3 ms·

The electrical system will need to double in capacity to support 90% electric vehicles.

theshrike79 4y ago
The electrical system in the US. Many many other countries are just fine, it's just the US grid that's singularly messed up. Most parking spots in the nordics have had 230V 16A plugs in them for over half a century for engine block heaters. You can just shove a gas pipeline over anyone's land with one permit. But if you want to do power lines you need federal, state, county, city and land owner permission. And in some states anyone who can SEE the power line from their property can veto the permit...
sitkack 4y ago
Not true at all. You can charge an EV at 5miles/hr on a standard 15A circuit, the same amount of power drawn by a hair dryer. You can generate that much power from 4 or 5 solar panels. 5 panels per EV deployed near where the EV charges will unburden the edges of power grid and not force any upgrades in the feed lines. High power charging stations are another matter, but the grid is sized for peak load, with a bit of coordination I don't see those being much of an issue either.
- theshrike79 4y ago
  Panels + a few hundred kWh of batteries for chargers might even turn a profit even if no cars ever charge there. Charge the batteries when electricity is the cheapest, sell it back during peak load.
  - sitkack 4y ago
    I have been thinking of this, a 3kw roof top solar kit should be included with the purchase of a new EV, even make the EV rebate/discount contingent on installing roof solar if you can. OR ... if your believer in the market, purchase a roof solar installation credit from someone else within X kilometers of your address. The goal would be to offset the load on the grid with edge solar, so that EVs are net positive on grid load.
- bilsbie 4y ago
  How come no one is selling something like a 5 panel slow EV charger?
- Fatnino 4y ago
  That's 60 miles of charge a day. And this isn't counting the losses sustained to charging range while the car is being used for actual work. 60 miles is bare minimum daily range for many folks.
  - theshrike79 4y ago
    And also 60 miles is perfectly enough for many folks. If that's not enough, you can get a 240V connection for double the charging power.
  - thrill 4y ago
    The average US driver does 40 miles per day. https://www.kbb.com/car-advice/average-miles-driven-per-year/ https://www.kbb.com/car-advice/average-miles-driven-per-year...
    - Fatnino 4y ago
      That number is garbage because it comes from miles driven per year. Most of the week I barely drive my car 10 miles total. And then on the weekend I drive 140 miles one way and back the same day. So while this use case just barely fits with this charging plan (assuming the car battery has the capacity to hold that much), if I just had to commute to work every weekday my weekend plans would be shot.
- Xylakant 4y ago
  The problem is more that the power grids were built under some assumption of average use per household. In germany, numbers of about 2kw/hour on average have been mentioned lately (two hair dryers). Adding significant sustained load to that upsets that calculation, and electric cars as well as switching to primarily electric heating (heat pumps) will require substantial investment into that infrastructure.
Syonyk 4y ago
No, it really won't. You're looking at about a 25% increase in annual energy use, and almost all of that can fit in the cracks of system capacity. Charge at work in the late morning to early afternoon, and it's a perfect fit for the "peak solar, low demand" part of the curve as well. Where are you seeing double the capacity? I've done the numbers a few days and I always end up around 25-30% more annual electricity use in the US if you replace everything with EVs.

The electrical system in the US. Many many other countries are just fine, it's just the US grid that's singularly messed up. Most parking spots in the nordics have had 230V 16A plugs in them for over half a century for engine block heaters. You can just shove a gas pipeline over anyone's land with one permit. But if you want to do power lines you need federal, state, county, city and land owner permission. And in some states anyone who can SEE the power line from their property can veto the permit...

sitkack 4y ago

Not true at all. You can charge an EV at 5miles/hr on a standard 15A circuit, the same amount of power drawn by a hair dryer. You can generate that much power from 4 or 5 solar panels. 5 panels per EV deployed near where the EV charges will unburden the edges of power grid and not force any upgrades in the feed lines. High power charging stations are another matter, but the grid is sized for peak load, with a bit of coordination I don't see those being much of an issue either.

theshrike79 4y ago
Panels + a few hundred kWh of batteries for chargers might even turn a profit even if no cars ever charge there. Charge the batteries when electricity is the cheapest, sell it back during peak load.
- sitkack 4y ago
  I have been thinking of this, a 3kw roof top solar kit should be included with the purchase of a new EV, even make the EV rebate/discount contingent on installing roof solar if you can. OR ... if your believer in the market, purchase a roof solar installation credit from someone else within X kilometers of your address. The goal would be to offset the load on the grid with edge solar, so that EVs are net positive on grid load.
bilsbie 4y ago
How come no one is selling something like a 5 panel slow EV charger?
Fatnino 4y ago
That's 60 miles of charge a day. And this isn't counting the losses sustained to charging range while the car is being used for actual work. 60 miles is bare minimum daily range for many folks.
- theshrike79 4y ago
  And also 60 miles is perfectly enough for many folks. If that's not enough, you can get a 240V connection for double the charging power.
- thrill 4y ago
  The average US driver does 40 miles per day. https://www.kbb.com/car-advice/average-miles-driven-per-year/ https://www.kbb.com/car-advice/average-miles-driven-per-year...
  - Fatnino 4y ago
    That number is garbage because it comes from miles driven per year. Most of the week I barely drive my car 10 miles total. And then on the weekend I drive 140 miles one way and back the same day. So while this use case just barely fits with this charging plan (assuming the car battery has the capacity to hold that much), if I just had to commute to work every weekday my weekend plans would be shot.
Xylakant 4y ago
The problem is more that the power grids were built under some assumption of average use per household. In germany, numbers of about 2kw/hour on average have been mentioned lately (two hair dryers). Adding significant sustained load to that upsets that calculation, and electric cars as well as switching to primarily electric heating (heat pumps) will require substantial investment into that infrastructure.

Syonyk 4y ago

No, it really won't. You're looking at about a 25% increase in annual energy use, and almost all of that can fit in the cracks of system capacity. Charge at work in the late morning to early afternoon, and it's a perfect fit for the "peak solar, low demand" part of the curve as well. Where are you seeing double the capacity? I've done the numbers a few days and I always end up around 25-30% more annual electricity use in the US if you replace everything with EVs.