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I'm not sure what's the price of a kWh where you live. Where I live (France), at 0.22 €/kWh: - If I use Tesla Superchargers (ie. a long-distance trip), my exp

by Rygian 3y ago

I'm not sure what's the price of a kWh where you live. Where I live (France), at 0.22 €/kWh: - If I use Tesla Superchargers (ie. a long-distance trip), my expenditure in power is half of what I'd pay for petrol. - If I charge at home (ie. 95% of my car use), my expenditure is between one half and one third. and the ride is so much more fun. My car battery is 4 years old and retains almost the same charge as when it was brand new. How many are "a few years" in your opinion, and what observations have you made to form that opinion? Also, let's imagine that my battery drops to a 60% charge retention when it is, say, 12 years old. Why would I have to "inevitably replace" it, while it is still largely adequate for almost all my needs? And by the way, when I do long-distance trips, I take longer to change my toddler's diapers and/or feed him than it takes for my car to be topped-up for the next leg of the trip. If anything, I'm inconvenienced by having to move the car away from the charger because it's ready before I am. Last, but not least, it only takes a couple days of workers' strike at an oil-related industry for people to spend hours queuing at the one gas station that has not run dry yet. Cheers!

scarygliders 3y ago
According to my "smart" meter, my electricity tariff - which is variable rate - is currently 28.59 UK pence per KWh, which roughly translates to 0.33 of your Euros/KWh. Plus a ridiculous "standing charge" of 68 UK pence per day. As to the rest of your points, if your EV works out for you, good for you, but not everyone is living in your particular circumstances. I'm based in Scotland in a particularly rural area. We recently went on a trip to the Isle of Skye, and made a >500 mile round trip on one tank of petrol in my Prius, which included driving around the island in it, without having to top up numerous times or having to even try finding a charging station if we were in an EV. And say everyone switches to EVs - there surely must come a saturation point at which the demand for a charging station is greater than the availability of one. Compare that to popping into a petrol station for a few minutes, filling up, and setting off again, and not having to worry about filling back up again until a long time later compared to having to top up a battery more frequently.
- Rygian 3y ago
  The "top-up numerous times" is actually "once every 200 km or less often" for most EVs. You might even not need to top up your battery if your sleeping arrangements include a destination charger. About the saturation point, I fully agree. There are two mitigating circumstances though: 1.- EV drivers with an option to charge at home will do that most of the time; apartment dwellers don't have it so easy, but at least in France the law is on their side to set up charging spots if they have a private parking spot. 2.- Building new high-speed charging stations is not very expensive, and does not require a large amount of maintenance in the long run. One last point: the convenience afforded by ICEs and petrol stations should become stigmatized, and I wish for a tipping point in public perception, where driving an ICE where an EV would do is seen as a selfish and disrespectful choice.

by Rygian 3y ago

scarygliders 3y ago

According to my "smart" meter, my electricity tariff - which is variable rate - is currently 28.59 UK pence per KWh, which roughly translates to 0.33 of your Euros/KWh. Plus a ridiculous "standing charge" of 68 UK pence per day. As to the rest of your points, if your EV works out for you, good for you, but not everyone is living in your particular circumstances. I'm based in Scotland in a particularly rural area. We recently went on a trip to the Isle of Skye, and made a >500 mile round trip on one tank of petrol in my Prius, which included driving around the island in it, without having to top up numerous times or having to even try finding a charging station if we were in an EV. And say everyone switches to EVs - there surely must come a saturation point at which the demand for a charging station is greater than the availability of one. Compare that to popping into a petrol station for a few minutes, filling up, and setting off again, and not having to worry about filling back up again until a long time later compared to having to top up a battery more frequently.

Rygian 3y ago
The "top-up numerous times" is actually "once every 200 km or less often" for most EVs. You might even not need to top up your battery if your sleeping arrangements include a destination charger. About the saturation point, I fully agree. There are two mitigating circumstances though: 1.- EV drivers with an option to charge at home will do that most of the time; apartment dwellers don't have it so easy, but at least in France the law is on their side to set up charging spots if they have a private parking spot. 2.- Building new high-speed charging stations is not very expensive, and does not require a large amount of maintenance in the long run. One last point: the convenience afforded by ICEs and petrol stations should become stigmatized, and I wish for a tipping point in public perception, where driving an ICE where an EV would do is seen as a selfish and disrespectful choice.