OT: Electric Vehicles--anyone driving them or seriously looked at them?

[AngryScientist]

Originally Posted by Kirk007

If you can afford a new car, any car, you can afford the home charger and having an EV makes no sense without one ATMO.

except of course for the thousands (millions?) of people who do not have off-street parking...

[saab2000]

Originally Posted by AngryScientist

Got it.

We're in the early days here. All of this is going to evolve. Sounds like charger availability and "jerk" users are not a problem now, so that's good.

I think this is going to be a great thread for the archives. I bet in 10-15 years from now if we go back and read our thoughts we will get some laughs.

I agree it’s totally early days. And the real early adopters of 10 years ago were really making a leap of faith.

It’s also my belief that most of the people hogging a charger don’t know they’re doing it.

It will absolutely evolve. And rapidly. Today, in late January 2023, I think Tesla has a huge advantage with their technology in terms of under-the-skin tech and especially their charging network. In 12 months it may be vastly different. Obviously, I’m in on Tesla but it’s definitely a bit of a gamble. We’ll see what happens.

[cgolvin]

Originally Posted by Kirk007

… having an EV makes no sense without one ATMO.

Again, it depends on your individual use case. Even with rebates I can't justify investing in one (as explained above).

[Kirk007]

Originally Posted by AngryScientist

Got it.

We're in the early days here. All of this is going to evolve. Sounds like charger availability and "jerk" users are not a problem now, so that's good.

I've seen it be a problem in hotels and at grocer stores where there's only a slow level one charger. For instance on Orcas Island, a popular tourist spot accessible only by ferry or seaplane, there's one public charger that's pulled up on apps showing charging locations - at the one big local grocery store. There's one charging unit. To go from say 20% to 80% on this charger takes hours, as in try to get there in the evening before someone else does, plug in and come back in the morning. I don't think anyone's getting out of bed in the middle of the night to move there car for the next guy. I do see a day soon when charger availability will be a big headache for travelers. Right now as long as you can find a Walmart Supercenter your good to go- 6-8 chargers mostly working and usually mostly not being utilized (Aside: interesting strategy my Walmart; I've seen the inside of more Walmarts in the past two years than the rest of my life).

[jimoots]

Originally Posted by pasadena

I don't need a F-150]

Very few people need a F-150 (or a truck)... I saw a eye opening post yesterday that I just fact checked

• 75 percent of truck owners use their vehicle for towing one time or less per year (i.e. never)
• 70 percent go off road once a year or less
• 35 percent put something in the bed of their truck once a year or less

It's kind of eye opening that 3 in 10 truck owners don't even use the bed.

[Ryun]

Originally Posted by MikeD

The bigger question is what percentage of vehicle owners can charge their car at home? In the case of a full EV, that probably means 240V/60 amp service.

A 40amp breaker, as long as you have an open spot in the panel, will do the job for most people. Should give 32amps to the charger which is roughly 7.5-7.7 kWh.
That should get a pretty good charge overnight for all but the largest battery packs even if you were going from 0-100% in one night which is rare.

[saab2000]

Originally Posted by Ryun

A 40amp breaker, as long as you have an open spot in the panel, will do the job for most people. Should give 32amps to the charger which is roughly 7.5-7.7 kWh.
That should get a pretty good charge overnight for all but the largest battery packs even if you were going from 0-100% in one night which is rare.

Correct. I draw 48 amps and charged to 80% from 30% in a long afternoon into evening. Overnight charging will work for 99% users 99% of the time with a proper charger.

Not saying everyone needs to order tomorrow but this isn’t nearly as hard as some are making it out to be.

Again, long-haul road tripping is another thing. EVs have some compromises there. No doubt. They can be worked out, but they’re there.

[pasadena]

Is that in straya or usa?
so many utes and traybacks running around australia and they all look like they get used. If I lived there, i'd probably be running around in a 70 series diesel.

If it's the usa, yeah fullsize trucks took over sedans a long time ago.

Judging use is a slippery slope. What do people *need*? Personally, I think it's up to them, not me.
I know quite a few people that never use the back seat, have a suv and are single, or sportscars that they never use...

judging others backyards just is... well, a slippery slope.

Originally Posted by jimmy-moots

Very few people need a F-150 (or a truck)... I saw a eye opening post yesterday that I just fact checked

• 75 percent of truck owners use their vehicle for towing one time or less per year (i.e. never)
• 70 percent go off road once a year or less
• 35 percent put something in the bed of their truck once a year or less

It's kind of eye opening that 3 in 10 truck owners don't even use the bed.

