EV's & Tundra's

most neighborhood transformer capacity would be over taxed.

that's at the neighborhood level.

your housing grid was only set up to process a certain amperage.

it would not be easy to double that.

and you would be using coal/natural gas mostly....because everyone charges at night.

it's a ruse.

 

I don't think it's as dire as that.
Definitely more energy will be consumed for the additional load at night, no question.
The average neighborhood infrastructure shouldn't bat an eye at the 30-40A load. Your range pulls more current, and it shouldn't be running at night. Microwave, electronics, lights will mostly be off.

Where I think it will bite people is panel space, the average 200A panel I've come across at work is full with twin breakers already installed.

 

I was just thinking of the grid failure last year. I read it was due to a large part of Texas’s electrical needs being supplied by wind and solar. I was not aware it was due to anything political. But I hear what you’re saying. I’m just curious to see how it all unfolds.

 

The quest for all electric is political

it’s not feasible in any scenario

 

This vid illustrates another thing I would consider an inconvenience charging, about 24:40 in Andre wants clean the windshield. No squeeges, no water. Combine that with lack of canopies over charge stations that adds layers of irritation along with long charge time. I would not like to pull into a charge station when it's raining cats and dogs, a blizzard, freezing rain, then charge for 40 mins, then go back to the EV and have to scrape snow/ice off the windshield while still getting rained or snowed on. I understand canopies are very expensive but things like that would make EV life much easier.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8wybZ6K_yV8

 

In addition to the 16 mpg pickup we have a 99 mpg (so far) plug-in hybrid AWD SUV. The SUV charges at night and the cost to us is zero as we provide several kilowatts to the grid each day. The utility company pays us 3 cents per kWh for the power we generate and then sells it to our neighbors for 39 to 49 cents per kWh. But the last thing these monopolies want is to have private generation of power as their power plants are heavily subsidized by taxpayers and their customers. And the power companies are exempt from prosecution when they start a wildfire or dump sludge into a river or put heavy metals into the air that people breathe and shorten their lives.

We went with the plug-in as it is more practical at this point in time. It has a spare tire so no worries about needing a tow truck with a flat tire and possibly spending a few nights in a motel while waiting for the tire to be replaced. We charge it in the garage with a $600 charger plugged in to 240V outlet and the draw is less than 15 amps or far less than an air conditioner or an oven or a clothes dryer or an electric furnace or heat pump.

We generate a tiny fraction of the air pollution and greenhouse gases of a vehicle with a gas or diesel engine. Electric vehicles are the best way to clean up the air being polluted by diesel cars and commercial trucks. Air pollution costs taxpayers more than $15 billion each year in emergency room visits by people with asthma. As a child few people had asthma that did not live downwind of a power plant or factor or along a major highway. Now the woman who cuts my hair has all four of her children needing to take corticosteroid medication to control their asthma.

The only industry that pollutes more is the animal agriculture industry which produces more than half the greenhouse gases causing global warming and extreme climate change. So we have solar panels on our roof and use the 99 mpg vehicle for most of our trips and stopped eating beef and pork. I realize that most people can't be bothered and don't worry for a second about what is being left behind for future generations but we are not most people.

 

https://giphy.com/gifs/thank-you-smug-zVvg4z8nwWAvu

 

100%

Just think if people can't charge at home and the lines start backing up at charging stations. What a shit show.

 

That's my plan

 

what about the CO2 us humans produce? that's awful too.

aaand I'm guessing the magical carbon-free rainbow colored unicorn bequested upon you those lithium ion batteries?

animal agriculture...now that's a weird one.

most greenies have solutions that end in getting rid of humans...

does anyone know if CO2 still helps plants grow? Bueller?

 

and I'm just guessing you are "contributing" by using solar panels?

how in the heck are those made? by the same unicorns? in what country?

 

I thought the wife would be averse to plugging in all the time at home.

now, it's second nature to her. Full tank every morning.

I think a half "tank" is about ~$15.


In TX, thank your local rough neck for pulling that natural gas out of the ground - those giant gas-turbine powered gen-sets don't run on pixie dust.

If you're up East...your bread is buttered with Coal. thank a miner.

 

Eco-conscious China of course.

I'm reminded of the time some Eco extremists paddled out in kayaks in the Puget Sound to block oil transport ships... in kayaks made from petroleum.

 

I'm going to go off on a tangent...

Last night we were talking about the moon-shot that happens today.

I asked why are we doing that?

answer - so that we can live on other planets.

i said "neato, how?"

the answer...

wait for it....

change the climate on the other planet so that we could survive.

