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> Installing NEMA 14-50 outlets everywhere could put the EV revolution on the road sooner rather than later. No. No it won't. It's helpful TODAY for homes and
by ShakataGaNai 3y ago
> Installing NEMA 14-50 outlets everywhere could put the EV revolution on the road sooner rather than later.
No. No it won't. It's helpful TODAY for homes and office buildings and hotels. Destinations. But as the author said himself, it was limited to below 10kw/hr. That means your average Tesla will require roughly 7 hours for a full charge, or 20 hours for your hummer EV. It's unlikely you'll need a FULL charge, but if you're at work for 8 hours, that's not a problem. Or at home sleeping, not an issue. But for any long distance driving? No dice.
We *need* fast charging. We need smart chargers that can handle multiple cars intelligently until we get to a point where battery and capacitor technology is far enough along to rival gas.
The average consumer doesn't want to futz with a J1772 adapter to get free EV charging when on an errand - let alone tinker about with a dozen adapters, plug ends and whatnot. Now if someone is an EV enthusiast, no problem. They probably have all the adapters and more with them all the time (I do).
At the end of the day, the 14-50 argument is a bit like saying "Everyone should carry their own fuel pump with themselves. That'd be so much easier than all these fancy gas station pumps. Just let people dangle the hose directly into the tank and pump it out themselves." Oh.. and just as dangerous.
- jillesvangurp 3y agoWe need some fast charging and that's coming online as investments are ramping up rapidly. However, the vast majority of people aren't traveling anywhere close to the maximum range of their car the vast majority of the time. Meaning the vast majority of the time, all they need is a simple slow charger. Destination charging is a thing. You go shopping, you top up some kwh. You sleep at a hotel, your car charges overnight. You go to work, you plug it in in the car park. Etc. There's a massive growth in the availability of chargers like that. It's only when you are going to drive longer distances that a fast charger is nice and worth the premium price you'll likely pay for using one. Most highways have those. Some areas are still a bit under served. Basically fuel pumps require electricity to function. So any fuel station is a potentially charging point. And when double digit percentages of cars are electric, most of the surviving ones will be offering chargers. Many of course won't make it. Range anxiety is going to be a thing if you own an ICE vehicle pretty soon. Is there going to be a petrol station where I'm going? Is it still in business? Is it getting supplied? Just mocking ICE car owners here of course. Unlike an EV, you are really screwed if you go out of range of a petrol station. An EV can just plugin to whatever. Even another EV if that's needed. Mobile chargers are already a thing. The practical reality of course is that the overall number of chargers is already much higher than the number of petrol stations. And many EV owners rarely use a fast charger. For most people, fast charging is a thing they do a few times a year. Mostly they just plug in and forget about it. My parents have been driving an EV for the last half year. Fast charging is a thing my father stressed out about. I asked him the other day if he had used a fast charger yet. Answer: no. The need for that simply hasn't come up yet. The car has enough range for what they do. They've done destination charging a few times. But not fast charging. Mostly they charge at home and it's all they need. They are planning a trip to France soon (1200km drive). So, they will have to plan some charging stops. Likely that will be a mix of hotels with chargers and maybe a few tactical fast charging stops. But that will be the first time.