3 ms·

"EVs won't all charge at the same time, any more than all petrol and diesel cars are filled up at the same time. " This isn't really true. I imagine most peopl

"EVs won't all charge at the same time, any more than all petrol and diesel cars are filled up at the same time. " This isn't really true. I imagine most people would put them on charge after coming back from work or at night.

_ph_ 9y ago
But there exists charge timers. You can plug in the car, it starts charging at a selected time. As soon as their count is noticeable, there will be incentives to have the energy suppliers determine the charging speed to stabilize networks and get cheaper rates.
Reason077 9y ago
"I imagine most people would put them on charge after coming back from work or at night." That's true, and it would indeed present a significant problem as the early evening already represents a peak demand period on many grids. However: plugging in doesn't necessarily mean the same thing as charging. Pretty much any EV already supports scheduled charging. It's useful to take advantage of cheap off-peak energy rates that start around 10 or 11pm (here in the UK, you can get overnight off-peak rates that are about 30% the cost of a typical all-day or peak rate). The next step is to have the chargers (or the EVs themselves) interact with the grid so that they automatically slow or stop charging during peak periods, in exchange for some incentive from your utility company. There are already trials of these smart chargers going on with in places with high EV uptake like California and the Netherlands. Taking that concept further, V2G will mean that your car can not only stop charging during demand peaks but actually sell some energy back to the grid. If your car needed, say, to top up 20 kWh overnight, it could first sell 10 kWh to the grid, receiving a high peak-time feed-in credit, then "buy" 30kWh later in the evening when prices are much cheaper. The net result could mean that the overall cost of charging is much cheaper or even free! Finally, as EV range gets bigger, the need to actually charge every night less frequent. Where I live, there are several EVs that are typically parked on the street (without access to a charger) and only seem to get charged every week or so. The owners probably only average 10 miles or so a day so daily charging isn't really needed.

_ph_ 9y ago

But there exists charge timers. You can plug in the car, it starts charging at a selected time. As soon as their count is noticeable, there will be incentives to have the energy suppliers determine the charging speed to stabilize networks and get cheaper rates.

Reason077 9y ago

"I imagine most people would put them on charge after coming back from work or at night." That's true, and it would indeed present a significant problem as the early evening already represents a peak demand period on many grids. However: plugging in doesn't necessarily mean the same thing as charging. Pretty much any EV already supports scheduled charging. It's useful to take advantage of cheap off-peak energy rates that start around 10 or 11pm (here in the UK, you can get overnight off-peak rates that are about 30% the cost of a typical all-day or peak rate). The next step is to have the chargers (or the EVs themselves) interact with the grid so that they automatically slow or stop charging during peak periods, in exchange for some incentive from your utility company. There are already trials of these smart chargers going on with in places with high EV uptake like California and the Netherlands. Taking that concept further, V2G will mean that your car can not only stop charging during demand peaks but actually sell some energy back to the grid. If your car needed, say, to top up 20 kWh overnight, it could first sell 10 kWh to the grid, receiving a high peak-time feed-in credit, then "buy" 30kWh later in the evening when prices are much cheaper. The net result could mean that the overall cost of charging is much cheaper or even free! Finally, as EV range gets bigger, the need to actually charge every night less frequent. Where I live, there are several EVs that are typically parked on the street (without access to a charger) and only seem to get charged every week or so. The owners probably only average 10 miles or so a day so daily charging isn't really needed.