Tag Archives: meetup

August EV Meetup Recap

August 5, 2018 Space Coast EV Drivers Team

We met this month at the Crafty Crab at Hammock Landing and went over everything needed to get ready for National Drive Electric Week. The main idea is we are in SERIOUS PUSH MODE for getting the word out. Tell everyone you know to sign up to attend at our official event page here: https://driveelectricweek.org/event.php?eventid=1235

We also printed some flyers for everyone to hand out at every place you visit and also ask if you can hang them up. You can download and print the flyer from here if you want to print a few of them yourself to help get the word out:

Next, two of our members will record the radio spot at WFIT to play the two weeks before the event. So look for a post about that in our September monthly meetup post.

We also talked about setting up a weekly meeting every Thursday for the planning of NDEW. This will be a meeting to make sure tasks are getting taken care of and we are all on the same page.

We had a visitor join us with questions about getting their very first car – and to get the best deal on an electric one! The advice was to go to cars.com or carvana and search for used EVs with the search terms to get the newest car within your budget to get the most bells and whistles. The battery tech is evolving with every update such as the 2016 Chevy Volt and 2018 Nissan Leaf so that’s important to research. It’s also good to measure your daily drive to see how much range you need to cover your driving habits. A plug in hybrid is always a good choice since it can use gasoline if the battery ever runs out for those that just can’t get over their range anxiety. We can tell you that range anxiety isn’t a real thing since everyone in our club that drives a pure electric car never worries about their range except in very rare cases.

Don’t forget to sign up to attend if you haven’t already on our main event page here: https://driveelectricweek.org/event.php?eventid=1235

One of our members finally remembered to take a picture of the Tesla Supercharger voltage/electric info label for the actual voltage/amps rating. It’s 410 volts and 270 amps. That’s a lot of juice! No wonder the Superchargers are the fastest chargers out there today.

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

April Monthly EV Meetup

April 3, 2017 Space Coast EV Drivers Team

The monthly meetup for April was held at the Panera Bread in Palm Bay. We took over almost all the tables in the little room in the back while a few of our cars were parked over at the charging station in front of Kohl’s:
https://api.plugshare.com/view/location/5774

We talked about having a big, EV extravaganza event at the American Muscle Car museum sometime soon. We will need to contact them and find a good time. We’ll also need to think about what exhibitors we want to invite as well. But first we really need to talk to the museum and get everything set up as far as day and time and logistics, etc.

The next events we talked about were the Earth Day events at Kennedy Space Center on the 20th and 21st. These events are always really fun for us since we can have our electric cars parked out among all of the historic rockets and space history while we answer all the questions from the attendees that stroll by. Earth Day is a great day to explain to everyone the environmental benefits of installing solar panels on your house then plug in your EV. Several of our members do this and drive around every day on pure sunlight as fuel!

We’ll also be at the Earth Day event on the 22nd at the Enchanted Forest Nature Sanctuary in Titusville. This will be our 4th time there with our cars and tent and table full of informational handouts. We always get to talk to lots of people interested in EVs with plenty of questions to answer with our real-world experience of driving them every day.

As always, check our upcoming events page to see where you can find us next.

Local EV Event

March Monthly Meetup 2017

March 6, 2017 Space Coast EV Drivers Team

We had a great meetup in March. Just like all of our monthly meetups this was on the first Sunday of the month from 2-4 pm. This time we had our meeting at the cafe inside the Courtyard by Marriott Cocoa Beach. They have two sets of charging stations there with each one in the same, shared parking lot between the Courtyard and the next door Hampton Inn. Each charging station has a 110v outlet, a J1772 level 2 plug, and a Tesla HPWC plug. Here’s the plugshare link for both of the stations:
https://api.plugshare.com/view/location/51236
https://api.plugshare.com/view/location/51235

One of our members brought his Zero brand electric motorcycle so we all took several looks at it after the meeting and asked lots of questions. Check the photos below to take a look yourself.

We talked more about the upcoming event at FIT for the WFIT music festival and our plans for a few Earth Day events. As always, check our upcoming events page to see where we’ll be next!

