EV proponents handwave away the nuisances & long time of recharging. Handwave all you want, but most people find this unacceptable.
Heh. You created a completely hypothetical scenario where you made up the inputs and outcomes out of thin air. Several people pointed out your fictional scenario has zero relationship to real world experience.
Then you dismiss objective reality as handwaving.
Hoookay. I mean, which are you going to believe? Your totally made up story? Or real people with real experience? I’m kinda surprised you’re willing to die on the hill of “totally made up story.”
I have seen some terrible wiring done by licensed electricians.
Is there a state contractor licensing board there? Maybe the owner should also hire an inspector, if the state doesn’t. I suppose an owner might not recognize defects or even know that a license is required for some work. Depends on the state?
Licensing doesn’t cure everything. I used a trusted friend, licensed contractor for some work. A year or so later I noticed he left out every other screw in some of the door hinges. That’s not a defect in his knowledge, but laziness.
I once drove from Houston to Fort Stockton, leaving Houston mid morning, arriving well after dark in Fort Stockton. I planned to top off before we got to Fort Stockton. Funny thing! There are very few gas stations after you pass the San Antonio area. This on I-10) I started to be nervous, so I slowed down a bit (Speed limit is 85 iirc.) to use less gas. After while my wife noticed ans asked why, so I told her. She helped me look for a station. Finally she saw some lights well off the interstate and we drove over (more than a mile off the interstate.) to find a little two pump station in the middle of West Texas. We both heaved a big sigh of relief, and we got gas. The station had no (public) toilet, so I used God’s great potty outside. My wife has a Very Shy Bladder, and she elected to wait. We got to Fort Stockton around 8:00, needing a motel, and something to eat. Funny thing … all the motels seemed to have no vacancy. Finally I took the first opening we found. We would normally not have considered such a run-down motel, but we were desperate. It seems there was an oil boom in full swing, and all the available low priced housing was filled with transient oil field workers. We checked in, got something to eat, and I invented some excuse to go back out. I eventually found a Motel 8 and grabbed their last room. It seemed palatial compared to the other one we had rented. The guy let us off the hook at the first one, saying he would have no trouble re-renting it.
Sometimes it takes a little planning, even with an ICE.
<<A level 2 charger is just a 40 amp outlet, just like an electric clothes dryer.>>
I can only share what I know. The installers were actually at his home and told him it would cost thousands of dollars. It is an older (i.e. historic) home so perhaps it lacks newer wiring. IIRC, it was going to cost him over 5 grand to have his home rewired for a lvl 2. My guess is that his circuit breaker was not rated for at least 50 amps.
Apparently installation costs can indeed vary widely:
" The installers were actually at his home and told him it would cost thousands of dollars. It is an older (i.e. historic) home so perhaps it lacks newer wiring. IIRC, it was going to cost him over 5 grand to have his home rewired for a lvl 2. My guess is that his circuit breaker was not rated for at least 50 amps."
Circuit breakers? Gimme a break. Probably had 30 amp service with a fuse box. 100+ years ago, there were no appliances to gobble electricity. A house had half a dozen light bulbs and outlets for some table lamps. In early kitchens when electrical appliances appeared, folks would use a plug adapter in the hanging light fixture to plug in a ‘toaster’.
Friend back when had old 1900 type house. Had ‘tube and knob’ wiring exposed. You could see it in the basement before it went up into the walls. That’s barely insulated wires running parallel to outlets and light sockets, then to the lights. Oh, there were still some gas lighting pipes there too.
Yeah, if you had a carriage house , now your garage, it probably had a rinky dink 15 amp circuit by air out to the building with a light bulb or two.
One place in Troy I stayed at was 1860 building for one summer. Drug store first floor - apartments second and third floor for students. Had old gas pipes running along walls - and electric conduct along the walls to switches and light fixtures. Fuse box in kitchen. Not many outlets. Oh, had nice ‘tin’ ceiling in living room. It worked. $25/month in the summer time for each of 2 of us. $100 each for 4 students rest of school year. Still there last time I went through Troy.
Major upgrade to code to change much of that out in a historic or old house that hasn’t been upgraded.
Friend back when had old 1900 type house. Had ‘tube and knob’ wiring exposed. You could see it in the basement before it went up into the walls. That’s barely insulated wires running parallel to outlets and light sockets, then to the lights. Oh, there were still some gas lighting pipes there too.
IMO, if you have K&T wiring in your house you should probably consider replacing that (maybe 10-$20K or more) before you buy a BEV, especially a $50k or $70K BEV.
The extra $1K- $3k to install a charger is minimal.
K&T wiring doesn’t have 3 prong outlets and can be a fire hazard.
August 30: California asks Californians to avoid charging electric vehicles due to electricity shortages
For more than a decade (or two?) PG&E has had these flex alerts where they ask/suggest that people cut back by turning their A/C up to 78F, don’t use major appliances and now, also don’t charge their EVs from 4-9pm. The flex alerts might happen 2 or 3 times per summer.
It doesn’t really matter what the peak demand is, there will always be a few extreme days that push the limits. The alternative is to just over build capacity and raise everyone’s rates.
I think that most people have the flexibility to change their schedules enough to take 10 seconds to plug in and charge at night when they are notified in advance.
I think that most people have the flexibility to change their schedules enough to take 10 seconds to plug in and charge at night when they are notified in advance.
Or just set your car to start charging at midnight. Which people do anyway if they have Time of Day metering.
August 30: California asks Californians to avoid charging electric vehicles due to electricity shortages
Shouldn’t we consider closing gas stations during hot weather as well?
Evaporative emissions increase the warmer it is so people should not refuel when it is hot.
It’s no secret that gasoline is volatile. And it evaporates quickly, too. In fact, your car’s fuel can turn from a liquid into a gas at a very fast rate – especially when it’s hot outside. This trait is bad for the environment, what with 20 percent of all hydrocarbon emissions from cars coming from fuel evaporation [source: Autoshop 101]
Park in the shade during the summer months. Even though modern cars have advanced EVAP systems to prevent too much evaporation from occurring, gas does still evaporate from the tank, especially when the car is parked in the sun. This is even worse when it’s extremely hot outside. Parking in the shade helps keep the entire vehicle cooler and reduces fuel evaporation.
One more thing: Buy your gas in the early morning or later at night. It’s warmer in the afternoon and early evening, which means evaporation is more prevalent.
One more thing: Buy your gas in the early morning or later at night. It’s warmer in the afternoon and early evening, which means evaporation is more prevalent.
When is this misinformation going to go away? Gasoline is stored at gasoline stations in underground storage tank. The temperature of the gasoline is not going to flucuate between morning, noon and evening. The ground keeps it at a steady temperature. Horizontal ground loop HVAC system operate using these steady underground temperatures.
I’ve also heard this with regards to when stations get their fuel. Supposedly when the tanker is there it is more (or less?) advantageous to fill-up your car than when not there. I suspect the difference in volume is insignificant. And evaporation would also be trivial, especially with the vapor capture system on most pumps.
“I’ve also heard this with regards to when stations get their fuel. Supposedly when the tanker is there it is more (or less?) advantageous to fill-up your car than when not there. I suspect the difference in volume is insignificant.”
In days gone by, you wanted to AVOID the gas truck at the filling station as it would churn up all the dirt and grit and pollution at the bottom of the tank as they pumped in new gas. Better to let things settle out.
Now, gas filters on pumps are better, but I’ll usually want to miss the gas truck. If you’re traveling, well, you’re over a barrel if you need gas and you’re at a service station needing a fill up.