EV drivers will need to download the ChargePoint mobile app to use the EVSEs, and there is a $1 per hour fee. Drivers of electric vehicles are now able to charge their cars on the University of Alabama at Birmingham campus. The electric vehicle service equipment, or EVSE, charging ports opened for use in February.
These charging ports are not the first to be placed on UAB’s campus. In 2016, six EVSEs were installed but were 240V, Level 2 plug-units that requires charging an electric vehicle overnight to reach a full battery. The new stations are the same type of plug-units capable of charging a battery within four hours. EV drivers will need to download the ChargePoint mobile app to use the EVSEs, and there is a $1 per hour fee.
The new EVSEs are installed at these three locations:
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two charging ports at Parking Lot 5A adjacent to the Hill University Center
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two charging ports at Parking Lot 77 adjacent to CHSB19
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four charging ports at Express Lot 4, the new remote parking lot on Fifth Avenue
The idea for the project came from School of Medicine student Will Rutland in spring 2015 through an application to the UAB Sustainability Investment Fund, supported by UAB Sustainability and the Division of Student Affairs.
“Our program is here to support investments that further cultivate our campus as a living lab, where we have new technologies that engage and educate the campus and community,” said Julie Price, manager of UAB Sustainability. “EV charging stations are quickly becoming an amenity for staff at large, forward-thinking employers.”
Involvement from UAB Parking and Transportation was significant in the development of the project, and the department will remain involved in operations and management of the system.
Additional units will be added as demand increases.
More information regarding the three electric car-charging stations can be found on the UAB Reporter website.