FAQ | hevopower

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQs)

Wireless charging may very well be the key to unlocking the full potential of Electric Vehicles and the electric grid. Wrapping your mind around using wireless power in your everyday life to charge your EV is a whole other deal. We totally understand that powering your vehicle with HEVO Power Stations sounds a bit like a sci-fi movie, so here's an inexhaustible list of FAQs to help convince you that it's a safe, reliable and very real way to Power UP.

By the way, we love answering questions. The weirder the better. If it's good we'll post it on here for the world to see.

Will HEVO Power Stations electrocute my cat?

This question, believe it or not, is the most frequently asked question we get on the day to day. We're definitely not in the business of frying felines, canines or humans. We wouldn't recommend anyone lying between a HEVO Power Station and their EV for a prolonged period of time, but there's no risk in being electrocuted by one. The HEVO Power Station, along with all the wires and components, will be completely embedded under a street or parking space. As a matter of fact, it will look very similar to a manhole cover, but will be reinforced with a highly durable resin exterior that can withstand 25,000 psi. It's not Fort Knox, but it's pretty close. Whiskers won't have to risk one of his nine lives on our behalf.

Do I have to wear an aluminum hat when sitting in my car?

Ha! We love anyone that's fashion forward. Please take a pic and post it on our Facebook page if you do, so we can get our daily kick. HEVO Power Stations have a minimal Electromagnetic Interference (EMI) rating. It's totally safe for humans and animals, and is designed to meet FCC, IEEE and ICNIRP guidelines for human exposure. Now, get back out there, and find us a Yeti. We need a new mascot.

What happens if I dump a bucket of water on an HPS?

What?!? Don't be a weirdo, and stop wasting water. The wires and components are completely concealed underground, and the wireless transfer has been proven to perform optimally under any weather conditions. It even works while embedded in pavement and asphalt, so we can prevent crazies like you from doing things like this. Leave HEVO Power out of your daily crazy.

What about my pacemaker? Can I still be part of Team HEVO?

Let's be clear. HEVO Power and our affiliated technology partners = nerds. We love anything sci-fi, including bionic human beings. Artificial cardiac pacemakers are an enhancement to our lives, just as HEVO Power Stations are an enhancement to our Electric Vehicles and electrical grid. Protecting your heart is serious business, and any interference with your artificial thumper is bad juju. Good news! Grab your favorite baseball mitt, because you're being drafted onto Team HEVO. The HEVO Power Station is 100 times safer than making a phone call using a cell phone and has a millionth the intensity of an M.R.I. Not sure about your throwing arm, though. Yikes. Let's try bowling.

Do I need to install something in my car before powering up?

Yup. You have to have a way of receiving or capturing the pressure and flow of electrons from the HEVO Power Station, and converting it into usable energy that powers up your battery. It weighs about 10 lbs (4.53 kg), and can basically fit anywhere along your drive train. It also requires a small on-vehicle rectifier assembly to be installed in your vehicle, which performs an AC/DC conversion between your receiver and battery. One must also become a member of Team HEVO and have your car registered in our HEVO Mobile database. Come closer...I need to whisper something important to you. Anyone and everyone with an EV can make the team. No free trophies.

Important Note: HEVO does not sell on-board receivers for EVs. Major auto part suppliers and global auto manufacturers will be offering on-board wireless charging equipment as a charging option for EVs in short order. We fully expect HEVO Power Stations to be compatible with any EV upfitted with the corresponding receiver.

How long will it take to power up my EV?

Solid question. The best answer is "it depends." As in, it depends on the Battery Management System in your EV and the charging capabilities of your EVs battery. It also depends on the size of your battery. In this case, size does matter. The larger the battery pack, the longer it takes to power up. A fully Electric Vehicle with a 100-mile range can expect to charge 14 hours per week to get 250 miles worth of charge per week. That's roughly the same amount of miles a typical American drives a week using a gasoline powered vehicle. The HEVO Power Station currently provides users with Level 2 charging (240v), which is the same as your home electrical dryer unit if you're lucky enough to have one.

