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" Here at Popular Mechanics, we&amp;#039;ve test-driven electric cars and covered the latest in car-charging tech. But now, if we want to charge up an electric vehicle, we can do it right in our own garage. Downstairs in PM&amp;#039;s home, at 300 West 57th Street in New York City, electricians have just completed the installation of a 208-volt charging station, making our home base one of the first office towers in the city with that capability. PM editor-in-chief James B. Meigs pulled up in our white test-drive edition of the Nissan Leaf so the station could let its inaugural burst of electrons flow.  A small flap on the front of the Leaf bearing the Nissan logo flips open to reveal two ports. Richard Gershman of AeroVironment, who installed our charging station, explains that one port is for the AC power the car receives from our charger, while the second is capable of receiving fast-charge DC power. Electric carmakers hope that someday a network of remote charging stations around the country will provide that DC power, allowing for longer road trips.       As we hook up the charger to our car, Gershman points to the three lights on the Leaf&amp;#039;s dash that indicate its charge. Our car flickers between the first and the second, which shows that it&amp;#039;s between one-third and two-thirds of a full charge when we first plug it in.  PM&amp;#039;s charger is what Gershman calls a Level 2, built with commercial buildings in mind and capable of giving a car a full charge in 6 to 8 hours. Some private homes can handle a Level 2, he says, but you&amp;#039;ve got to check with an experienced electrician first. &amp;quot;Will it handle this? If it won&amp;#039;t, what are your options?&amp;quot;\u2014Gershman says that&amp;#039;s what he looks at. Every home has the capacity for a Level 1 charging station, he says, which requires just 120 volts but takes longer to charge a car. And while the nuance of wiring PM&amp;#039;s garage forced Gershman to spend a couple of days installing our Level 2 station, he says he could typically wire up a homeowner for Level 1 capability in half a day. In fact, all you really need for Level 1 charging is a dedicated 20-amp grounded 120-volt outlet that&amp;#039;s a convenient distance from where your car will sit while it&amp;#039;s being charged. Because drivers are dealing with large electric currents, vehicles like the Leaf and charging stations like PM&amp;#039;s are equipped with multiple layers of safety equipment. &amp;quot;The charger is sealed, so you don&amp;#039;t have to worry about getting it wet,&amp;quot; Gershman says, and &amp;quot;the vehicle will not move under its own power while plugged in, period.&amp;quot; If an emergency strikes (such as the car rolling down a hill because it wasn&amp;#039;t left in park), he says, the charging station has a breakaway connector on the cable to prevent them from being yanked loose from the wall or post they&amp;#039;re mounted on. What about driving the Leaf? &amp;quot;It&amp;#039;s surprisingly normal,&amp;quot; Meigs says. It takes some time to adjust to the peculiar torque curve of an electric car, he says. &amp;quot;But if you want to drive fast, you can.&amp;quot; &amp;amp;gt; What It Really Takes to Charge Your Electric Vehicle &amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;gt;  "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.popularmechanics.com/cars/hybrid-electric/a11771/popular-mechanics-new-electric-vehicle-charging-station/>