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Here's a creative idea to partially solve the charging problem. Have people buy the fast chargers for their homes, and then get listed in a database where peop

Here's a creative idea to partially solve the charging problem. Have people buy the fast chargers for their homes, and then get listed in a database where people could stop by and pay for a charge on their travels. It would be like AirBnB but for charging electric cars.

schiffern 14y ago
Why would I buy a fast-charger for my home? It will never pay for itself in fees, and you don't need one at home – overnight charging meets essentially everyone's needs in that case. Edit: just to be clear, I support people sharing their chargers. But fast charging is overkill.
- sukuriant 14y ago
  ... because it allows for an 80% charge in a very short amount of time... you're extending the infrastructure of places you can charge Teslas; and if you monetize it ($15-20 for full, fast charge) then you're making money.
  - schiffern 14y ago
    > ... because it allows for an 80% charge in a very short amount of time... I know what a fast-charger does, but you still don't need one at home. You need to sleep, remember? Do you need a gas station in your garage? > you're extending the infrastructure of places you can charge Teslas At $25k/station you're going to need more than "the cause". > if you monetize it ($15-20 for full, fast charge) then you're making money. I assumed so. You'll still never make back what you put in. Current prices are around $7 for a 30 minute charge. Of that, $2 is electricity. You'll also need to pay the electric company extra to have a bigger connection to the grid (>100A at 480V), which usually costs hundreds of $ per month.
    - wtetzner 14y ago
      > I know what a fast-charger does, but you still don't need one at home. You need to sleep, remember? Yes, you need sleep. Are the people that you're sharing your charger with going to sleep at your house?
- beefman 14y ago
  The proposal is about sharing your charger -- is it going to be a sleep-over? Hey, that really would be like Airbnb.
- CamperBob2 14y ago
  IMO, the whole idea of electric vehicles is a waste of time unless the government (or at least a dominant market player) steps in and standardizes battery sizes for fast replacement at existing service stations. It should take less time to recharge an EV than it does to refill a gasoline tank, not more. Anyone who has ever exchanged a propane cylinder for their backyard barbecue should understand why this is the only conceivable way to make electric vehicles work. I can't begin to imagine why I'm the only person who actually thinks that way.
  - analyst74 14y ago
    Because government is slow at producing laws? (unless, of course, it benefits major political contributors)
    - CamperBob2 14y ago
      (Shrug) They're not slow at mandating things like 55 MPG CAFE regulations, or at declaring CO2 a toxic pollutant. They would have a perfectly legitimate role to play in standardizing battery packages, IMO. This is probably the kind of thing that would need to be done by international agreement, if it can be done at all.
  - kevinpet 14y ago
    If I exchange a propane cylinder, I am capable of judging if it is what it's supposed to be. No rust, clean valve, correct weight. I cannot judge whether I'm getting swapped in a battery that is going to die. A propane cylinder costs about the same as its contents. A $10k battery holds less than $1 worth of energy. This is not a valid analogy.
    - CamperBob2 14y ago
      I cannot judge whether I'm getting swapped in a battery that is going to die. Sure, you can. When's the last time the battery display on your laptop or cell phone lied to you? Battery monitoring tech has been reliable since the lead-acid days, and it's only gotten better over the past few years. There'd be some redundancy in most cases anyway. A sports car might require two or three standard battery units, each of which would consist of numerous individually-monitored cells. An 18-wheeler might require thirty or forty of the same standard battery packages, or perhaps ten of a larger form factor (think 'AA' versus 'C' or 'D'). In both cases the vehicles would be able to limp on half-power or less, in the event of battery failures. This objection is a complete non-starter, no pun intended. Edit: By the way, those swappable battery modules are going to last a lot longer since they won't need to be fast-charged.
therealarmen 14y ago
That's exactly what we're doing at http://www.plugshare.com http://www.plugshare.com. Check it out. The blue icons are residential charging stations and the green icons are public charging stations. Over 2,000 people have signed up to share their home electricity with EV drivers in need of a charge.
- ljd 14y ago
  I like your site but I would love to also use your site as a reference point for setting up my own station. I imagine you can monetize this lead generation process in some way as well.

