EV - not ready for the masses?

[2TH MVR]

I'll be getting an inexpensive Bolt EV in the next 6-12 mos. Nothing fancy. Just need a simple commuter. I have other cars for longer trips, etc.

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[ezekio3160]

If you live in California PG&E shuts off your power when the wind blows. Or when they feel like placing political pressure on the governor.

Oh and they regulate your solar permit and limit how much solar you can install limiting the ability to go off grid.

In addition to that the utility costs are outpacing fuel costs .

Makes me realize there is no more freedom with our energy consumption and more dictators telling us how and when to consume. I live in california and love the idea of going 100 percent off grid but won’t happen ?

 

[BA33]

Idk... Ford's F150 Lightning @ $40K (w/ up to $9k in federal tax credits) is tempting. I don't plan on cross-country trips though

Lightning and Maverick are two of the few great values in the game right now, imo.

 

[ezekio3160]

The answer the question of this post, no, EV not ready for the masses because not enough techs properly trained on repairs and especially not properly trained in caring.

 

[MisterPhoton]

Don't forget the fact that our power grid is in no position to allow every household to install the power capability for charging even one EV car. The grids nationwide would be overloaded almost immediately. I'd say there is about 10 years worth of upgrading and boosting up the capabilities of the grid, and I think that estimate is kind. It may be more like 20 years.

Either way, I can't see ever owning an EV vehicle. To me, it's the biggest boondoggle that ever came down the pike. You're burning coal to make that electricity, which is dirtier than the cars that burn gasoline. This is a clear example of people and government not thinking things through.

Well yeah, the Texas grid isn't prepared for more EVs charging - it can't handle a stiff breeze, as evidenced by the past couple winters.

Up here in Oregon, we have no shortage of power.

 

[bleda2002]

I agree with you except for the charging costs. Lets do a comparison.

Lets assume a 35 mile round trip to and from work on a "normal"day.

You have a modern non-plug in hybrid cross over that gets 35 mpg. You burn 1 gallons of fuel at $5/gallon for a daily commute cost of $5

You have a Tesla Model X crossover for the same commute. It It uses about .4 kWh per mile for a total electric use of 14 kwh. At 30 cents per kWh, your total fuel "burn" of $4.20.

So its not much of a delta if you compare with a hybrid.

This is part of the problem with the analysis most people do. They don't compare apples to apples.

Comparing a Gladiator to a Model X is pointless. Compare the Model X to a Rav4 Hybrid and it gets much closer.

Like I said earlier I have a friend who is the ideal BEV owner. Short trips, charges in his attached, heated garage. And I've got an acquaintance who is the WORST use case for a BEV. Parks the car on the street, charges at public charging stations, uses the car for trips greater than 120 miles.

At this point a plug in hybrid (PHEV) is really the best there is.

.30 cents is really high for the majority of the country. Thats super charger or hawaii or california peak time rates, the country average is just over 10 cents. Tesla's also are closer to .25kwh a mile not .4. Using more realistic numbers you are at 4.20 on the high end for yours, and average of more like 90 cents.

 

[MisterPhoton]

I've owned a pure EV, a PHEV, and a FHEV over the past decade. EVs, in their current iteration, are perfect for two-car households where you have an EV and a PHEV/FHEV/ICE or for someone who just doesn't do long road trips.

When we got our first EV, our power bill went up about $15/month on a 40 mile/day commute, which is all the EV was used for. That's way less than even a very fuel-efficient ICE (which is what I drove on the same commute before the EV).

We're now on a PHEV and my JT (as soon as it's released from the Port of Portland). The PHEV doesn't use gas unless we go further than ~30 miles - anything less than that and it runs 100% on electricity. It's perfect for grocery store runs, trips out to dinner, etc. Now that my wife and I both work from home, we put gas in the PHEV maybe once per month, and that's it. The JT is going to only be for trips, hauling, etc.

If I ever intended to go back to working in an office, I would've ordered a Lightning instead of a JT, since I could use it for commute and hauling around town, and then we'd use the PHEV for road trips.

And finally, anyone saying they're getting an EV for the autonomous driving has drank Elon's kool-aid and is putting money into his pocket for what has proven to be vaporware. Autonomous driving from Tesla has been coming in just another 3 months...for about a decade now. Until there are laws requiring autonomous driving and car-to-car communication it'll always just be a pipe dream - computers can't predict the idiocy of human drivers.

 

[texanjeeper]

Power generation varies greatly regionally. In Texas 20% is coal, CA is 0.2%, and even WV is just 20%.

Okay so even if your numbers are accurate, which I really do not think they are, what are they doing to generate electricity? I'm pretty sure that they don't have a network of squirrels running on circle treadmills, generating this electricity. They have to be burning something, because the government hasn't allowed any new nuclear power stations, from what I can tell.

 

[texanjeeper]

Well yeah, the Texas grid isn't prepared for more EVs charging - it can't handle a stiff breeze, as evidenced by the past couple winters.

Up here in Oregon, we have no shortage of power.

Quite simply, you're very likely wrong. I've seen the mapping and the entire country as a whole is not ready for every home in every place charging an electric car every night.

 

[wjcook68]

Maybe I am just obtuse but I just don't see how any geographical area that has rolling brownouts would be considered ready for EV. How would they handle the increased demand?

 

[BA33]

Okay so even if your numbers are accurate, which I really do not think they are, what are they doing to generate electricity? I'm pretty sure that they don't have a network of squirrels running on circle treadmills, generating this electricity. They have to be burning something, because the government hasn't allowed any new nuclear power stations, from what I can tell.

Not sure, but I would guess natural gas mostly. Wind and solar play a part and the PNW sells quite a bit of surplus electricity to CA. I would like to see us revisit nuclear, especially if we can force Bezos's fleet of Space Penises to jettison the waste out to Pluto.

 

[bleda2002]

Not sure, but I would guess natural gas mostly. Wind and solar play a part and the PNW sells quite a bit of surplus electricity to CA. I would like to see us revisit nuclear, especially if we can force Bezos's fleet of Space Penises to jettison the waste out to Pluto.

Instead of using the current once through nuclear power we could look at using the plutonium powered plants as well. This was abandanoned mid 70's because uranium was cheap, but if we recycle the waste back through it actually cuts down the amount of waste we'd produce.

 

[steve68]

Sky net!!!

OH NOW YOU'VE DONE IT!!!!!!

 

[BA33]

Maybe I am just obtuse but I just don't see how any geographical area that has rolling brownouts would be considered ready for EV. How would they handle the increased demand?

Seems like rolling brown outs and privately owned power companies go hand in hand. We will definitely need to improve grid efficiency/capacity and develop more sources for power, but I have this sense that mismanagement and deferred maintenance issues would be a good place to start to take up a fair amount of the slack.

 

[texanjeeper]

Seems like rolling brown outs and privately owned power companies go hand in hand. We will definitely need to improve grid efficiency/capacity and develop more sources for power, but I have this sense that mismanagement and deferred maintenance issues would be a good place to start to take up a fair amount of the slack.

That's right, because the government can run and regulate a power company so much better than a private entity.

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