren’t expecting many attendees to show up due to the hurricane but we counted close to 350! Thanks to everyone that brought their EVs and everyone who came out to see and learn about them we had a VERY successful event. We’ll see everyone at our next event in October. Make sure to check our Upcoming Events page to see where we’ll be next so you can come out and see and learn about all the different makes and models.

Here’s the link to the full album of photos taken from the event: https://photos.app.goo.gl/ZNgwjxHF2NyzAQB93

EV News, Local EV Event, National Drive Electric Week

Join Us for National Drive Electric Week 2017

July 20, 2017 Space Coast EV Drivers Team

It’s time for the big event we look forward to every year: National Drive Electric Week! This is the time for everyone in and around the Space Coast of Florida to come out and take a ride in a Tesla and every other available make and model electric vehicle. These are our personal cars we drive every day to work and school and have driven them for many years and almost a million combine miles. Every car on display or available for ride and drives will be able to plug in and drive on pure electricity. This does include plug in hybrids like the Chevy Volt and Ford CMax Energi that have built in gas generators for long trips in addition to 100% electric only cars like the Tesla and Nissan Leaf. There will be at least 14 different makes and models to see and take for a ride around the block to get the full EV experience. To show everyone just how easy and convenient it is to plug in your car every day, we’ll have some charging stations and portable chargers on site to let attendees plug and unplug our cars! We’ll have a big tent set up for water and shade for public Q&A. Since we drive these cars every day we are definitely the people to answer your burning EV questions. We’ll have food trucks, music and raffles for small prizes! There will be environmental exhibitors such as solar power installers, the Marine Resources Council, and the Turtle Coast Sierra Club. We’ll also have the new Electric Fun Rides right next door with electric bicycles, scooters, skateboards, and hoverboards ready for you to take a spin. So come on out, check out all the different makes and models of electric vehicles, take a ride around the block in some others and enter the raffle for prizes. This day is all about electric vehicles and how fun and easy they are to drive and to spread the word on all the savings on fuel and maintenance and their environmental benefits of clean air. We’ll have our members on hand that can show you how they installed solar panels on their house and now charge their electric car with pure sunlight! Make sure to register to attend right now, today! Go here for our official event page and click the Register button: https://driveelectricweek.org/event.php?eventid=917

Local EV Event

July EV Meetup Recap

July 2, 2017 Space Coast EV Drivers Team

Today we met at the Squid Lips bar and grill because it is right next to the charging station at the Eau Gallie Library. Al Lococo gave us an explanation of the different adapters he has collected or built himself over the years for his electric vehicles. He uses a lot of them on road trips when plugging in at the various hotels he stays at that allow him to get a nice, overnight charge while he sleeps. As more and more hotels and businesses install the standard, J1772 plug charging stations, it will be MUCH easier and become commonplace for those staying overnight at hotels to charge their EV. Remember, if you are a business owner and want to attract more business a simple investment in an EVSE (electric vehicle supply equipment) is a no-brainer. Just check our charging station info page for all the info you need for the various types, sizes, and configurations of charging stations. You can also call or email us if you have any immediate questions on all things EV related.

We also had a guest from the Brevard Environment and Sustainability Team visit our meetup and tell us all about the upcoming city council meeting at Melbourne City Hall on July 25 at 6 pm. We will be there to show support for the city to create an environmental and sustainability committee and to pledge goals for renewable energy and electric car fleets for city use. We can show how much we save and how little money we spend on maintenance on our personal vehicles that would translate to electric city vehicles.

We are still pushing to make sure everyone signs up for National Drive Electric Week in Satellite Beach on September 16 and tell everyone you know to sign up too. The newspapers and radio like to see that hundreds of people have signed up for an event to get really excited. In 2015 we had almost 200 attendees. In 2016 we had almost 300 attendees. We are hoping to get almost 400 or more this year! Make sure everyone you know signs up to attend our event to ride in a Tesla, or any other make model EV we’ll have there. From the Nissan Leaf to the Chevy Volt, the new Chevy Bolt, BMW i3 and i8, the Kia Soul EV, the Fiat 500e, and the Ford C-Max Energi. Below is a list of all of the current numbers of members and makes/models we hope will be there at the event!

Current Membership as of July 2, 2017

Total EVs:
80

Total Members:
94

EV Models:
RAV 4 EV	1
Nissan Leaf	21
Mitsubishi iMiEV	1
Ford Fusion Energi	1
Chevy Volt	22
Ford Focus EV	1
Tesla Roadster	1
Tesla Model S	11
Ford CMax Energi	2
Plug in Prius	3
BMW i3	2
BMW i8	1
Tesla Model X	2
Zero S Motorcycle	1
Chevy Spark EV	2
Toyota Celica Conversion	1
Austin Healey Conversion	1
Fiat 500e	1
Kia Soul EV	1
Zero FXS Motorcycle	1
GotWay MCM2s	1
Chevy Bolt	2

Local EV Event

June 2017 Meet up recap

June 4, 2017 Space Coast EV Drivers Team

This month we met at a new restaurant, the Crafty Crab in West Melbourne. We introduced our newest members and discussed the latest EV news. A few of us even compared notes on how little maintenance we’ve had in the past year or two. Most everyone just talked about rotating the tires and refilling the windshield washer fluid.