EV News, Local EV Event

July’s EV Event Recap

July 15, 2014 Space Coast EV Drivers Team

July’s EV Event Recap

Seven drivers of electric vehicles pose for a photo around a table at Panera Bread — Members of SCEV Drivers pose for a photo at the July EV meet up while at Panera Bread in Palm Bay, FL

Each month the Space Coast Electric Vehicle drivers host an informal Electric Vehicle drivers meet up at Brevard County area establishments located within walking distance of a public charging station. These events usually take place the first Sunday of each month, with the exception of months with holidays falling on or close to the date (such as July 4th). For those who couldn’t make it we post an event recap for each month to keep you all up to date!

This past Sunday we held our July EV Event at the Panera Bread in Palm Bay, FL’s Hammock Landing shopping area.

Two Chevy Volt parked in an EV designated spot at Kohl's in Palm Bay, FL — Two Chevy Volt’s parked in EV designated spots at Kohl’s in Palm Bay, FL

The Kohl’s, which is walking distance to Panera has two designated EV parking spaces with a single J1772 Level 2 charger and a 110V outlet. Unfortunately the charger was giving some of our members a hard time and it took quite a while to switch it from one car to another. Luckily one of our members who frequents this charger gave it a little tough love and solved the problem.

We welcomed one new local member with a Chevy Volt and had the pleasure of meeting Al Lococo and his wife, of the Central Florida and Sun Coast EAA who drove their Toyota RAV 4 EV all the way from Winter Haven, FL to attend July’s EV event.

A Toyota RAV4 EV parked in front of Panera — A Toyota RAV 4 EV from Winter Haven, FL attends the July SCEV Drivers meet up.

If you are counting rare EVs in central Florida this is the second 2nd generation RAV 4 EV to attend a Space Coast Electric Vehicle Drivers meet up. Pretty impressive when you consider they were never sold in the state of Florida, Toyota has only sold 1,594 of the 2,600 2nd generation RAV4 EVs produced and Toyota has announced they will not be producing any more of these SUVs in favor of other technologies.

Chevy Volt parked in an EV designated spot at Kohl’s in Palm Bay, FL

At the meet up we discussed efforts to place more local charging stations in and around Brevard, Melbourne BMW’s new dual level 2 dealership charger as well as handy, printable window displays for your EV. Brenna discussed the early development stages of an official SCEV Drivers logo for the use on future signage, business cards, t-shirts and more. Brenna and Josh gave an overview of progress for Melbourne’s National Drive Electric Week (NDEW) event which will take place September 20th 2014. Please make sure to register to attend or volunteer at the NDEW event! But one of the highlights of the afternoon was that event attendees were able to take home copies of Al’s book Turning Point in History an “exploration into the subject of Energy and Transportation and how they affect our lives, our economy, our politics and our future.”

Overall it was a great meet up and we are looking forward to next month! The next meet up will take place on Sunday August 3rd from 2-4 PM in Downtown Melbourne. We will be meeting and parking at The Mansion located at 1218 E New Haven Ave Melbourne, FL 32901. Those with a L3 compatible car that need a charge are welcome to park at the charger at City Hall which is just a short 7 minute walk (.3 miles)

We look forward to seeing you there and thanks for supporting the Space Coast EV Drivers!

EV related Blog Post

At Home Electric Vehicle Charging

July 5, 2014 Space Coast EV Drivers Team

For many drivers of Electric Vehicles charging at home is simple, they plug right into a 110V outlet and let it charge in their garage. That’s right the same outlet you plug your blow dryer, vacuum, and power tools into will charge your car. Did we just blow your mind? Boom!

For most drivers charging overnight on a 110V is sufficient for their driving needs. On the Chevy Volt’s 40 (give or take) mile battery we can drive across town, grab food, and still not use gas but on days where we do that trip in the morning and want to head out some where that afternoon and maybe again that evening the slow charging time leaves us wishing we had a faster charge at home.

For drivers of cars with a larger battery installing a Level 2 (L2) charger at home makes sense with increased charging time but for those of us with smaller batteries that get 50 miles and under we wondered if we really needed it. The truth is, once the majority of your driving is done on electricity you never want to use gas if you don’t have to. It’s not just about the environment or moving away from foreign oil it’s about convenience. Never stopping at a gas station, never spilling gas on your shoe or getting it on your hands or clothes, it’s amazing.

