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Could we reach a point in a decade where it's so cheap in new construction to build parking lots where every spot has a charger? Stores could encourage visitor
by ck2 3y ago
Could we reach a point in a decade where it's so cheap in new construction to build parking lots where every spot has a charger?
Stores could encourage visitors vs online shopping by making the charge free after checkout.
- kcb 3y agoLevel 2 AC charging probably. Level 3 DC 100KW+ fast charging probably not. Fast charging requires quite a bit of high power electronics to convert that grid power into DC. That's why for Tesla Superchargers, the real guts are in big cabinets off to the side.
- thrill 3y agoAbsolutely. Eventually we'll have magnetic chargers under every parking space.
- FullyFunctional 3y agoThat and flying cars too. Magnetic chargers are far less efficient and highly placement sensitive. They just don't make any sense. A mere gimmick.
- thrill 3y agoMagnetic EV chargers are just as efficient as Level 2 plug in chargers.
- Tagbert 3y agoinduction is never as efficient as direct contact
- thrill 3y agoInduction chargers can bypass the inefficient onboard AC/DC convertors.
- FullyFunctional 3y agoTesla superchargers bypass the onboard AC/DC convertor already.
- Tagbert 3y agoAny DC charger will bypass the AC/DC converter
- seanmcdirmid 3y agowireless charging is too inefficient. It might work for your garage, but it would be a huge suck at a grocery store unless power was really cheap.
- stetrain 3y agoIf every residential and office parking lot had level 2 AC chargers (much cheaper than level 3 DC fast chargers) at every spot, that would cover most charging needs. Adding slow chargers at places people aren't going to spend hours seems mostly pointless. Building DC fast chargers along travel routes or in places people might spend 30-45min in their weekly routine (grocery stores etc.) makes sense too, but these are also more expensive to install and operate.
- cmrdporcupine 3y agoTBH even L1 120v/12amp at a work parking spot is often good enough to get a charge to recoop the km spent getting to&from the office. A full 3kw or 6kw L2 charge will be wasted for many people for most of the day, unless you enforce people rotating out of spots. Which from my experience is a real PITA.
- stetrain 3y agoIf you have enough 3-6kw chargers for everyone who wants to use one that stops being an issue. If a percentage of the cars are plugged in but done charging, that just means you can get away with a smaller grid connection and load share across the chargers.
- cmrdporcupine 3y agoI'm Not An Electrician, But ... The wiring to hook up 50 or 100 L2 3kw chargers is so much more $$ than just running for 12amp 120V service. The cost in thicker copper & insulation alone is way higher. If I'm parked for 8 hours at work (thank god I now WFH though...) depending on the car & weather, etc. I could get 30-40km of charge for my Volt just from an L1 hookup. Most people's commutes are less than that. (Where I grew up in Edmonton, Alberta it used to be fairly common to wire staff parking lots up with 120v lines for people to plug in their block heaters for extremely cold days. Granted, in that case there was not continuous service -- just rotating or intermittent or whatever -- because you didn't need a full charge all day to give heat. Newer cars don't really require this, they start more reliably.)