A few of us noticed that there were many signatures and scribblings on the wall in the restaurant. So we asked if we could put our group name on the wall. They let us! Then the waitress told us it was OK to draw on the white part of the wall where everyone seemed to be avoiding. So one of our better-art-inclined members drew up our logo right on the wall! We’ll see how many people it brings in with some google searches to find our website.

We handed out a few more official blue polo tshirts for the newer members so we’re looking ever more ready for upcoming events with the public Q&A on driving electric.

We’re only a few months out from the National Drive Electric Week so make sure to sign up to attend today! We need the numbers to show the huge interest in getting to see and test drive and ride in electric vehicles right in your neighborhood. If you haven’t signed up yet make sure to go here and get registered: https://driveelectricweek.org/event-attend.php?eventid=917

Today’s meeting also resulted in us coming up with an idea for our website/Facebook: Owner Stories! If you have an EV just take a picture standing next to your car then send it in with a short blurb on why you chose to drive electric, why you picked your specific make/model, and what you like about it. We’ll post them all on our website and on our Facebook page. Once you get it ready send it to our official email: spacecoastevdrivers@gmail.com.

Here’s a few pictures from today’s meet up and a link to the full album:

Link to the full album: https://goo.gl/photos/jkFdPjFpesYBFj666

Local EV Event

Energy Whiz 2017 at the Florida Solar Energy Center

May 23, 2017 Space Coast EV Drivers Team

We were invited again this year to bring our personal EVs out to display and give test rides at the Energy Whiz event held at the Florida Solar Energy Center in Cocoa, FL. This event is for students to bring in their projects and compete as well as have their projects judged for trophies, plaques, and ribbons. Much like science fair but all the projects have a central theme of using renewable energy in some form. They have mini solar powered cars that have to race down a track carrying something like an egg or ping pong ball. The winner has to cross the finish line with their “cargo” intact and still on board! There is also a solar cook-off where the students design and build their own solar ovens that use mirrors and reflective foil and tape to focus the sun onto their pots and pans. So they will be judged not only on the design and cooking power of the oven but also on the food they cooked with it! There is also a “critter comfort cottage” competition where the students build a dog/cat/bird house that uses solar or other renewable power to run a fan or cooler or in some way make the house more comfortable for the animal. There is also the big electrathon race with home built electric carts that use four bicycle sized wheels, electric motor, and batteries and drive around a track for 1 hour. The race is won by endurance and the cart that does the most laps in 1 hour on a single battery charge.

We were there with many different makes and models of electric vehicles that we drive every day to work and school. Our tent and tables were set up on both sides of the main entrance so we could answer as many questions as possible from the attendees about our daily driving on electricity. Everyone agreed that it was VERY beneficial to see all the different makes and models available as most of them didn’t know they even existed and were available to purchase today from the local dealerships (or directly from Tesla’s website!)

Here’s a few photos from the event with a link to the full album below:

Full album here: https://goo.gl/photos/SCdH5SRqq554bRrR6

Local EV Event

March for Science Recap

April 23, 2017 Space Coast EV Drivers Team

We brought some of our EVs to the March for Science in Titusville, FL at the Space View Park on April 22, 2017. We also had our co-founder, Josh Pritt, as a speaker after the march to talk about Electric Vehicles and the science behind them.

The weather was just about perfect and there were nearly 300 people there. We talked to over 100 just about electric vehicles as they came over to ask us all about driving electric.

Here’s a few photos from the event as well as a link to the full photo album.

Full album here: https://goo.gl/photos/viJZyYX4wdpQ2TZ1A

Local EV Event

Earth Day 2017 at Kennedy Space Center Recap

April 22, 2017 Space Coast EV Drivers Team

We were invited again to bring some of our electric cars to the Earth Day event at the Kennedy Space Center visitor complex. We set up right next to the rocket garden this time and were much closer to where the people walk through. There were well over 100 people that stopped by for electric vehicle information. Almost every one of them didn’t realize there were so many different makes and models to choose from or that there were so many with the gasoline backup option. We were there to explain the differences and how it works for us in our daily driving and how much we are saving by driving on locally produced electricity and some of us with the gasoline backup only buy 4 gallons of gas every 3 or 4 months. These events at the KSC visitor complex are always great fun with plenty of other activities for the attendees to do and learn about taking better care of the planet. NASA even brought a few of their electric vehicles to add to our display of cars!

It's Electric!