6 ms·

How feasible is it that people would (say, 20 years out) expect car charges in their homes by default? In my case I very rarely drive >100 miles without being h

How feasible is it that people would (say, 20 years out) expect car charges in their homes by default? In my case I very rarely drive >100 miles without being home, so having a home charger would actually be _more_ convenient. I expect that is similar for most people. It also makes me think of a world where your home car is electric, and you rent an ICE for long distance travel. Or where we have real public transit between cities and you rent an electric at your destination. Lots of interesting options that seem feasible on the surface. There will always be a subset that would be better off with ICE though I am sure.

asiachick 5y ago
I expect in 20 years we'll have batteries that charge almost instantly or in no more than 5 minutes.
- mfer 5y ago
  This brings up an interesting angle to think about. In 20 years what do the old cars on the road look like? Are they all gone? Gone often means in dumps. Where the batteries are toxic to the environment. If we want to think for the environment should we plan around longevity?
mfer 5y ago
For me, that would be fine. But, how is that going to work for people in apartments, jobs that commute a lot (e.g. delivery drivers), people traveling, etc? There are a lot of situations like this. What’s their experience going to be like?
- blhack 5y ago
  Pay chargers at every parking spot for the complex. For the landlords it will be a revenue stream. (In leases to the company which runs the chargers)
  - mfer 5y ago
    I wonder what the logistics to install something like that would be? Say there are 500 spots. How much wiring is needed, what kind of hook up to the grid is needed, how do you run all those cables in existing garage, and how much weight is added to the structure? Will landlords make the money or an outside vendor who does this? So many questions to ask and so many rabbit holes to go down. Just to look at of this is possible and how it could work
    - caf 5y ago
      The grid connection isn't that high, because the average person (in the US) drives 50km a day. At 200Wh/km efficiency (this is a generous estimate) that's 10kWh/day per driver. Assuming charging of all these cars is concentrated across 8 hours (10pm to 6am), 2kW per driver is more than sufficient. What's needed is EVSEs (charging connectors) that intelligently communicate to share the grid connection (this already exists).
blhack 5y ago
I think that chargers will be default in homes. The idea of a gas station likely will just fade away. We have fuel stations because the infrastructure to deliver gasoline to everybody’s home is unrealistically complicated. But the delivery infrastructure for electricity is largely already there. You just need to install the equivalent of a “pump”. (Coincidentally there are some guys at my house installing one of those “pumps” today!)
caf 5y ago
It's certainly feasible, and it's not going to take 20 years either. Right now anyone with an EV will charge overnight at home if at all possible, because the it's incredibly convenient. It's easy enough for those who own detached houses or townhouses to install a higher capacity charging point, but it can be more painful for those renting or in apartments. I don't think it'll take too much EV penetration for houses and apartment buildings that are set up for charging to command a premium.

asiachick 5y ago

I expect in 20 years we'll have batteries that charge almost instantly or in no more than 5 minutes.

mfer 5y ago
This brings up an interesting angle to think about. In 20 years what do the old cars on the road look like? Are they all gone? Gone often means in dumps. Where the batteries are toxic to the environment. If we want to think for the environment should we plan around longevity?

mfer 5y ago

For me, that would be fine. But, how is that going to work for people in apartments, jobs that commute a lot (e.g. delivery drivers), people traveling, etc? There are a lot of situations like this. What’s their experience going to be like?

blhack 5y ago
Pay chargers at every parking spot for the complex. For the landlords it will be a revenue stream. (In leases to the company which runs the chargers)
- mfer 5y ago
  I wonder what the logistics to install something like that would be? Say there are 500 spots. How much wiring is needed, what kind of hook up to the grid is needed, how do you run all those cables in existing garage, and how much weight is added to the structure? Will landlords make the money or an outside vendor who does this? So many questions to ask and so many rabbit holes to go down. Just to look at of this is possible and how it could work
  - caf 5y ago
    The grid connection isn't that high, because the average person (in the US) drives 50km a day. At 200Wh/km efficiency (this is a generous estimate) that's 10kWh/day per driver. Assuming charging of all these cars is concentrated across 8 hours (10pm to 6am), 2kW per driver is more than sufficient. What's needed is EVSEs (charging connectors) that intelligently communicate to share the grid connection (this already exists).

blhack 5y ago

I think that chargers will be default in homes. The idea of a gas station likely will just fade away. We have fuel stations because the infrastructure to deliver gasoline to everybody’s home is unrealistically complicated. But the delivery infrastructure for electricity is largely already there. You just need to install the equivalent of a “pump”. (Coincidentally there are some guys at my house installing one of those “pumps” today!)

caf 5y ago

It's certainly feasible, and it's not going to take 20 years either. Right now anyone with an EV will charge overnight at home if at all possible, because the it's incredibly convenient. It's easy enough for those who own detached houses or townhouses to install a higher capacity charging point, but it can be more painful for those renting or in apartments. I don't think it'll take too much EV penetration for houses and apartment buildings that are set up for charging to command a premium.