schiffern 14y ago

Why would I buy a fast-charger for my home? It will never pay for itself in fees, and you don't need one at home – overnight charging meets essentially everyone's needs in that case. Edit: just to be clear, I support people sharing their chargers. But fast charging is overkill.

sukuriant 14y ago
... because it allows for an 80% charge in a very short amount of time... you're extending the infrastructure of places you can charge Teslas; and if you monetize it ($15-20 for full, fast charge) then you're making money.
- schiffern 14y ago
  > ... because it allows for an 80% charge in a very short amount of time... I know what a fast-charger does, but you still don't need one at home. You need to sleep, remember? Do you need a gas station in your garage? > you're extending the infrastructure of places you can charge Teslas At $25k/station you're going to need more than "the cause". > if you monetize it ($15-20 for full, fast charge) then you're making money. I assumed so. You'll still never make back what you put in. Current prices are around $7 for a 30 minute charge. Of that, $2 is electricity. You'll also need to pay the electric company extra to have a bigger connection to the grid (>100A at 480V), which usually costs hundreds of $ per month.
  - wtetzner 14y ago
    > I know what a fast-charger does, but you still don't need one at home. You need to sleep, remember? Yes, you need sleep. Are the people that you're sharing your charger with going to sleep at your house?
beefman 14y ago
The proposal is about sharing your charger -- is it going to be a sleep-over? Hey, that really would be like Airbnb.
CamperBob2 14y ago
IMO, the whole idea of electric vehicles is a waste of time unless the government (or at least a dominant market player) steps in and standardizes battery sizes for fast replacement at existing service stations. It should take less time to recharge an EV than it does to refill a gasoline tank, not more. Anyone who has ever exchanged a propane cylinder for their backyard barbecue should understand why this is the only conceivable way to make electric vehicles work. I can't begin to imagine why I'm the only person who actually thinks that way.
- analyst74 14y ago
  Because government is slow at producing laws? (unless, of course, it benefits major political contributors)
  - CamperBob2 14y ago
    (Shrug) They're not slow at mandating things like 55 MPG CAFE regulations, or at declaring CO2 a toxic pollutant. They would have a perfectly legitimate role to play in standardizing battery packages, IMO. This is probably the kind of thing that would need to be done by international agreement, if it can be done at all.
- kevinpet 14y ago
  If I exchange a propane cylinder, I am capable of judging if it is what it's supposed to be. No rust, clean valve, correct weight. I cannot judge whether I'm getting swapped in a battery that is going to die. A propane cylinder costs about the same as its contents. A $10k battery holds less than $1 worth of energy. This is not a valid analogy.
  - CamperBob2 14y ago
    I cannot judge whether I'm getting swapped in a battery that is going to die. Sure, you can. When's the last time the battery display on your laptop or cell phone lied to you? Battery monitoring tech has been reliable since the lead-acid days, and it's only gotten better over the past few years. There'd be some redundancy in most cases anyway. A sports car might require two or three standard battery units, each of which would consist of numerous individually-monitored cells. An 18-wheeler might require thirty or forty of the same standard battery packages, or perhaps ten of a larger form factor (think 'AA' versus 'C' or 'D'). In both cases the vehicles would be able to limp on half-power or less, in the event of battery failures. This objection is a complete non-starter, no pun intended. Edit: By the way, those swappable battery modules are going to last a lot longer since they won't need to be fast-charged.

therealarmen 14y ago

That's exactly what we're doing at http://www.plugshare.com http://www.plugshare.com. Check it out. The blue icons are residential charging stations and the green icons are public charging stations. Over 2,000 people have signed up to share their home electricity with EV drivers in need of a charge.

ljd 14y ago
I like your site but I would love to also use your site as a reference point for setting up my own station. I imagine you can monetize this lead generation process in some way as well.