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One problem with battery swapping is making them accessible enough. I think current designs have the batteries under the floor of the midsection in order to kee

by dan1234 15y ago

One problem with battery swapping is making them accessible enough. I think current designs have the batteries under the floor of the midsection in order to keep the centre of gravity low, which makes them rather difficult to change without raising the car on ramp. A second problem I can think of is that batteries fade over time, and people aren't going to want older batteries being swapped in for their flat but fresh units. Nor will "gas" stations, for that matter. In the UK I'm starting to see more and more parking spaces with electric chargers so drivers can refuel while the car is stationary anyway. I think the fast chargers would be useful for motorway service stations but elsewhere charging little and often (i.e at work, in car parks and at home) should be "good enough" for most uses.

bradfa 15y ago
As mentioned by xavi, betterplace is working on quick change battery tech. You drive up a ramp and the robot is inside the ramp. Regarding slightly degraded batteries, I think that's less of a concern. You'd pay less for a less charged or capable battery (only fair). There'd probably even be grades of batteries, like we have for gasoline (RON or octane). Also, people seem to have no problem doing exactly this with propane tanks (in the USA) for their BBQ grills. The tanks you exchange are definitely not as nice as the ones you can buy new and get filled but the convenience of being able to exchange a tank outweighs a lot of people's desire to get their tank refilled. You can always get your tank refilled, even if you previously exchanged it, you're not required to only exchange them. Same exact business model as exchangeable batteries. The exchange system (or fast charge) is simply for longer trips exceeding battery range or when you weren't able to recharge enough at home. Curb-side parking spot chargers don't do anything different than in-home chargers, they're still slow and still don't solve the "I want to go further than my battery" problem. Fast chargers, if used sparingly, could work. It's overuse of it that's the problem. I guess it all depends on how often people are using them. The one worry I'd think is that people won't install a home charger ($2k or so investment) but will rely upon the fast chargers or exchange systems as they do now for gasoline. If you're fast charging every other day or even twice a week, that's not good.
- anamax 15y ago
  > Also, people seem to have no problem doing exactly this with propane tanks (in the USA) for their BBQ grills. The tanks you exchange are definitely not as nice as the ones you can buy new and get filled but the convenience of being able to exchange a tank outweighs a lot of people's desire to get their tank refilled. Except that no one cares what their tank looks like - they only care about how much it holds, or rather, how much gas they're going to get out of it, and whether it leaks. The same is true of batteries, and that's the problem if batteries degrade with usage, heat, deep discharge, and so on. Oh, and I do try to get the nicest propane tank when I exchange. I'm not the only one.

by dan1234 15y ago

bradfa 15y ago

As mentioned by xavi, betterplace is working on quick change battery tech. You drive up a ramp and the robot is inside the ramp. Regarding slightly degraded batteries, I think that's less of a concern. You'd pay less for a less charged or capable battery (only fair). There'd probably even be grades of batteries, like we have for gasoline (RON or octane). Also, people seem to have no problem doing exactly this with propane tanks (in the USA) for their BBQ grills. The tanks you exchange are definitely not as nice as the ones you can buy new and get filled but the convenience of being able to exchange a tank outweighs a lot of people's desire to get their tank refilled. You can always get your tank refilled, even if you previously exchanged it, you're not required to only exchange them. Same exact business model as exchangeable batteries. The exchange system (or fast charge) is simply for longer trips exceeding battery range or when you weren't able to recharge enough at home. Curb-side parking spot chargers don't do anything different than in-home chargers, they're still slow and still don't solve the "I want to go further than my battery" problem. Fast chargers, if used sparingly, could work. It's overuse of it that's the problem. I guess it all depends on how often people are using them. The one worry I'd think is that people won't install a home charger ($2k or so investment) but will rely upon the fast chargers or exchange systems as they do now for gasoline. If you're fast charging every other day or even twice a week, that's not good.

anamax 15y ago
> Also, people seem to have no problem doing exactly this with propane tanks (in the USA) for their BBQ grills. The tanks you exchange are definitely not as nice as the ones you can buy new and get filled but the convenience of being able to exchange a tank outweighs a lot of people's desire to get their tank refilled. Except that no one cares what their tank looks like - they only care about how much it holds, or rather, how much gas they're going to get out of it, and whether it leaks. The same is true of batteries, and that's the problem if batteries degrade with usage, heat, deep discharge, and so on. Oh, and I do try to get the nicest propane tank when I exchange. I'm not the only one.