4 ms·

No, this has been debunked over and over. People imagine BEVs need to be charged every evening at some super high power. The reality is they need to be charged

by pornel 3y ago

No, this has been debunked over and over. People imagine BEVs need to be charged every evening at some super high power. The reality is they need to be charged about once a week (median US commute is 1/10th of typical BEVs range at city speeds), and can charge overnight, or when parked at work, while using less electricity than your air conditioning unit. The grid is designed to handle peak demand (see the "duck curve"), and there is a lot of spare capacity outside of the peak hours, especially at noon when there's more solar production than consumption. BEVs are very flexible with their charging time, and scheduling charging in off-peak hours is a standard feature.

tekknik 3y ago
> People imagine BEVs need to be charged every evening at some super high power. The reality is they need to be charged about once a week Wouldn’t you say this is based on usage? Or do EVs run for a week regardless of distance traveled?
- pornel 3y ago
  EV energy use is mostly proportional to distance traveled, except they're more efficient at lower speeds (typical values are 4-5miles per kWh in city traffic, and 2.4-3.5mi/kWh at highway speeds). I've noted it's based on median commute, which is around 35-40 miles a day (median means that half people travel less than this, half of people travel more). WLTP range of Telsa Model 3 is 370 miles. There will obviously be some users who need to charge often, but my point is that it's closer to once a week for at least half of the US population. And I'm using US stats, because the country is particularly car-centric, so if the US can do it, rest of the world can manage too.
  - tekknik 3y ago
    Ah so it is variable. Ok glad that’s clear. I also only fill my gas vehicle once a week. Sitting at a pump (charging station) for 30 mins a week is still too long. Not every person will be able to have a charger at home (think apartments, condos, hotels, homeless, etc)
    - pornel 3y ago
      You don't need to be near the car while it's charging, so usually EVs are charged while they're parked. There could be a charger at your work, or in a shopping mall, at a hotel. You keep the car plugged while it's parked, and it doesn't take more of your time than 30 seconds it takes to plug and unplug. You can be elsewhere working/shopping/sleeping. In some countries there are already laws that require new parking lots to have chargers. I know the infrastructure isn't there yet, but if we imagine 100% people having EVs, there will be enormous demand for it, and having plugs in parking lots will be the standard.
      - tekknik 3y ago
        Eh, you don’t want to monitor something taking a household worth of power? In the RC car world we monitor substantially smaller batteries and even charge them in a specific bag because of the risk. How long until you think it catches fire? A house down the road from me just burned down from an EV that ignited from a short, and risked all the houses around it. Meanwhile it takes 3 minutes to fuel a gasoline vehicle and you can still do it anywhere.

by pornel 3y ago

tekknik 3y ago

> People imagine BEVs need to be charged every evening at some super high power. The reality is they need to be charged about once a week Wouldn’t you say this is based on usage? Or do EVs run for a week regardless of distance traveled?

pornel 3y ago
EV energy use is mostly proportional to distance traveled, except they're more efficient at lower speeds (typical values are 4-5miles per kWh in city traffic, and 2.4-3.5mi/kWh at highway speeds). I've noted it's based on median commute, which is around 35-40 miles a day (median means that half people travel less than this, half of people travel more). WLTP range of Telsa Model 3 is 370 miles. There will obviously be some users who need to charge often, but my point is that it's closer to once a week for at least half of the US population. And I'm using US stats, because the country is particularly car-centric, so if the US can do it, rest of the world can manage too.
- tekknik 3y ago
  Ah so it is variable. Ok glad that’s clear. I also only fill my gas vehicle once a week. Sitting at a pump (charging station) for 30 mins a week is still too long. Not every person will be able to have a charger at home (think apartments, condos, hotels, homeless, etc)
  - pornel 3y ago
    You don't need to be near the car while it's charging, so usually EVs are charged while they're parked. There could be a charger at your work, or in a shopping mall, at a hotel. You keep the car plugged while it's parked, and it doesn't take more of your time than 30 seconds it takes to plug and unplug. You can be elsewhere working/shopping/sleeping. In some countries there are already laws that require new parking lots to have chargers. I know the infrastructure isn't there yet, but if we imagine 100% people having EVs, there will be enormous demand for it, and having plugs in parking lots will be the standard.
    - tekknik 3y ago
      Eh, you don’t want to monitor something taking a household worth of power? In the RC car world we monitor substantially smaller batteries and even charge them in a specific bag because of the risk. How long until you think it catches fire? A house down the road from me just burned down from an EV that ignited from a short, and risked all the houses around it. Meanwhile it takes 3 minutes to fuel a gasoline vehicle and you can still do it anywhere.