Electric cars, a different view?

[topman]

Originally Posted by Dallas

Its still possible to go fetch fuel in a can yourself for an instant start and go option, or even send for someone to bring you fuel.

The AA have already seen an increase in electric car callouts, more so over the winter months.

There will be more call outs as more are being sold.

[Mike Noc]

Originally Posted by andymc

No image showing for me - got a link to it?

Apologies Andy - when I looked on my mobile it had disappeared, but it appears on my laptop OK.


Have updated it anyhow.








Interestingly I had a walk into town today as there are roadworks on the bypass and everywhere is clogged up with traffic. Only saw one electric car - a Jaguar i-Pace. There were a few hybrids, but I was surprised to see just how low the take up is for electric vehicles round our way.






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[andymc]

Ah yes, I see it now. Interestingly, I remember reading some time back about how a single Tesla HGV with just one driver can lead a line of semi-autonomous HGVs which are electronically/wirelessly connected to the lead vehicle, following close enough to slipstream all the way along the convoy. When the driver of the lead vehicle brakes/accelerates, the entire convoy brakes/accelerates to the same degree. It's essentially a road train that can be e.g. 10 semis long. The cost of transporting goods like this is apparently less than the cost of transporting an equivalent amount by rail.

[bl52krz]

Well, after the mayhem the other day with two different types of generators going awol generating electricity, all I can say is told you so. Wonder how that affected even the few cars that were on charge? Nice if you were just going to plug your electric car in to charge it up before you go on your way to holiday. What a convenient fuel. Another thing is, how about if someone decides to hack into the electric system? Glad it will never happen to me.

[topman]

Originally Posted by bl52krz

Well, after the mayhem the other day with two different types of generators going awol generating electricity, all I can say is told you so. Wonder how that affected even the few cars that were on charge? Nice if you were just going to plug your electric car in to charge it up before you go on your way to holiday. What a convenient fuel. Another thing is, how about if someone decides to hack into the electric system? Glad it will never happen to me.

I think power was off for an hour or so, the worse affected are the trains. Electric cars would be a better choice of transport than train during the power cut the other day.

[coolcat]

Originally Posted by bl52krz

Well, after the mayhem the other day with two different types of generators going awol generating electricity, all I can say is told you so. Wonder how that affected even the few cars that were on charge? Nice if you were just going to plug your electric car in to charge it up before you go on your way to holiday. What a convenient fuel. Another thing is, how about if someone decides to hack into the electric system? Glad it will never happen to me.

I should think filling up at the pumps would have been just as difficult for those in need of fossil fuel.
The petrol stations require electricity to run as well

[bl52krz]

I don’t know much about electrikery, but my understanding is this. The higher amps, the thicker the cable has to be. So your home charger at say 48 kWh will require thicker cable. Have you any idea how much it will cost you to have a home charger fitted? And if you require 70 kWh charger, the cable needs to be thicker still.This will mean that more likely than not, your next door will have problems with their lighting system in the house(duller lights) .That would be nice. And if you had a short circuit? Nice little light show and bang. No I will be sticking to filthy diesel thank you.

[coolcat]

Originally Posted by bl52krz

I don’t know much about electrikery, but my understanding is this. The higher amps, the thicker the cable has to be. So your home charger at say 48 kWh will require thicker cable. Have you any idea how much it will cost you to have a home charger fitted? And if you require 70 kWh charger, the cable needs to be thicker still.This will mean that more likely than not, your next door will have problems with their lighting system in the house(duller lights) .That would be nice. And if you had a short circuit? Nice little light show and bang. No I will be sticking to filthy diesel thank you.

I know a little about electrikery

In many cases, home chargers are fitted free when purchasing an E.V .

I think you are jumping on the nae-sayers finding every excuse to deride the alternative to fossil burning cars.
Yes you could have a nice light show and bang if something went wrong.

You could also have your house explode if something went wrong with your gas supply. Best to get that shut off pronto

[andymc]

You can get public chargepoints capable of delivering 70kW, but it's something you would normally only use when seeking to add a lot of range in a short space of time, e.g. in order to continue a longer journey. Many of the "rapid" chargers in the first rollout of the public network were rated at 43-50kW, while more recent installations such as the new Ionity network charge at up to 175kW. A domestic charger would not be anywhere near 48kW, never mind 70 - more like 6! Home charging is done slowly, usually overnight when grid demand is lower and electricity can be therefore be bought more cheaply.

[Lovel]

Originally Posted by coolcat

In many cases, home chargers are fitted free when purchasing an E.V

I have been in the market for one of these “planet savers” for some time, having driven the i3, Leaf, eGolf, & Zoe on a test track they are impressive to drive but rather soul less. Talking with dealers there are no home chargers offered. The buyer has to purchase them and if lucky (early in budget year) you may receive a grant of 30-60% of the cost but if you miss the window then you suck up all the cost. Some £2.5kish.

After studying Which magazines report where they compare the running costs of an EV versus ICE. It came as a big surprise to me just how expensive the running costs are for the EV. In April, I ended up opting for a new petrol engine mini instead, where I don’t have range anxiety and every time I park up I am looking for a place to charge just like my slavish IPhones needs where I seem to spend to much of my day monitoring the battery level. On top of that I would have had to fork out £12k+ for the same vehicle in EV form.