Have you started driving full electric car?

Discussion in 'Free Thoughts' started by Saint, Oct 18, 2021.

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  1. Saint

    Saint Valued Senior Member

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    Have you started driving full electric car?
    It is not popular in Malaysia, basically zero.
     
    Saint, Oct 18, 2021
    #1

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  3. billvon

    billvon Valued Senior Member

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    We have two. One BEV, one PHEV. We like them. (And we charge them from a solar power system.)
     
    billvon, Oct 18, 2021
    #2

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  5. Saint

    Saint Valued Senior Member

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    Are you in US or European countries?
     
    Saint, Oct 20, 2021
    #3

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  7. billvon

    billvon Valued Senior Member

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    USA.
     
    billvon, Oct 20, 2021
    #4
  8. James R

    James R Just this guy, you know? Staff Member

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    The Australian government is sticking its head determinedly in the sand when it comes to topics like addressing climate change, moving to sustainable forms of energy and the like, to the extent that the Australian economy is likely to suffer because we'll be lagging behind as the rest of the world changes.

    There are a number of disincentives to Australians purchasing electric vehicles right now. The infrastructure (e.g. charging facilities) to support them isn't widespread yet (see above for one reason). There aren't many such vehicles being imported into Australia so far and we don't have a domestic vehicle production industry any more. The vehicles that are available at the moment tend to be above the price that middle-class Australians can afford/want to pay.

    Australians in general tend to be early adopters of new technologies, and the population in general support green alternatives. The above barriers will be addressed over time with or without government help, but if the government got on board we'd be much further along the path to clean, green energy. What is really needed is a change in government, and not just for this reason. However, as is the case in the US, close to 50% of the population either wants or is oblivious to a government that isn't interested in addressing climate change, so there are no guarantees that change will come at the next opportunity.
     
    Last edited: Oct 26, 2021
    James R, Oct 21, 2021
    #5
  9. Saint

    Saint Valued Senior Member

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    In the UK or US, when you drive your electric car to somewhere far away from your home and you need to recharge at the public charging station, do you need to pay for charging? Or is it free?
     
    Saint, Oct 26, 2021
    #6
  10. James R

    James R Just this guy, you know? Staff Member

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    Which of the following is more likely? Choose A or B:

    A. Somebody invests money in building and maintaining the infrastructure necessary to charge electrical vehicles, but is happy for you to take the supplied energy to use it at no cost to yourself, because they aren't interested in petty concerns like breaking even or making a profit on their investment etc. In fact, they are willing to pay the power company for you to charge your electric car.

    B. Somebody installs vehicle charging facilities and charges customers a fee to access them, thereby covering their business costs of installing and maintaining the equipment, as well as paying the electricity bills charged to them by the producers of the electrical energy that is being fed into your electric car's battery.

    Contestant #1! What is your answer? Do you choose box A or box B?
     
    James R, Oct 26, 2021
    #7
    exchemist likes this.
  11. billvon

    billvon Valued Senior Member

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    Usually you pay. Several exceptions:

    1) We bought a Tesla back in 2013. It came with free charging for life. So any Tesla charger will charge it for free.
    2) The local chargers by Volta are all free. They have a video screen on them that sells ads. (They also use the screen to make fun of their own business model - "don't tell our CFO we are letting people charge for free!")
    3) I was the EV coordinator at my previous company, and we ended up putting in about a hundred plain old 120VAC outlets. They will give you about 40 miles of range to get home, but don't cost that much to operate since they only put out about 1400 watts. (And they're free.)
     
    billvon, Oct 26, 2021
    #8
    exchemist likes this.
  12. sideshowbob

    sideshowbob Sorry, wrong number. Valued Senior Member

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    On a smaller scale, a lot of places let you charge your phone/tablet/laptop for free, so it's not such an outlandish idea.
     
    sideshowbob, Oct 26, 2021
    #9
  13. Saint

    Saint Valued Senior Member

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    B.
     
    Saint, Oct 27, 2021
    #10
  14. Saint

    Saint Valued Senior Member

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    How much to install a super fast charger at home? 5000 pounds?
    Normal 110V or 240V is too slow to charge.
     
    Saint, Oct 27, 2021
    #11
  15. billvon

    billvon Valued Senior Member

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    Why?
     
    billvon, Oct 27, 2021
    #12
  16. Saint

    Saint Valued Senior Member

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    Household socket is not designed for fast charging.
     
    Saint, Oct 29, 2021
    #13
  17. billvon

    billvon Valued Senior Member

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    So what? No one needs to fast charge at home. You can charge overnight from a 120V socket and get 60 miles of range every night. You can charge from a dryer outlet and get 200 miles of range every night. Most people do not drive more than 200 miles every day.

    For people who do, there are always fast chargers in convenient locations.
     
    billvon, Oct 30, 2021
    #14
  18. Saint

    Saint Valued Senior Member

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    No, sometimes you want to travel urgently, you can't wait overnight.
     
    Saint, Nov 1, 2021
    #15
  19. billvon

    billvon Valued Senior Member

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    Then you fast charge. There are three fast chargers within two miles of my house.
     
    billvon, Nov 1, 2021
    #16
  20. gmilam

    gmilam Valued Senior Member

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    Out of curiosity, how fast is a fast charge and how far does it get you?
     
    gmilam, Nov 1, 2021
    #17
  21. billvon

    billvon Valued Senior Member

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    Around here, the Tesla superchargers are either 150 or 250kW. The 250kW charger will give you a 70% charge in 20 minutes, which will take you about 200 miles.

    The other chargers around here are Blink and Chargepoint. The Blink chargers are 50kW, the Chargepoint are 100.
     
    billvon, Nov 1, 2021
    #18
  22. gmilam

    gmilam Valued Senior Member

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    So not quite competitive with filling a gas tank, but not prohibitive either. Also out of curiosity, how much does that 20 minutes cost?
     
    gmilam, Nov 1, 2021
    #19
  23. billvon

    billvon Valued Senior Member

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    For me it's free since I got a Tesla back when they were offering free charging. For someone without free charging it's about 25 cents/kwhr so it would be about $17 to charge to 70%
     
    billvon, Nov 1, 2021
    #20
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