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Plug in ignores one very large population: people who live in apartments. Unless the apartment builders start to consider charging stations sufficient to the po

Plug in ignores one very large population: people who live in apartments. Unless the apartment builders start to consider charging stations sufficient to the population, plug-ins are pointless. A hybrid works since I don't need a plug.

lmm 9y ago
Apartment builders won't start putting in charging stations until they see residents wanting to plug in. For cars intended to last for years it makes sense to put the plug in now - installing charging stations in existing parking lots is more practical than adding plugs to existing cars.
- selectodude 9y ago
  My apartment building doesn’t provide off-street parking. I’d love an electric car but it’s far from an option.
aembleton 9y ago
Ubitricity offers street charging from lampposts: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rKaEhBjt1ls https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rKaEhBjt1ls
audunw 9y ago
What? Plug-in hybrids don't need to plug in. It's just an option. It makes sense wether you have access to nightly charging or not. It's much better if you can charge, but the battery still helps you with efficiency by storing breaking energy, and the plug can also be used other places. Once plugins become more ubiquitous you'll probably start to see supermarkets and such offer charging in their parking lots. And it's really not that hard to add charging infrastructure to apartment parking. It's just a matter of will. The technology is simple and relatively cheap. You'll start to see companies offer owner of apartment complexes a pretty good deal: they'll install the chargers for free in exchange for them charging the tenants for the electricity (+ margins) This is a problem that be market is pretty good at solving if the government just gives its kick-start. Once plugins hits 20-30% market share (sales) it'll practically solve itself.
agumonkey 9y ago
It's true, but with social momentum, it's probably not to hard to install.
toomuchtodo 9y ago
There's a recent news post about tech to retrofit EV charging stations onto streetlights. That seems to address on street charging and parking.

lmm 9y ago

Apartment builders won't start putting in charging stations until they see residents wanting to plug in. For cars intended to last for years it makes sense to put the plug in now - installing charging stations in existing parking lots is more practical than adding plugs to existing cars.

selectodude 9y ago
My apartment building doesn’t provide off-street parking. I’d love an electric car but it’s far from an option.

aembleton 9y ago

Ubitricity offers street charging from lampposts: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rKaEhBjt1ls https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rKaEhBjt1ls

audunw 9y ago

What? Plug-in hybrids don't need to plug in. It's just an option. It makes sense wether you have access to nightly charging or not. It's much better if you can charge, but the battery still helps you with efficiency by storing breaking energy, and the plug can also be used other places. Once plugins become more ubiquitous you'll probably start to see supermarkets and such offer charging in their parking lots. And it's really not that hard to add charging infrastructure to apartment parking. It's just a matter of will. The technology is simple and relatively cheap. You'll start to see companies offer owner of apartment complexes a pretty good deal: they'll install the chargers for free in exchange for them charging the tenants for the electricity (+ margins) This is a problem that be market is pretty good at solving if the government just gives its kick-start. Once plugins hits 20-30% market share (sales) it'll practically solve itself.

agumonkey 9y ago

It's true, but with social momentum, it's probably not to hard to install.

toomuchtodo 9y ago

There's a recent news post about tech to retrofit EV charging stations onto streetlights. That seems to address on street charging and parking.