Electric Vehicle (EV) discussion thread

it's the generation and distribution of that power, our current system is not set up to meet the potential demand.

OTOH, we citizens use far more power than we should. Based on data mined in my BC Hydro online account, I'm using less than half the electrical power as average for the size/type of home I'm in. We don't do a lot that's special - I've changed bulbs for LED as the burn out and we try to turn lights off for rooms we're not using. With no sacrifice, every other resident could do much the same.

If residential usage were cut to, say 2/3 of current levels, how much available capacity would be in the system to support larger scale adoption of EVs?

wait, kenn has a tesla? let's see pics yo

it's the generation and distribution of that power, our current system is not set up to meet the potential demand.

so? has there been a distribution network of fuel back in these days? no because it was not needed YET.

you can now produce solar power at 11 or 13 euro cents per kw/h (dunno what it was exactly), this will go down even more with each year. we are in the middle of the "energiewende" and will close down all of our nuclear plants, increase the power network from north to south (to transport all that power from the wind energy on the coastline). wind power is even cheaper to produce already. the only thing we lack here is a better system to store the power when we have enough of it. this system needs to be build including all the electric car batteries. that means that every parking lot needs to be equipped with a charging device. as long as your car is parked there, it will be part of the big buffer network of connected batteries that are able to also give back energy to the network when it's needed most (peak time, when most ppl are working and the cars are standing around useless anyway).

so? has there been a distribution network of fuel back in these days? no because it was not needed YET.

you can now produce solar power at 11 or 13 euro cents per kw/h (dunno what it was exactly), this will go down even more with each year. we are in the middle of the "energiewende" and will close down all of our nuclear plants, increase the power network from north to south (to transport all that power from the wind energy on the coastline). wind power is even cheaper to produce already. the only thing we lack here is a better system to store the power when we have enough of it. this system needs to be build including all the electric car batteries. that means that every parking lot needs to be equipped with a charging device. as long as your car is parked there, it will be part of the big buffer network of connected batteries that are able to also give back energy to the network when it's needed most (peak time, when most ppl are working and the cars are standing around useless anyway).

i think you're misinterpreting my comments as an argument against ev's which is not the case. i'm simply saying that across NA if there was a large and sudden shift to ev's that the current power grid may not be able to accomodat the demand. however in BC we would probably fair better than most other jurisdictions. like ken said, there is probably a lot of electricity conservation gains to be made, but that is dependent on changing the attitudes of the consumer which has so far not had great success.

and to be fair, i don't think you can compare the gradual rise of the automobile and required fueling stations at the start of the 20th centurty with what could very well be a rapid increase in the use of ev's.

to be fair, with your low energy prices there's no "need" to save energy for the consumer. if you ever reach our prices (around 0.25 eur kw/h atm) ppl will start automatically (and also start to invest in some solar panels to keep the monthly cost down)

Is that you I see driving across Lions Gate Bridge in the morning?

Screw all the other bollox, damn nice looking car, quick and eerily quite.

I echo other sentiments here, thanks for helping push (encourage) the rest of us lemmings in the right direction.

How is the monster screen working for you?

to be fair, with your low energy prices there's no "need" to save energy for the consumer. if you ever reach our prices (around 0.25 eur kw/h atm) ppl will start automatically (and also start to invest in some solar panels to keep the monthly cost down)

that's a fallacy though as the need to conserve shouldn't be based on cost, imo it shoudl be based on the idea of only using what you need without creating unecessary waste. i agree though that people will start to conserve once the prices go up. unfortunately that tends to be the only motivator for a large portion of the population.

Is that you I see driving across Lions Gate Bridge in the morning?

Screw all the other bollox, damn nice looking car, quick and eerily quite.

I echo other sentiments here, thanks for helping push (encourage) the rest of us lemmings in the right direction.

How is the monster screen working for you?

I second this, ignoring the amazing technology behind these, they just look damn good.

Congrats on the purchase, awesome choice.

But, charging an hourly rate to use the equipment would be an easy way around this.

That's basically what's happening - charging for parking (and you could also potentially charge a different rate for those spots although I don't think that's happening).

This thread rules.

Just imagining now.. in 20 years or so Tesla won't be the only company making electric vehicles bordering on the completely practical and with more at home solar and wind options there is the chance of a lot of freedom being available in our lifetimes.

Could you imagine collecting your own energy for vehicular transport?

Unfortunately I'm sure the government recognizes this possibility as well and will take steps to prevent it..

Beautiful car, Ken!

Do you find that running heaters, A/C, music etc affect the battery life or range much?

This thread rules.

Just imagining now.. in 20 years or so Tesla won't be the only company making electric vehicles bordering on the completely practical and with more at home solar and wind options there is the chance of a lot of freedom being available in our lifetimes.

Could you imagine collecting your own energy for vehicular transport?

Unfortunately I'm sure the government recognizes this possibility as well and will take steps to prevent it..

Wouldn't that be brilliant?

Plug your car into your own power source, be it wind or solar, and off you go.

Self sufficiency at its most basic.

I am actually quite optimistic about the change in transportation now, Tesla has reached critical mass, it won't be prone to manipulation and isn't an arm of a larger motor co that has incentives to kill EV.

Tesla will be a game changer in more than just obvious ways.

Is that you I see driving across Lions Gate Bridge in the morning?

Not me, I only hit LG maybe once or twice a month.

Screw all the other bollox, damn nice looking car, quick and eerily quite.

That's the thing … there are so many things they so damn well! The lines are just gorgeous, handling is amazing … does NOT feel heavy and performance is brilliant. Cost is way more than I'd ever have thought to pay for a car, but it's … just … sooooo … awesome!

How is the monster screen working for you?

I like it. Takes some getting used to, but so much flexibility, and ultimately way cleaner than a lot of knobs and buttons. All that hardware just seems so clumsy now.

that's a fallacy though as the need to conserve shouldn't be based on cost, imo it shoudl be based on the idea of only using what you need without creating unecessary waste. i agree though that people will start to conserve once the prices go up. unfortunately that tends to be the only motivator for a large portion of the population.

Sadly, that's the way of it. We try to save at home because both my wife and I hate waste. But the majority won't change until it affects their wallet. At 7.5 cents/kWh, we in BC have some of the cheapest power rates in all of North America, yet you'd think the world was ending - because up until April 1, it was 6.9 cents/kWh. People are going insane because it's gone from stupid cheap to just normal cheap.

Do you find that running heaters, A/C, music etc affect the battery life or range much?

Music, not really, but heating and AC will for sure. If you're doing a long drive and not sure about making it, you can put the car into "range mode" and it cuts back on the power hungry appliances.