-
Security incident: ISF was recently accessed by intruders. Please change your password, and change it anywhere else you used it. Read more
Electric Vehicles
- Thread starter acbytesla
- Start date
- Status
It's tricky to monitor, especially in places like supermarket car parks. Pretty often the car itself will have a blue badge tucked behind the windscreen but the driver is not the badge holder. I could do this myself with MrsB's blue badge and easily get away with it. But issue fines for occupying a charging spot when not charging?
Filippo Lippi
Philosopher
- Joined
- Nov 28, 2002
- Messages
- 5,511
Non-EV's in that charging space that you need for a charge is known as being "ICE'd" in the online EV community
P.J. Denyer
Penultimate Amazing
On a smaller scale practically every battery powered device until a few years ago worked by replacing the batteries! More comparably the fork lift trucks I used to work with were charged by unplugging the battery packs & plugging the same connector that went to the fork lift into the charger, this would be plugged & unplugged at least daily, normally more than that (top up charge over lunch for example).
Finally of course, if contact wear is a problem then it will be a problem for the car's charging point too. I'd suggest it's less of a problem for a bettery swap as a frictionless connector, such as a bolt together solution could be used.
Jack by the hedge
Safely Ignored
- Joined
- Oct 14, 2009
- Messages
- 27,044
It depends what you mean by "these cars". Your car can fill up at any fuel station and press on.
Of course it's less efficient than a full EV version would be because you're always lugging around an engine and fuel tank and you still have the servicing burden for all that machinery. But it's more versatile.
It looks like the EVs people are actually buying around here are "mild hybrid" SUVs, which can actually be less fuel efficient than the ICE version but qualify for various tax incentives because electric.
Last edited:
P.J. Denyer
Penultimate Amazing
It might be a no-brainer for supermarkets too. Repurpose any existing petrol station building if they have one as either a 'quick stop' shop or a restaurant, fit charging points in the carpark, if you're on a long drive there's approx 50% chance you're on the way home, might as well pick up groceries while you wait? If not, restaurant, cafe, snacks for the road....
Delvo
Дэлво Δε&#
Even if street lights had enough power, they still wouldn't be a solution for public parking & charging. There just aren't nearly enough of them.
What we're going to end up with is a system of only home charging or only at-work (+maybe while-shopping) charging, not both.
What we're going to end up with is a system of only home charging or only at-work (+maybe while-shopping) charging, not both.
Jack by the hedge
Safely Ignored
- Joined
- Oct 14, 2009
- Messages
- 27,044
It would be interesting to see what percentage of pure EV owners so far do not have home charging. My guess would be it's a tiny number. And people who can charge at home would seem unlikely to be willing to routinely pay extra to charge elsewhere. So I don't see a path from here to the public charging model unless it starts with big subsidies.
And it will happen a lot, especially in the 'old world' where off-street parking is less common. Adapted lampposts are a good idea - if technically feasible - but ... I come home at 6 p.m. in my ICE car, a street of terraced houses and parking spots already at a premium. There is one lamppost charger spot per 5 cars and one of those is my only option. It will often be the case that people in that position will say "screw it" rather than park in the next street. Legal enforcement will be necessary, I suspect.
Distracted1
Philosopher
Bars. Definitely bars. What better way to while away a half an hour or more than sitting at the bar watching a sporting event and downing a few cold beers.
Jack by the hedge
Safely Ignored
- Joined
- Oct 14, 2009
- Messages
- 27,044
Bars. Definitely bars. What better way to while away a half an hour or more than sitting at the bar watching a sporting event and downing a few cold beers.
Combine it with a street lamp charger and you can be sober by the time it's charged. Win-win.
bruto
Penultimate Amazing
I think much of the problem some people see here is a byproduct of "all or nothing" thinking, which seems to plague many people, especially where alternate energy is concerned.
Many of the problems foreseen will apply only to some people, and will sort themselves out with time, and many may never apply to a number of households with multiple cars.
A person who, for example, commutes to work or to the train station using less than half of a car's charge, need not have a charger there at all, even if it is a convenient time. They can charge when they get home, and always have enough. Meanwhile, a gas car can be left at home, available when needed.
Similarly, many people who regularly drive distances less than their charge capacity for the day will never need more than a home charger at night. If and when I get an electric car to replace my current econobox, I would expect rarely to need an outside charge. Sure, I'd still likely need a gas car to take the canoe for a camping weekend in Rhode Island, and so forth, but for daily trips to town, a couple of hundred miles is plenty.
We'll always need chargers here and there for emergencies and long trips and whatnot, but chances are good we will not need them for every car. By contrast, few people other than farmers (and scofflaws at that) have a supply of gasoline at home, bar, perhaps, an emergency can.
Some people seem stuck on the idea that because we're running out of petroleum, we must immediately switch to 100 percent electric or nothing. If we cut petroleum use by a large percentage, we could relax at least a little bit for a little while without having to institute difficult, draconian measures that inconvenience many and make life impossible for some.
