Charging electric cars at LACI

The LACI success story

The Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator is a shared workspace that helps sustainability-minded start-ups spread their wings in an environment that aligns with their vision. In that vein, LACI has made it their mission to set a good example for eco-conscious businesses by becoming a zero net energy (ZNE) facility — a building with a carbon footprint of zero.

LACI has added (EV) chargers that’ll increase energy use, as well as solar panels on our rooftop to offset that. LACI has installed a greywater filtration system that will be used to irrigate the public park and supply water to local facilities. Finally, the company has installed a solar film to reduce the heat load and is currently testing a thermo-paint to reduce their thermal load.

Why is LACI going electric?

Los Angeles is a drivers’ city, and to promote the importance of transitioning to electric vehicles, the Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator (LACI) has electrified 14 parking spots in their lot and intends to double that number in the coming years, while also adding DC fast charging to their portfolio.

LACI shares their vision that over the next ten years, the changes people will see in transportation will be greater than at any other time since people had cars. Right now in California, there's a regulated percentage for new development of EV charging. Beyond that, employees appreciate companies making commitments to sustainability, by improving the environment for them and their families. As Ben Stapleton, Chief Partnerships Officer at LACI shared:

A great way to demonstrate that is by installing EV charging at the closest points to your building so you encourage employees to buy EVs. I think that we all need to take our part in how we’re currently addressing mobility options because we are severely polluting our environment right now. We have to make up for this."

The role of charging infrastructure in driving mobility 

LACI has had the charging stations here since the retro of the building. The building was originally built in 1921 as a furniture manufacturing facility and it’s been completely retrofit as an innovation campus. It’s owned by the LA department of water and power, and LACI has a leasing agreement with them. 

If LACI mission includes being focused on innovation on campus, showcasing the latest technology to the people that are visiting here, having EV charging stations is very important. LACI has now 14 Level 2 charging stations. Soon, LACI is adding fast charging as well as a software system to do real-time load balancing. As Stapleton explained: 

"We went with EVBox because they’re Smart Chargers, which allows us to show how often this charger is being used, how much power consumed that’s offsetting gasoline use, and how much emissions we’re actually reducing. With Smart Charging we can make estimations based on that data. Without, we’d have no clue. Anyone looking to install EV chargers should be aware of the difference and impacts that Smart Charging can make.” - Ben Stapleton, Chief Partnerships Officer LACI