What about DC Fast Charging?

Whoa! One step at a time, please. Wireless charging is the new kid on the block in terms of EV charging. We're just trying to get people used to the idea of hassle-free, cordless living at this point. We've got an exceptionally gifted team of super nerds who love this stuff, and want to make everyone's lives easier and better. DC Fast Charging will undoubtedly provide a faster rate of charging for EV owners, and it's got our brain cogs turning. Not yet, but soon enough.

Wireless charging, eh? Sounds expensive.

You're right. It is, but you don't have to pay thousands of dollars for it. We just want you to use it once we put it in the ground around your neighborhood street, city block and work garage. Guess what?!? Using a HEVO Power Station for all your charging needs saves you money. How much you ask? How does cutting your annual gasoline bill down by 30% sound, because that's what we're aiming to do for you. Convenience, cost savings, emission reduction...yup, we've gotchya covered. Boom.

So...can I leave my cell phone in the car to charge?

Heck yeah. You, of course, have to have the appropriate adapter for your device to be plugged into your cigarette lighter or what have you. You can even charge those devices wirelessly using a wireless pad and accompanying device adapter. Wireless to wireless. Pretty cool, right?

What the?!? Everything is underground. How do I pay to use it?

HEVO Mobile wireless bill pay. We don't like cords, and we definitely don't like parking payment kiosks. They suck up time and look like crap on sidewalks. Nope. We won't do it. Just download the HEVO Mobile app to your droid, or whatever smartphone you have, and voila. Magic. Instantaneous satisfaction. Beat it parking meters.

I suck at parallel parking. Do I have to align perfectly over it?

We do, too. That's why the HEVO Power Station was designed for guys and gals like us. Alignment is critical with old-fashioned electromagnetic charging, but not with this. The unit is forgiving both laterally and grill-to-bumper. Still not buying it? Neither would we, so we invented an app that helps you align optimally in the right spot. Just follow these easy steps:

Select to use your HEVO Mobile app on your smartphone.
Determine a vacant spot around your location using our Map It! feature.
Press Park It! The app shows your EVs wireless receiver in relation to the HEVO Power Station, and guides you into the optimal location.
Rock star status guaranteed?!? Own It!

I heard that metallic objects can be heated up by this technique.

It's true. Some metallics can be heated up if they lie between the EV receiver and HEVO Power Station. That's why we have Foreign Object Detection (FOD), which uses active and passive controls to prevent this from happening. The active controls will detect and react to the presence of foreign objects, and either reduce power or interrupt powering up. This, of course, wouldn't be cool for EV owners using HEVO Power Stations, because it would prevent our customers from getting a full charge. That's why a passive approach is the preferred approach. The magnetic field in our units can bypass foreign objects by wrapping around them, while still providing a full level of power. Physics!!

I have an Electric Monster Truck. Too tall to charge?

Gap disparity is an issue for wireless charging. In general, the wider the gap between the vehicle receiver and the HEVO Power Station = less efficient power transfer. Our units and software, however, work to find that sweet spot between your EV and the HEVO Power Station. It's pretty sophisticated, so we won't bore you with the details. Just know that we can Power Up most Electric Vehicles in the 90% or better range in comparison to corded charging. Oh yeah!

Where do you plan to stick these things?

Is "everywhere" too generalized? Look...we want to embed HEVO Power Stations in parking garages, parking lots, metered parking positions, highway service areas and just about anyplace that's not a personal home garage. Think we're crazy? That's a subjective question with a simple answer. We think that being almost completely reliant on foreign fuels is crazy, and we're absolutely nuts about powering up.

Will using HEVO Power make me cooler?

Hmmm. If you had to ask, then probably not. But, it will probably make your EV the coolest car on the road, which could direct a lot of new attention to you. Maybe not Italian model attention, but it'll get the kids and neighbors talkin'.