Random EV thoughts.....

What happens during the world cup Ireland matches at half time when everyone puts on kettles at exact same time?

Supply to most houses is 60amp, an EV only takes 32 amp max. So even if one EV at every house, it will only be 50% of planned capacity and at night time cookers and showers won't be running. I just think the issue is overplayed, as a downside to EVs when in fact it may be great for the grid. No one cried wild when people installed 40 amp showers , and then put in a second 40 amp shower like half of houses around. Sure upgrades may be needed but typically that's a new local substation that may be old anyway. Heat pumps will have a bigger impact. Load sensing and smart chargers are only shortly away from being a reality. Trials already happening in uk

See this link

While this may seem like doom and gloom it's actually great for the network, users can over-ride the request, and it will only be for a short period if needed. Similar could be done today with immersions. Solar PV prices are also dropping like a stone and some EV owners fill from the sun. Already heavy users such as steel plants agree to short power cuts in exchange for lower prices

The people on forums are almost inevitably in the minority. Most people won't know, won't care and won't touch it and as long as the majority do that, the system could work as planned.

You have a major flaw in your thinking. You are looking at the overall grid, not local.

Your house fuse might be at 50% but the transformer is shared across several houses and has diversity built in so its not sized to give every house 60A at the same time so it could be on fire outside if everyone connected to that specific transformer and charged at 7kW at the same time! :)

I'm being facetious there but my point is, the question that was asked was about local restrictions, not about the overall grid.

A 2min boil of several 2kW kettle at a local level will be fine. 7kW continuously for hours is a different prospect entirely.

I agree it gets overplayed in terms of the "grid collapsing due to EV's". Loads of spare generation capacity at the grid level at night and as you said it has some significant positive sides but again the question wasnt directed at the grid level but more the local level so I think you are answering a different question.

Totally true. I was once told never underestimate how lazy/complacent/stupid the "general populous " is. Evidence of this is how a friends sister got a tesla, and just plugged it in at home without thinking about shopping around for electricity. €900 bimonthly bill later and they are confused about these savings that can be made on an EV.

nothing wring with feeling smug.

youd be surprised to see how many people can afford an EV but don’t realise.

my monthly repayments are cheaper than my monthly fuel bill on my old 2006.

the Savings on motor tax alone pays for 2 months repayments. Saving on tolls and insurance another month.

savings on maintenance another months.

so at the the end of the year it’s cheaper

You need a tag,

I think any of the providers that offer tags facilitate it

Some people have no choice because, perhaps their job involves long distances, perhaps they look at the poor state of the charging network……and let’s hope you don’t have to drive your EV in the north, it’s even worse, not everyone can get a home charger…..

Didn't know that

How many are we up to !

A better route planner for the win. What car?

That depends on your definition of long distance, I'm quite confident I could drive from Dublin to Cork tomorrow and back if needed, possibly without needing a fast charge depending on how long I'm staying and if a slow charger is available

As for people who drive long distances for work, in most jobs that I've seen which require you to be on the road, either the company provides a fuel card or lets you expense your fuel bills, in which case you wouldn't be worrying about the fuel bill

It's the 80% of drivers who commute less than 50km per day who would benefit the most from driving an EV. A Leaf 40kWh would easily do this and have plenty enough range for the weekend road trip.

I agree the selection of affordable EVs on the market right now is bad. But to be frank, most of the mainstream brands have pretty much given up on affordable cars anyway and have outsourced it to budget brands. With car prices going up across the board the notion of an affordable car is basically dead for now

32k for an ID4 city on the road

we initially went to Skoda to look at the Scala and Kamiq as I saw Them advertised as 219 a month went to see them and they were too small, looked at the Karoq and thought it was a nice car, but at 350 a month I thought I’d look at what others have. Found the ID4, the range suits 99% of our driving, only 220 a month vs 250+ for fuel ( with 4c off a litre)

I made a mock up route here. You can play with the departure and destination. On my route you need to add about 40kWh to get back to Dublin.

Whenever going through NI I assume there will be no DC options.

Dont go. It's a kip.