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I don't know what this means. I have an EV also and the biggest barrier to EV adoption is charging infrastructure. I have a charger at home, but realize that ma

by dmode 8y ago

I don't know what this means. I have an EV also and the biggest barrier to EV adoption is charging infrastructure. I have a charger at home, but realize that many more people live in apartments and condos that require that infrastructure. Further, there are days when I forget to charge, and would really benefit from a quick 40-50 mile charging at a public location. Charging infrastructure is definitely a necessity.

hayksaakian 8y ago
What the parent thread suggests is that if you EV range continues to increase, access to convenient charging becomes less relevant. I think the parallel here is to cell phones. If you cell phone battery sucks, you're probably carrying around a portable charger, and a usb+wall charger. However if your phone normally goes ~2 days without a charge then you can simply charge nightly at home without carrying a portable battery and/or cable + wall plug everywhere you go.
- Barrin92 8y ago
  the range can be as high as it wants, if you're living in an apartment without access to a personal charger you need public infrastructure because at some point you'll need to charge your car somewhere.
  - ghouse 8y ago
    And if your apartment doesn't have a washer and dryer, at some point you'll need clean clothes. My point is why should I subsidize your charger?
    - Barrin92 8y ago
      Because electric cars provide positive externalities for a city such as reduced pollution. Which is an especially big issue in densely populated cities. Vehicle emissions contributes to as much as 50k premature deaths each year, tax dollars have been spent on worse things. http://news.mit.edu/2013/study-air-pollution-causes-200000-early-deaths-each-year-in-the-us-0829 http://news.mit.edu/2013/study-air-pollution-causes-200000-e...
      - ghouse 8y ago
        I understand and agree with these facts. And as a society we can choose to either increase the cost of the negative externality (like the vehicle emissions), or decrease the cost of the positive externality (emission-free vehicles). However, in this case, the "apartment" example is a transfer of wealth from people who have access to chargers (homes, apartments which chargers, workplaces with chargers) to people who don't have such access. Sure, HN has a San Francisco bias in its readership, but some places apartment owners compete for tenants. And to differentiate themselves, they'll add chargers.
siruncledrew 8y ago
Pardon the pun, but I agree the current lack of charging infrastructure is an "inconvenient truth" for many EV owners (or would-be owners). For those of us that live in apartments/condos/townhouses where residents don't have a dedicated garage, figuring out the charging is the hardest part. From personal experience: some newer apartments have charging stations installed, but there's typically only ~3 of them in a building of 200-300+ residents, so if >3 people buy an EV, they have to play charging musical chairs. For condos and townhouses, there's the trouble of figuring out how to install a 220V outlet and run a charging cable to your car in a way that people won't trip over it. While charging at other locations can be an option, it's also pretty annoying to have to wait around a grocery store or parking lot (or some other random location) for at least 2-3hrs for your car to charge. It sucks because I want an EV, but without having a convenient spot to charge it, it feels like running around with an iPhone5 when they first came out desperately looking for a lightning cable.

by dmode 8y ago

hayksaakian 8y ago

What the parent thread suggests is that if you EV range continues to increase, access to convenient charging becomes less relevant. I think the parallel here is to cell phones. If you cell phone battery sucks, you're probably carrying around a portable charger, and a usb+wall charger. However if your phone normally goes ~2 days without a charge then you can simply charge nightly at home without carrying a portable battery and/or cable + wall plug everywhere you go.

Barrin92 8y ago
the range can be as high as it wants, if you're living in an apartment without access to a personal charger you need public infrastructure because at some point you'll need to charge your car somewhere.
- ghouse 8y ago
  And if your apartment doesn't have a washer and dryer, at some point you'll need clean clothes. My point is why should I subsidize your charger?
  - Barrin92 8y ago
    Because electric cars provide positive externalities for a city such as reduced pollution. Which is an especially big issue in densely populated cities. Vehicle emissions contributes to as much as 50k premature deaths each year, tax dollars have been spent on worse things. http://news.mit.edu/2013/study-air-pollution-causes-200000-early-deaths-each-year-in-the-us-0829 http://news.mit.edu/2013/study-air-pollution-causes-200000-e...
    - ghouse 8y ago
      I understand and agree with these facts. And as a society we can choose to either increase the cost of the negative externality (like the vehicle emissions), or decrease the cost of the positive externality (emission-free vehicles). However, in this case, the "apartment" example is a transfer of wealth from people who have access to chargers (homes, apartments which chargers, workplaces with chargers) to people who don't have such access. Sure, HN has a San Francisco bias in its readership, but some places apartment owners compete for tenants. And to differentiate themselves, they'll add chargers.

siruncledrew 8y ago

Pardon the pun, but I agree the current lack of charging infrastructure is an "inconvenient truth" for many EV owners (or would-be owners). For those of us that live in apartments/condos/townhouses where residents don't have a dedicated garage, figuring out the charging is the hardest part. From personal experience: some newer apartments have charging stations installed, but there's typically only ~3 of them in a building of 200-300+ residents, so if >3 people buy an EV, they have to play charging musical chairs. For condos and townhouses, there's the trouble of figuring out how to install a 220V outlet and run a charging cable to your car in a way that people won't trip over it. While charging at other locations can be an option, it's also pretty annoying to have to wait around a grocery store or parking lot (or some other random location) for at least 2-3hrs for your car to charge. It sucks because I want an EV, but without having a convenient spot to charge it, it feels like running around with an iPhone5 when they first came out desperately looking for a lightning cable.