4 ms·

I think the TCO would be impacted if enough people get electric in a city to require electric grid upgrades. That money will come from increased electric rates,

I think the TCO would be impacted if enough people get electric in a city to require electric grid upgrades. That money will come from increased electric rates, higher rents, or in taxes of some form. Of course it's nearly impossible to predict ahead of time but it's a looming cost. Imagine a 100 car parking lot for an apartment building, if everyone drives 20 miles per day average at an efficiency of 3.5kwh/mile, that's 7 megawatts that needs to be delivered every night or people can't get to work (assuming load balancing chargers). That seems like a lot. Multiply that by several buildings in a block plus the charging equipment for each parking spot... The money needs to come from somewhere.

leoedin 3y ago
Your numbers are way off - EV efficiency isn't measured in kWh/mile but miles/kWh. If the average EV gets 3.5 miles/kWh, then those 20 miles per day need ~6 kWh. That's 600 kWh a night for your 100 cars, which over 10 hours is about 60 kW. That's far more achievable - comparable to 5 houses using an electric shower at the same time. There's bound to be some localised challenges, but the amount of electricity required for charging is well within most grid's existing capabilities. Grids are built for peak demand, with the low usage overnight typically half of peak. Additionally, electricity usage per household has been falling in the west for the last decade - with a peak in the mid 00s. The energy efficiency savings in lightbulbs and appliances have given extra headroom for charging. The average car in the US drives 14k miles a year. At 3.5 miles per kWh that's 4000 kWh a year, or an average of 460W. The average US home uses about 10,000 kWh a year - so that car charging represents a 40% increase. As long as that 40% is in the night, when infrastructure is barely being used, it's not really a problem.
- deegles 3y ago
  I guess someone with more knowledge about electric grids and cars will have to chime in.

leoedin 3y ago

Your numbers are way off - EV efficiency isn't measured in kWh/mile but miles/kWh. If the average EV gets 3.5 miles/kWh, then those 20 miles per day need ~6 kWh. That's 600 kWh a night for your 100 cars, which over 10 hours is about 60 kW. That's far more achievable - comparable to 5 houses using an electric shower at the same time. There's bound to be some localised challenges, but the amount of electricity required for charging is well within most grid's existing capabilities. Grids are built for peak demand, with the low usage overnight typically half of peak. Additionally, electricity usage per household has been falling in the west for the last decade - with a peak in the mid 00s. The energy efficiency savings in lightbulbs and appliances have given extra headroom for charging. The average car in the US drives 14k miles a year. At 3.5 miles per kWh that's 4000 kWh a year, or an average of 460W. The average US home uses about 10,000 kWh a year - so that car charging represents a 40% increase. As long as that 40% is in the night, when infrastructure is barely being used, it's not really a problem.

deegles 3y ago
I guess someone with more knowledge about electric grids and cars will have to chime in.