[Ryun]

Even road-trips, at least on the east coast, aren’t that bad and show a glimpse
Of what’s possible.
I did the trip from Atlanta to Jacksonville

385 miles
2 stops for a total of 35 minutes. Just long enough for a bathroom break each time. Granted mine has a shorter range but charges faster than most . Overall time wise it was nearly identical to my travel time in an ICE.

Again not for everyone and it gets much more difficult off major highways but maybe isn’t as far away as we think.

[Kirk007]

Originally Posted by AngryScientist

except of course for the thousands (millions?) of people who do not have off-street parking...

good point. Another challenge to be overcome.

[jimoots]

Originally Posted by pasadena

Is that in straya or usa?
so many utes and traybacks running around australia and they all look like they get used. If I lived there, i'd probably be running around in a 70 series diesel.

If it's the usa, yeah fullsize trucks took over sedans a long time ago.

Judging use is a slippery slope. What do people *need*? Personally, I think it's up to them, not me.
I know quite a few people that never use the back seat, have a suv and are single, or sportscars that they never use...

judging others backyards just is... well, a slippery slope.

Those are USA figures.

Understand everyone has freedom of choice but the thing is the move toward trucks has implications for everyone else too. The post I saw yesterday was prosecuting the case that oversized trucks aren't being used for their purpose, but have outsized responsibility for fatal collisions.

Minor digression - Utes/trucks in Australia are much smaller than what you've got... your 'small trucks' are what we consider full size here. The cultural trend here is the same as what those stats suggest, though... while they are popular with tradespeople, there are plenty of suits driving a ute to the office and back.

[Octave]

Originally Posted by pasadena

Is that in straya or usa?
so many utes and traybacks running around australia and they all look like they get used. If I lived there, i'd probably be running around in a 70 series diesel.

If it's the usa, yeah fullsize trucks took over sedans a long time ago.

Judging use is a slippery slope. What do people *need*? Personally, I think it's up to them, not me.
I know quite a few people that never use the back seat, have a suv and are single, or sportscars that they never use...

judging others backyards just is... well, a slippery slope.

I'd love to have an electric truck. We currently own one electric vehicle (wife's Honda 100% electric hatchback, which she uses 2 times per week for volunteer work about 15 miles from home) but I use my pickup truck for work. There is use of the bed of my truck 5-6 days per week, off-road driving (>20 and up to 50 miles of logging roads) 5-6 days per week, and trailer use 2-3 times per month. The problem is I drive a good 75-100 miles per day on many days and don't think it would be feasible to own an eTruck without a significant investment in a home fast-charger. When fast-chargers at home, running off of our solar, are really truly affordable, I'll make the leap.

[corkycalvin]

Originally Posted by Ryun

Even road-trips, at least on the east coast, aren’t that bad and show a glimpse
Of what’s possible.
I did the trip from Atlanta to Jacksonville

385 miles
2 stops for a total of 35 minutes. Just long enough for a bathroom break each time. Granted mine has a shorter range but charges faster than most . Overall time wise it was nearly identical to my travel time in an ICE.

Again not for everyone and it gets much more difficult off major highways but maybe isn’t as far away as we think.

The only issue is wait time if the charger is being occupied.
I’ve seen some Tesla stations with lines so you have to add that time to the final equation

[pasadena]

couple friends have Rivian RT1's. They are amazing vehicles.

My goal is to have solar tied charging this year. L2 is not that expensive. Sounds like you're thinking of a DC fast charging setup.

For your use, really sounds like ICE is far more efficent right now for sure.

Originally Posted by Octave

I'd love to have an electric truck. We currently own one electric vehicle (wife's Honda 100% electric hatchback, which she uses 2 times per week for volunteer work about 15 miles from home) but I use my pickup truck for work. There is use of the bed of my truck 5-6 days per week, off-road driving (>20 and up to 50 miles of logging roads) 5-6 days per week, and trailer use 2-3 times per month. The problem is I drive a good 75-100 miles per day on many days and don't think it would be feasible to own an eTruck without a significant investment in a home fast-charger. When fast-chargers at home, running off of our solar, are really truly affordable, I'll make the leap.

[HenryA]

With a 200 amp service, you'll be fine unless you want to run the AC or heat, water heater, stove, dryer, washer all at the same time - ya know kinda like a lot of people when they get home at night.

EVs are a good fit for some people, not hardly most. More like maybe 25% of the US population at the current or near future level of charging availability. This says nothing about the extra load on the grid when 25% of the drivers plug in their cars. And its a cold winter night. And we still don't have the generation capacity. Pop goes the grid. But you get a day off work the next day or so.

Write all the imaginary stuff you want - this is not real yet and won't be soon. A hybrid can make some sense for some people. A full EV can make lots of sense as a second car to an IC version.

If we started today, the time to get a large quantity of generation capacity would be decades. And what fuel?