I don’t expect a large demand for EV’s until battery technology and life have a quantum leap over what’s available today and until pricing is competitive with GPVs.
We have all charged the batteries on our vehicles at one time or another and some of us have a golf cart we charge, We plug them in and hey don’t create a large draw on the grid. In fact not much more than a light bulb, because they charge slowly.
Will these electric vehicles create a tremendous draw??
If they do then they are going to be really expensive to operate and gasoline will probably be cheaper than the electric bill.
Unintended consequences, or the reason enviroweenies shouldn’t make policy.
To a liberal all the world is static. Nothing is connected to anything else.
I didn't realize those electric cars were going to be such a drain on the power grids. Wow, sure looks like we have another ethanol on our hands.
I grew up with 25 cycle electricity, crank (Magnito) phones, no TV, no AC, and sleeping porches. We technology collapses, I won’t like it but will be physiologically better equipped to handle it - at least better than my techno dependent daughter and her family. My wife, who grew up without home electricity, will do better than I.
It is not right that those of us who are already subsidizing the purchases of these things are also being forced to pay more for electricity to help charge them as well.
When power grids start blowing all over the place due to EV’s look for the general populace to turn hostile and make the owner’s lives hell.
The only problem is that nobody is going to buy them now that the cat is out of the bag that they really don’t run on “free” electricity. The outrageous pricetags are another matter entirely.
I’m also curious to see some serious crash testing results. Exactly how durable is that battery when you T-bone it with an F-150 doing 60?? What happens when you run it head-on into a bridge abutment at the same speed??
Anyone want to invest in my natural gas powered generator home charging station business?
Greener than gasoline, cheaper than the grid, no taxes ... yet. 8~)
I’m ahead of T-Bone one this one.
The points in the article, plus several made by posters already, are among many reasons that electric vehicles, however innovative, cannot directly substitute for fossil fuels. It is not, as some of the “greens” imply, a matter of switching to electric power and continuing “business as usual.” Once the cheap oil is gone, and with China gearing up it it is going fast, the more expensive, unconventional oil (think deep ocean, tar sands, etc.) will push gas prices well beyond three dollars a gallon. Efficiency of engines and reduced trip lengths (with accompanying changes in land uses) will be increasingly important.
By the way, it will be two decades before electric vehicles will have a major portion of the vehicle fleet, if only due to the life cycle of vehicles having grown to 17 years.
The same greenie wienies who are pushing electric cars are the ones fighting against coal, nuke-ya-ler, nat gas, and hydro power.
Where do they expect to get the power for those Lionel cars? I don’t know. Maybe they are going to shoot lightning bolts out their butts.
The ‘problem’ is easily handled. Currently electric heat and air conditioning is classified as ‘interpretable’ requiring their service to be on a ‘ripple’ controller. When the base load reaches a predetermined level those items will be ‘rippled’ off. The electric car chargers will have to be on this same circuit.
The result is that your electric car will not get its charge on occasion. As the load due to these increases this will become more and more common. On those days you will have to walk to work or call the boss and tell him you are ill.
Eventually you will be fired and then won’t need a car at all!
How old is the neighborhood you live in?
How old is the power plant that supplies power to your house?
All of these factors could come into play if you (and/or your neighbors) want to charge an EV.
The article mentioned the transformer on the pole, and the substation down the street, but what about your breaker panel? Can it take another 50 amps of continuous load, over and above what you're already using? Most older houses have 100 amp (or even smaller) panels. With electric heat, AC, clothes dryer, and electric stove, you're already at max capacity. Plug in your car and she's gonna blow, cap'n. And how about the service wire that feeds your house (between the meter and panel)? Sure, you can upgrade, but that's at least $1500, directly to the homeowner.
Assuming your house panel will take the load, then you need to have the proper outlet in the right place (probably a 50A welder outlet in your garage). That's more $$ from your pocket.
Bottom line: If you're considering buying an EV, I suggest you consult an electrician first. You could face thousands of dollars in startup costs personally, besides the millions your electric company may have to invest.