Leaf-Shaped Charging Station: Ultimate Nissan Leaf Accessory?Leaf-Shaped Charging Station: Ultimate Nissan Leaf Accessory?

So often in the world of Industrial design, form follows function. Then once in a while, a design comes along that turns a mundane object like an electric car charging station into something a little more artistic. 
Enter the leaf-shaped Lotus solar-powered electric car charging station. 
Designed by Luminexecne’s Giancarlo Zema, the solar-powered charging station looks like a giant lotus leaf, and combines a shelter, a night-time LED light and a charging station in one unit. 
Available in a variety of sizes, from a 43 square foot model capable of producing 500 watts of peak solar power through to a 204 square foot model capable of capturing up to 2.8 kilowatts peak, the units are certainly different. They can even be combined to make it look like giant water lilies are taking over a parking lot. 
While this isn’t the first plant-shaped charging station we’ve seen, we love the way the Lotus’s design offers to bring some brightly colored, functional fun to the boring parking lot. 
Is it the perfect gift for the Nissan Leaf owner with cash to spare? Not really. 
Here’s why.
The smallest Lotus charging station would certainly fit on a modest driveway in the suburbs. However, at a peak power output of just 500 watts, you’d need to hook it up to a supplemental mains supply to provide the 3 kilowatts minimum power most electric cars need to charge at 240-volts. 
For now, if you want to charge your electric car at home from a large leaf, the best solution we can suggest involves a large photovoltaic solar array on your home’s roof, and a charging station imaginatively mounted in a tree.
But it has got us thinking: If you could design a solar-powered charging station for an electric car, what would it look like? 
Let us know in the Comments below.
+++++++++++
Follow GreenCarReports on Facebook and Twitter.

View original article at:  “https://www.greencarreports.com//news/1071256_leaf-shaped-charging-station-ultimate-nissan-leaf-accessory”