At home electric vehicle charging is clean, convenient, and cheap. Not to mention the rate you pay for electricity almost never fluctuates from day to day like gas, meaning there is no shock when you drive by the sign. Actually you won’t even look at those gas price signs for long once you make the switch to an EV. Skipping that weekly fill up and replacing it by charging your electric vehicle at home saves time and money. It’s just that simple.

Josh Pritt and his new Level 2 at home charger — Josh Pritt SCEV Drivers Co-founder with his new L2 Charger

In the end we decided that even though we have a range extended electric vehicle and we don’t really need to worry about running out of battery we prefer to not use gas. We bit the bullet and bought the Square D EVlink by Schneider Electric, an indoor at home L2 charging station or Electric Vehicle Service Equipment (EVSE) to cut our charge time in half from the 110V. There are plenty of resources online that break down what is currently on the market as far as EVSE but PluginCars has a Guide to Buying Your First Home EV Charger which we think gives a nice overview of what is out there. All that is left for us is waiting for our appointment with the electrician. So much for that old myth that the adoption of EVs will cut jobs! We can’t wait to post our personal review, but with all the five star ratings we are pretty sure we made the right choice.

Have you bought any EVSE for your home yet? Let us know which one you picked and how you like it.

Looking forward to seeing you at our next meet up Sunday, July 13th at the Panera in Palm Bay’s Hammock Landing. We will be parking at the L2 charger at Kohl’s! RSVP via Facebook or comment on the July Meet Up post on our website.

Local EV Event

Sunday July 13th Monthy SCEV Drivers Meet Up

June 4, 2014 Space Coast EV Drivers Team

It is meet up time!

To better show local areas that we appreciate the installation of chargers (EVSE) as well as to show off numerous electric vehicles at one time and place we will be rotating our meetings between the three current charging stations located within walking distance to food, fun, and shopping. These include the downtown Melbourne L3 charger at City Hall, the Eau Gallie library L2 charger and the Kohl’s L2 charging station in Palm Bay at Hammock Landing.

Kohl's EV Charging Sign — Kohl’s EV Charging Sign

For July’s event we will meet in Palm Bay at the Kohl’s L2 charger, pictured above, and walk over to Panera Bread for a late lunch, coffee, tea, or just some great EV Talk. All Electric Vehicle drivers are welcome as well as those wanting to learn more about purchasing an EV from local driver/owners. While these events are normally on the first Sunday of each month, we decided to switch July’s event to the second Sunday due to the holiday. We are looking forward to seeing you there! Comment below to let us know you are going to be there or Let us know you are coming on Facebook.

When: Sunday July 13th 2-4 PM

Where: The L2 Charger located in front of Kohl’s at 205 Palm Bay Rd NE Melbourne, FL 32904 (the shopping complex is located to the west of I-95 off of Palm Bay Rd)

Local EV Event

First Monthly Electric Vehicle Meetup

May 5, 2014 Space Coast EV Drivers Team

Men standing next to their electric vehicles — SCEV Drivers with their cars

SCEV driver members sitting in their cars — SCEV Drivers at the L3 charger

First, we would like to thank everyone who made it to the first Space Coast Electric Vehicle Drivers monthly meet up. It was a perfect day to park our cars at the level 3 charger in downtown Melbourne, Fl and walk over to Meg O’Malleys for a late lunch.

We love the idea that the cars are parked together and are easy to view so people walking by can see electric vehicles of all types in their town. It is a great way to show the town we are here, we are using the newly installed infrastructure, and we will make a point to gather in locations that add electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE) such as the new CHAdeMO charging station. (Especially when they are located in truly convenient areas of town with easy access to amenities.)

So now we are sure you are asking yourself “what did I miss?” As if the opportunity to dine on some of Melbourne’s most delicious French onion soup wasn’t enough here are the details. We spent the time discussing our cars, talking about upcoming events, discussing outreach opportunities, what we all do for work, how good the crab cake appetizer is, how we ended up in Melbourne, strange or fun experiences you have had interacting with the public in regards to your electric vehicle, how good this half a rack of ribs is, lots of talk about flying planes (commercial and private), and much, much more.

Couldn’t make it this month? No problem, there is always next month. So save the date for the first Sunday in June which happens to be June 1st at Squid Lips in Melbourne. Be sure to check the website. We look forward to seeing you at the next meet up.

July’s EV Event Recap

It's Electric!