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MPs who don’t understand the power distribution logistics and lack of capacity problems we have here...

by setquk 8y ago

PuffinBlue 8y ago
What are you talking about?
Symbiote 8y ago
Or MPs who think those problems can be solved in 12 years rather than 22.
- C1sc0cat 8y ago
  MP's who have no technical scientific education apart from odd stand outs like Mrs Thatcher or these days Chi Onwurah. Mrs T allegedly questioned the civil servants pushing the rush to Diesel 30 years ago.
  - Symbiote 8y ago
    Most parts of possible problems have political, social, legal, economic and technical parts. A big technical issue is around battery capabilities, but other issues are stuck with a lack of funding, political will, gaps in the legal system. For example, installing places for people renting or living in flats to charge cars, or reducing car demand by increasing walking/cycling.
    - C1sc0cat 8y ago
      Its all very well saying "you peasant chappie" stop using your car its back to the omnibus for you - but the punters don't like it.
simonbarker87 8y ago
This is touted out so much but switching cars over to EVs would require the grid to be increased less than 50% as EVs use about 30% the energy of a combustion engine. Given that most cars will be charged over night the reality is that it would be less than this.
- skgoa 8y ago
  Currently all BEVs charge at their maximum rate the moment they are connected to the charger. Which almost always happens in late afternoon or early evening. I.e. the exact time when the energy usage is at a peak already. While there are many ideas regarding how this load can be pushed into the dead of night, nothing concrete has even been proposed, yet. So I wouldn't dismiss this issue that quickly, especially when we are talking about a (theoretical) rapid adoption of BEVs.
  - mrhappyunhappy 8y ago
    Ummm, a timer to allow charging at certain time only? Seems pretty simple to me.
    - skgoa 8y ago
      A simple timer isn't enough. You would want the chargers to be networked, so that the power company can optimize the load. That's not impossible, but it also doesn't exist, yet.
      - robjan 8y ago
        The UK power grid (which this article is talking about) is being converted to a smart grid. All new electric meters report their usage continuously which can be used to discover usage patterns. I imagine that chargers would also be connected to smart meters.
        makomk 8y ago
        As it currently stands, most of the installed base of smart meters can't even communicate to electricity companies other than the one that originally installed them, so I'd say that's a long way off.
  - davidgould 8y ago
    > Currently all BEVs charge at their maximum rate the moment they are connected to the charger. This is not remotely close to true. Most BEVs have timed and/or location aware charging. My own Spark EV for example (a very low end BEV) can be scheduled to charge during certain hours each day of the week. I use this because our electric utility has lower rates from 11PM until 7AM. So no matter when I plug it, the car waits for the cheap electric rate period.

MPs who don’t understand the power distribution logistics and lack of capacity problems we have here...

by setquk 8y ago

MPs who don’t understand the power distribution logistics and lack of capacity problems we have here...

PuffinBlue 8y ago

What are you talking about?

Symbiote 8y ago

Or MPs who think those problems can be solved in 12 years rather than 22.

C1sc0cat 8y ago
MP's who have no technical scientific education apart from odd stand outs like Mrs Thatcher or these days Chi Onwurah. Mrs T allegedly questioned the civil servants pushing the rush to Diesel 30 years ago.
- Symbiote 8y ago
  Most parts of possible problems have political, social, legal, economic and technical parts. A big technical issue is around battery capabilities, but other issues are stuck with a lack of funding, political will, gaps in the legal system. For example, installing places for people renting or living in flats to charge cars, or reducing car demand by increasing walking/cycling.
  - C1sc0cat 8y ago
    Its all very well saying "you peasant chappie" stop using your car its back to the omnibus for you - but the punters don't like it.

simonbarker87 8y ago

This is touted out so much but switching cars over to EVs would require the grid to be increased less than 50% as EVs use about 30% the energy of a combustion engine. Given that most cars will be charged over night the reality is that it would be less than this.

skgoa 8y ago
Currently all BEVs charge at their maximum rate the moment they are connected to the charger. Which almost always happens in late afternoon or early evening. I.e. the exact time when the energy usage is at a peak already. While there are many ideas regarding how this load can be pushed into the dead of night, nothing concrete has even been proposed, yet. So I wouldn't dismiss this issue that quickly, especially when we are talking about a (theoretical) rapid adoption of BEVs.
- mrhappyunhappy 8y ago
  Ummm, a timer to allow charging at certain time only? Seems pretty simple to me.
  - skgoa 8y ago
    A simple timer isn't enough. You would want the chargers to be networked, so that the power company can optimize the load. That's not impossible, but it also doesn't exist, yet.
    - robjan 8y ago
      The UK power grid (which this article is talking about) is being converted to a smart grid. All new electric meters report their usage continuously which can be used to discover usage patterns. I imagine that chargers would also be connected to smart meters.
      - makomk 8y ago
        As it currently stands, most of the installed base of smart meters can't even communicate to electricity companies other than the one that originally installed them, so I'd say that's a long way off.
- davidgould 8y ago
  > Currently all BEVs charge at their maximum rate the moment they are connected to the charger. This is not remotely close to true. Most BEVs have timed and/or location aware charging. My own Spark EV for example (a very low end BEV) can be scheduled to charge during certain hours each day of the week. I use this because our electric utility has lower rates from 11PM until 7AM. So no matter when I plug it, the car waits for the cheap electric rate period.