Range anxious? Charge EV at home. Charge on the go.
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Break out of the dilemma of choosing between
a Point and a charging cable.
Every Ather product specialist, every customer support person and most of us working here have come across this common question — “Isn’t the charging cable more convenient?” Of course, it is. It’s portable and can be carried around. But, is that enough, or do you need to take more things into account before you choose between charging solutions?
The fact is that we are conditioned by the existing electric scooter market of imported scooters that lack an ideal charging infrastructure. For a few minutes just open up your mind and think again — What kind of charging solution might suit you? Because finally, you have options in hand.
Are you a Point or a cable kind of a person?
The answer lies in another question — what kind of a user are you?
Are you the one who has a designated parking space, can easily access one the 22 AtherGrid location around you, and maybe travel on an average 45–50 km a day?
Are you the one who has a floating parking space, who happens to travel on a route that’s beyond AtherGrid serviceable area or has unpredictable travel patterns.
And, if you have an easy access to a 5A plug point on your everyday route, then obviously cable is the way to go.
Just so that you know, both the Point and the cable charge at the same speed. Both are developed for a convenient charging experience, but obviously, they have a few inherent differences because of the form and structure.
If you consider our point of view into consideration, we personally believe that Point is a better experience for everyday charging.
You simply need to undock-connect-charge. On the other hand, to charge using the cable you need to open the under seat storage, get the charger out, connect to the socket and then to the vehicle to begin to charge. Next steps — disconnect from both ends, neatly fold and then pack it back into the storage box. Not so seamless, but for the ones this suits better, it’s just a little extra effort.
So, now that you know the kind of a user you are let’s take it to the next stage and give you more information on both the options, so that you are able to pick one without racking your brain too much.
All about the Point
Everyone has been loving the idea of a charging Point at their homes? The ease and the seamless charging experience, minus the hassle of installing it yourself, makes this idea quite appealing. Still, before you make a choice, you should know all about it, the pluses and the minuses.
Stuff you need to know
The Point will be installed at your parking only after the necessary electrical checks, which have been made even more stringent after a few learnings that we acquired along our first round of installations.
Also, the nature of its design allows for some additional layer
of safety, for that great overnight charging experience.
The first basic thing:
It’s IP54 rated; it means it can take rain showers and it has also got dust ingress protection. It can be safely used in the outdoors, even while it is raining.
The second thing that’s essential:
Auto-authentication lets only your vehicle to connect with the charging Point. No open socket, so no possibility of power theft.
And the third important thing:
The Point is equipped with auto cut-off, which means it’s designed to deal with the power fluctuations and cuts the power flow when fully charged. Though the charger on the vehicle has got auto cut-off too, this is an additional layer of protection feature that has been built for better safety.
Things to keep in mind
- Obviously, it can’t be carried around. But, that also means more space in your under-seat storage.
- Keeping a tab on your vehicle’s range becomes important so that you can find the nearest AtherGrid charging Point. Just in case, the vehicle is running low on juice
The heebie-jeebies
The thought of opting for a charging Point is accompanied by a few apprehensions too. We have been receiving so many calls, and the test riders (at the AtherSpace — our experience centre) often have these two major concerns.
Apprehension one:
“I wonder if my apartment association will raise any objection.”
Fortunately, the housing associations have been very positive and accepting. In fact, more than what we had anticipated. We also make sure that you don’t have to invest time and effort in arranging all the paperwork/documentation that your association might need, we do it all for you. No running around, no unnecessary hassle.
Here’s something you should know — out of the total number of audits we have done, only 7% faced some hesitation from the association.
To be specific, most of the objections are raised when a major civil work or electrical work is involved. Fair enough, we totally understand. And we can only assure and reassure that we have professional technicians, who take utmost care during the installation. But we can do only so much; the final decision lies in the hands of the landlord and the association.
But, a great news just dropped in a few days back which might help ease out the situation — the government is working actively to bring in regulations to support electric vehicles. Here’s an excerpt from the recent story carried in the economic times.
“The government proposes to amend building by-laws to make it mandatory to set up electric vehicle charging stations in residential and commercial buildings and parking lots. The proposals include offering round-the-clock charging infrastructure facility to all-electric vehicles in residential buildings, setting up charging bays at 20% capacity of all vehicles, on-spot metering and payment services in both commercial and residential buildings, a government official said.” — Economic Times
Hope this will help the remaining 7% grow out of the apprehensions and the others who have been hesitating too!
Apprehension two:
“Is it too much of a hassle to install a Point?”
Absolutely not! It’s pretty much the same as installing a basic socket, and what we would like you to know is that the hassle of installation is entirely upon us, you don’t have to do a thing. We will have our technicians audit your location, check safety conditions and will arrange for everything that’s needed to install the Point.
The cost of 20m of cabling and conduit fill will be taken care of by us; we call it standard installation. And when it’s a non-standard installation, because of a greater distance between your meter and parking, you will have to pay only on the actuals over and above the standard cost.
Just so that you know, till date, only around 20 % of the total installations have been non-standard. The majority of the cases out of them have been about extra cabling and conduit fill, for which the customers have to pay a nominal amount. No margins, no inflated price, as said earlier you have to pay only on the actuals.
So, all you need to do is to speak to the association and your landlord, request for the permission, and just leave the rest to us.
All about the charging cable
We are aware of the fact that Bangalore has a high number of standalone residential buildings and they generally don’t offer a designated parking space. In this scenario, Point doesn’t quite fit in.
So, if you are the one who has a floating parking space, then the charging cable is the way to go. Also, if your travel distance is longer, say on an average 80–100 km a day, it makes even more sense; especially if you often travel outside the serviceable area, away from the 22 AtherGrid Points present in the city.
If you can relate to any of these or all of these, then the choice is already made, and here’s all you should know about the charging cable.
The obvious first thing:
You can carry it around with you anywhere, and you can charge the vehicle anywhere using any 5A socket. Provided, a plug point is available as per your convenience.
The second good thing:
It comfortably sits folded in the under seat storage, though leaves you with much lesser under-seat storage space.
And the third essential thing:
The safety mechanism. It comes with a safety LED that reflects the state of the charger when it’s safe to charge and when it’s not.
- Green light means it’s ready to charge
- Red light means an error has been detected
- Red blinking light indicates that the RCCB component present in the EVSE has tripped due to high current leakage.
Things you need to keep in mind
- It’s not as water resistant as the Point. That’s why it’s recommended that it is used only indoors, especially during rains
- Charging solution audit is still mandatory to understand the safety standards before we install the socket
- It’s better to install the socket in an enclosed space to prevent power thefts, considering the socket is connected to your meter
Here’s all the information, now let’s quickly glance through the major differences between the Point and the charging cable.
A quick recap
Hope this answers all your questions and puts the dilemmas to rest, helping you pick the charger that best suits your everyday ride environment and charging needs. If you still have any queries, our FAQ section on the website should be able to help. If that’s still not enough, you could always pick up your phone and talk to our customer relationship team; we love to listen to you anyway.
The idea is to keep learning, keep improving. The more customers we talk to the more we understand their needs. We have learnt a great deal from the first delivery of Ather scooters, and have implemented a few changes for a better charging experience. As we enter new markets and come across more Ather enthusiasts, we will keep learning and try to get better and better.
