The world is constantly evolving and adapting to recent technologies and trends. Our mountain community is no different and we must move forward with the changes that come. One thing that is always a constant is that we are not the most accessible location. Perhaps one of the most fun places, but still not easy to get to. With the landscape of how people travel ever changing we need to be able to accommodate everyone. Electric vehicle charging is an area that we are growing into and expanding at Stratton to better serve everyone who comes to visit.
It has been a lengthy process to get to where we now have 11 charging stations at the resort. Through communication with customers and other businesses in our community. The need for EVC stations is growing at a rapid rate. The technology that the charging stations use is evolving even faster. From varying charging speeds, app integration, vehicle specific differences. There are many factors in bringing a system to Stratton that can be flexible enough to meet different demands.
We currently are using level 2 charging stations, which are not the fastest chargers on the market. They do provide a platform on which we can upgrade in the future. Our strategy is to expand our reach to different areas of the resort, ensuring that the ability to charge is available no matter where you are. This process is moving forward along with our plan to go back and increase the speed and capability of the systems based on location, feedback, and energy demands. To find out more details on the different charging stations, click here for resources from the US Department of Transportation.
It is important to know how other factors affect the charging speeds of EVC’s and especially in adverse weather. Stratton is in an area that regularly gets adverse weather and especially in the winter months. Cold and snowy days can affect the speed of charging in many ways. The temperatures when they drop can have a dramatic effect on the efficiency of the systems, even more so at temperatures below 20 degrees. One key piece here is that this cold can also affect the battery of the EV itself. Colder batteries are also limited in the rate of power they can take in compared to a warm battery. Kelly Blue Book released a short article on tips for winter charging this past January and can be found here.
Our goal at Stratton is to continue to develop and improve our EV charging capabilities. We know that we must expand the locations where charging is available. Along with increasing the capability of our EVC by moving towards Level 3 systems. We will continue to do this work moving forward and with the input from our community. Together we can reduce the travel emissions to and around the resort by expanding our partnership with the electric vehicle community.
Published August 4, 2023 by Connor O’Sullivan