I'm still in that group for which being at the cutting edge is not convenient or practical, but times change, and I'm willing to adjust as they do.
Many of the problems foreseen will apply only to some people, and will sort themselves out with time, and many may never apply to a number of households with multiple cars.
A person who, for example, commutes to work or to the train station using less than half of a car's charge, need not have a charger there at all, even if it is a convenient time. They can charge when they get home, and always have enough. Meanwhile, a gas car can be left at home, available when needed.
Similarly, many people who regularly drive distances less than their charge capacity for the day will never need more than a home charger at night. If and when I get an electric car to replace my current econobox, I would expect rarely to need an outside charge. Sure, I'd still likely need a gas car to take the canoe for a camping weekend in Rhode Island, and so forth, but for daily trips to town, a couple of hundred miles is plenty.
We'll always need chargers here and there for emergencies and long trips and whatnot, but chances are good we will not need them for every car. By contrast, few people other than farmers (and scofflaws at that) have a supply of gasoline at home, bar, perhaps, an emergency can.
Some people seem stuck on the idea that because we're running out of petroleum, we must immediately switch to 100 percent electric or nothing. If we cut petroleum use by a large percentage, we could relax at least a little bit for a little while without having to institute difficult, draconian measures that inconvenience many and make life impossible for some.
I'm still in that group for which being at the cutting edge is not convenient or practical, but times change, and I'm willing to adjust as they do.
malbui
Beauf
- Joined
- Nov 8, 2004
- Messages
- 5,078
I agree completely. I've said on here a few times that everybody's circumstances are different and while EV technology is maturing, both in respect of the vehicles and their cost and in respect of charging infrastructure, we'll see different phases of adoption.
My TM3 LR suits my circumstances perfectly. I have the resources to buy one, can charge it at home, and very very rarely do a return trip of over 300km. The area where I live and work is also well equipped for charging stations already. I recognise that I'm a privileged early-ish adopter. But as things settle down and mature, range gets increased and the charging network develops further, it will become a solution for more and more people.
I've been EV only since January and it works for me. If I lived where my in-laws live, I'd still be driving a chunky diesel 4x4.
(1) What charger? There's no chance of off-road parking in the house we B's are planning to buy, and there are plenty of such houses in this country.
(2) What gas car? The UK has announced an end to ICE car sales by 2030, less than 9 years away. Then zero exhaust emissions by 2035, so no ICE use at all in about 14 years time.
OK, it's some years away, but not that many.
Last edited:
bruto
Penultimate Amazing
Clearly, then as for point 1, you are not among the target few for which it would work. And point 2 is exactly what I mean by the "all or nothing" error. If enough people who can get along with electric cars get them, and if designers don't wait until the last moment, we should not need to leap into premature and expensive solutions to a problem that could have addressed with more sense and less panic.
Well, if the UK government goes through with the announced plan (and I have my doubts) then, around 2035, there will be no choice. EV or no vehicle at all, so it isn't my "all or nothing" error, it'll be a stark fact of life in the UK in 14 years time.
Jack by the hedge
Safely Ignored
- Joined
- Oct 14, 2009
- Messages
- 27,044
Can we just disambiguate that a bit, as these sorts of discussions get muddy. Does that mean no sales of new fossil-fuel-only cars in 2030 and zero fossil carbon exhaust emissions for new cars in 2035? Because "no ICE use at all" sounds like it means something significantly more drastic, like banning almost all older cars.
Distracted1
Philosopher
Question for those who may already have an EV.
When charging away from home, what is the charge?
How much does it cost to recharge a nearly empty battery to %100? Is it metered? Taxed?
Flat rate? Do different charging stations offer different prices?
When charging away from home, what is the charge?
How much does it cost to recharge a nearly empty battery to %100? Is it metered? Taxed?
Flat rate? Do different charging stations offer different prices?
You're right, I misinterpreted the announcement:
Step 1 will see the phase-out date for the sale of new petrol and diesel cars and vans brought forward to 2030.
Step 2 will see all new cars and vans be fully zero emission at the tailpipe from 2035.
This appears to rule out the sale of hybrids from 2035, not the very existence cars with ICE capability.
Last edited:
It varies from free to too much. Our local power company has installed several charging stations in our area. Most charge about 13 cents a kWh which is about the same as our residential rate, but some are free. Most are "Level 2" charging stations that add about 20 miles of range (based on my car and driving) per hour of charging. But, some are high-speed Fast DC chargers that can charge my car to 80% in about 20 minutes.
Many businesses have free Level 2 charging stations. Some have ones that charge - usually costing more than the ones installed by the power company.
All of the Dunkin Donuts stores along I-4 have charging stations, so I would have no issues driving from Orlando to Tampa and back (other than it taking a long time and adding inches to my waistline).
Last edited:
- Status