Random EV thoughts.....

Yeah it does seem the main thing stopping mass adoption is that energy suppliers aren't talking to car manufacturers

I suppose we're starting to see some of that happening with some cars being offered with discounted energy plans from a certain supplier. They're generally not the best price though, so not exactly a steal

I like the explanation about balancing, how the charger senses frequency changes in the grid and either charges or discharges the car

I think one of the big sticking points is going to be the requirement to be plugged in at certain times. Energy providers are going to need certainty that they have enough capacity in a V2G system to handle any grid events. But car owners want the flexibility to go out in the evening.

It's probably something that's easier for fleet managers to operate since they've got more certainty about their scheduling

I think for homeowners the best bet is around V2H to store and use energy to avoid peak rates. Plus perhaps a FIT to sell electricity back to the grid during peak times

I doubt it. EV supply won't keep up with demand until 2025 at the very least. As more people see how convenient and easy to run EVs are, adoption is going to sky rocket. Until now EVs have held up their value pretty well. Also you gotta put that theoretical 4-5k you want to save by waiting two years against the money you will save by running an EV instead of an ICE. If you drive 20k km a year you would probably save most of that that on fuel costs in 2 years.

"Mr Donaldson said Maxol was currently trialing rapid chargers – ranging from 80 to 175 kilowatts – from different manufacturers at a location in Northern Ireland with a view to begin rolling them out between 2023 and 2025."

This is the maxol site with chargers in NI

Note the fees for grid connections in NI were much higher, if a site grid update is needed. There was talk of changing this.

Can it make it a sales pitch to ESB? Sell the network to someone competent?

Slightly off topic, but can you imagine the response to something like this here...

"Landscaping equipment will be electric in California soon, as a new bill moves to ban gas-powered lawn equipment in the state — including lawn mowers and leaf blowers — in an effort to limit air pollution. Governor Gavin Newsom (D) signed a bill on Saturday that will stop sales of gas-powered equipment with small off-road engines by January 1, 2024. That prohibition could also come sooner, if the California Air Resources Board (CARB) says such a law is “feasible.”

It’s not only landscaping equipment that is part of the law. Portable gas-powered generators will need to be zero-emission by 2028, according to the Los Angeles Times. Again, CARB has final say in that end date. The law requires all newly sold small-motor equipment primarily used for landscaping to be zero-emission — essentially to be battery-operated or plug-in — and includes any engine that produces less than 25 gross horsepower, such as lawn mowers, weed trimmers, chain saws, golf carts, specialty vehicles, generators, and pumps.

It does not apply to on-road motor vehicles, off-road motorcycles, all-terrain vehicles, boats, snowmobiles, or model airplanes, cars or boats — yet.

The EPA says a new gas powered lawn mower produces as much air pollution in 1 hour of operation as 11 new cars each being driven for 1 hour. Using a gas-powered leaf blower for one hour causes the same amount of pollution to be emitted into the air as does a 2017 Toyota Camry driving from Los Angeles to Denver, which spans roughly 1,100 miles. "

Found this podcast recently and I have to say it's very interesting. Listening to the episode about long term energy storage at the moment

Spoiler alert: There's no technology gaps, we just need to retrofit lots of our existing hydro to make them pumped hydro and build more pumped hydro. Use batteries as short term storage and pumped hydro and interconnectors as long term storage

The only thing needed is the drive to actually build this stuff

PS - This is more of a renewables thing, but there's no "random renewables thoughs" thread in that forum and I'm not starting one 😁

There's only 9 cars on the left. What's the Audi at the end?

Etron

No set rules AFAIK, it is between you and your employer come to any arrangement that suits.

I charge in work at no personal cost. Don't have a home charger yet but intend to get one as there is now a grant for employees who drive an EV.

I'll be paying for any installation costs over the grant because don't want any hassle such as measuring kWh and dealing with claims. The bulk of charging will be done in work. Any power used at home will be pennies.

Used Car Prices are very high at the moment, so 20% Depreciation in year 1 isn't the reality for desirable cars (Like the Ioniq 5) at the moment.

Chip shortage is not the main blocker to people buying EVs at the moment (EcoSystem and Range Fear is).

Batteries will always continue to improve - this will never not be the case, and it is not unique to 2021/2022.

In 2 years time you could probably drum up a few more reasons as to why you shouldn't buy now. You could also probably look back and say why you maybe should have bought a 221.

Its apples and nuts stuff really. I'd bet large sums of money that Good EVs will hold their value far more than ICE Cars in the next 3-5 years.

Texas residents should probably sit this one out 😛

The SEAI grant will disappear and instantly your car will be worth more….