I sh1t you not.

the green hypocrisy knows no bounds.

most think they are sooooo smart, and have not even began to consequentially think of the ramifications to HUMANS!

however - I'm all for innovation. just not at the cost of human lives.

I love my EV for reasons other than being an EV. I love that it's powered by natural gas & I get to refill it everynight in my garage.

 

since I'm on a roll...

I forgot to mention our Model S trip to Lake Conroe & back...and the M3/Tesla cult.

We were in cruise coming home on the Hardy toll road...and I saw a M3 coming up behind me. I was set to 65, he was hooked up.

it was one of those sharp looking white M3's with the black trim & red caliper covers.

as he passed, he slowed and gave the thumbs up...I did the same.

yes, we are culty.

 

<needling the greenies>

as I'm watching the Artemis launch....when and if it lifts off....what is all that smoke?

is that OK for the environment? asking for a friend.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0_vyZiVxEEo&ab_channel=NASASpaceflight

 

How does this affect EV charging prices in this country?

can someone do the math?....

 

https://youtube.com/shorts/sSmSKQquG6w?feature=share

 

The only thing political about it is that Texas took a narcissistic stance and said f-you to being hooked to the grid with the rest of the U.S...Not agreeing or disagreeing with that decision. The power companies there then took their maintenance outages without verifying how much power would be available. When the cold hit, they were screwed. Also didn't help that with wind turbines, the power companies said they knew better than the manufacturer and maintained the turbines so they only could run when it was warmer. We have tons of wind turbines up here and they are running year round...and it gets butt ass cold. It is unfortunate that due to the negligence of the operators of the turbines, that so many people say "see renewables don't work"
I am hoping that all this charging at home does put enough pressure on the power companies to start upgrading the grid sooner rather than later. We haven't put a significant amount of money, or even half-assed effort into the grid since it was built. As time goes on and as there begins to be a higher peak load overnight, data will show it is needed...and the power company isn't going to let those dollars get away.
As far as solar and wind don't work overnight that statement someone made earlier, not sure if that was just a dumb comment or sarcasm. Battery As A Storage Solution industry is about to get really big. These huge battery farm operators are asking people to name their price to come work for them if they have experience due to a shortage in qualified candidates. I am not sure if having these huge batteries everywhere is actually feasible, but I don't want to shit on the idea completely. These things could help with storing the energy during the day and use it at night. It also can help an power plant during times where they usually curtail power on hot days.

 

Wind and solar don't work at night. it wasn't the cold...it was the night (dark and calm).

the Texas freeze was 2 standard deviations away from prep level. not many systems are built with those capabilities.

Batteries? really? how are those made? who pays for that?

or..you could simply run Natural gas. Like Texas does. it's what? 99.9% reliable.

and you are so narcissistic (using your word) to think batteries are a feasible answer. how do you charge them thar batteries?

I'm gonna guess you would need to run complete cycles on those batteries every night - how long would they last? How many standyby gen-sets need to be spooled to backup these batteries?

lots to think about.


didn't the grid up north recently massively crash because y'all didn't service some switches? it happens.

and Texas is on our own grid because we are Texas. come visit, we'll treat you kindly.

 

what's amazing is how much nat gas is burned off as waste at most non-US wells.

Africa is horrendous.

 

in order to charge these batteries... we would essentially need to raise the peak demand, send that energy to the battery system, then spool down the gen-sets at night.

ok....but you've burned about the same amount of energy at the end of each day.

maybe more, as battery charging is probably not 100% efficient.


and doesn't Texas have the largest wind farms & solar farms? somebody correct me.

before everyone gets all balled up.....Nuclear is the answer.

and yet our Gov prevents each and every construction commission.

ponderous.

 

There is no such thing as innovation. If you click your heels three times and say it loud enough maybe it will come true.

 

Lots of nat gas is being burned off on the North Slope. Lots. Right now.....

 

innovation.

all for it.

how about those solar panels in the UK that stopped working....because.....they got too hot.

really?

I thought solar panel, by their mere name, could handle a little heat.

but - the GOV subsidized them & that's what you get...sub-par unreliable crap.

 

You are right. There has never ever ever ever been a NG turbine that has had a failure.

 

hence, the 99.9% number i used.

everything breaks.

always.

 

Yeah, probably not feasible on a large scale.

I really don't think EV charging at night is going to be the downfall of the grid.
I bet it's more likely to be late afternoon when people get home from work, plug in the car, cook dinner, watch TV, all while the A/C is still working hard.

Curious, why would a power plant curtail generation on hot days?