Coulomb Technologies, Inc. (Coulomb Technologies), a US-based designer and builder of charging stations for electric vehicles, has installed the first networked charging stations for plug-in electric vehicles in the City of Houston, Texas. The 10 charging stations available for consumer and city fleet use are part of a public demonstration project, dubbed the Power of the Plug-In, and funded by Reliant Energy, Inc. (Reliant Energy).
The 10 Reliant Energy-provided charging stations will be located around Houston, with public stations at City Hall, the Health Department office at 8000 Stadium Drive and at the Mayor’s Citizens Assistance Office at 9615 Rustic Wood, Kingwood. The official unveiling of the charging stations takes place on November 17, 2009 at Houston City Hall 901 Bagby Street in downtown Houston. Coulomb Technologies’ South Central US distributor Verdek Corporation provided sales and support for the ChargePoint Networked Charging Stations installation.
“Coulomb’s charging stations in Houston demonstrate that the City will be EV ready,” said Richard Lowenthal, chief executive officer of Coulomb Technologies. “With more than 3800 light duty non specialty vehicles the city fleet and thousands of electric cars on the roads in the coming years, the installation of these charging stations signals a new way of fueling up in the lone star state. Houston is sending an important message to its residents that alternative fuels are on their way, and the infrastructure to power these vehicles is available.”
Coulomb Technologies charging stations are used in municipalities, utilities, green office buildings and parking garages to allow consumers to charge their electric vehicles wherever they live, work and shop. The network of electric vehicle charging stations, called the ChargePoint Network, is accessible to all plug-in drivers by making a toll free call to the 24/7 number on each charging station, or drivers can subscribe to the ChargePoint Network and receive a ChargePoint Smart Card that allows them to charge their car at any charging station worldwide.
The ChargePoint Network enabled charging stations provide: Notification by SMS text or email when charging is complete; the ability for drivers to find unoccupied charging stations via web-enabled cell phones; authenticated access to eliminate energy theft; authorized energizing for safety; remote monitoring and diagnostics for superior quality of service; and smart grid integration for utility load management with future V2G capabilities.