Sears Offers a Wireless Electric Car Charger

If the thought of plugging your car in each night seems off-putting, here's some good news: Sears has hooked up with Evatran to install wireless charging systems for electric cars for home and commercial use.

The Evatran system, called Plugless Power, means that you can simply buzz into your home or office garage and jump out of the car without having to worry that you forgot to plug it in.

This admittedly may not be one of life's big problems but having a car that won't go is a lot worse than having an iPad that isn't juiced up, so don't be too quick to laugh about it.

Installation will handled by Sears Home Services, which has been installing appliances, heating and air conditioning and electronics for decades.

"Sears is very excited to announce this agreement with Evatran to support the installation and servicing of these stations. We look forward to being one of the leaders in this growing industry," said Stu Reed, SVP and President, Home Services at Sears Holdings.

The companies say the benefits of the Sears-Evatran link-up include: 

• Simplified Purchasing: Evatran will offer Plugless Power systems with optional basic or standard home installation wrapped into the purchase price of the equipment; this full price may be included in the vehicle purchase or lease at the time of sale.
• Pre-Installation Site Visits: Site visits, as necessary to quote non-standard and commercial installations, will be completed in advance of installations.
• Timely Installation: Sears will receive automatic notification of a customer's installation request; Sears will contact the customer within one business day of equipment purchase to schedule home installation.
• Convenient Additional Services: Sears will offer ongoing service and maintenance to Plugless Power owners.

Sears installation network technicians will be trained and certified on the wireless charging systems and will work with Evatran to structure a comprehensive launch plan for aftermarket systems throughout 2012, the companies said.

Product offerings will initially focus on Chevrolet Volt and Nissan Leaf models but Sears and Evatran said they will quickly expand to include additional electric vehicles. Installation will be offered with the sale of each Plugless Power system and priced based on the customer's home and current electrical service. Sears will also offer commercial installation for electric vehicle fleet owners and managers.

Aftermarket systems will be available for installation starting in 2012 for Nissan Leaf and Chevrolet Volt models. A specific geographic rollout plan will be announced next year with final installation pricing for basic and standard home installations.