I am not against electric cars but feel they are being pushed too soon without working out all the bugs such as range and charging. The power grid obviously cannot handle this in CA.
Why don’t we go to series hybrid technology like the Chevy Volt where you an plug it in and never use gas on short trips? This seems like a good compromise. Basically this person has made their own series hybrid from a Tesla.
No, they’re just carting a generator from one place to another (clue - it’s not plugged in).
There are a number of PHEVs you can get, Rav4 Prime, Prius Prime, etc. They tend to be expensive. I’m considering one for my next car.
Range is an issue for some people. It is for us. But for the VAST MAJORITY range is NOT a factor at all. The vast majority of people own vehicles for commute only. They only need less then 100 miles between charges. Every EV on the road today will do that.
As for infrastructure - It’s growing leaps and bounds. When ICE vehicles were introduced the infrastructure didn’t exist. It grew as needed. With an EV it’s different. Many people who own a home will have the ability to buy a home charger. You can’t fill up an ICE vehicle at home, but you will be able to charge your EV at home.
Agree with this 100%
Too many people have this attitude of “The electric grid can’t handle this!”. While it may not be possible for “the grid” to handle charging 100M EVs today…nobody is saying that’s the case today.
Just like the transition from horses and wagons to gasoline powered automobiles…humans will change and adjust over time. The fact that “the grid” can’t handle an unreasonable number of EVs today isn’t an valid excuse to stop progress now.
+1
And, the infusion of over $10 Billion for improvements to the nation’s electrical grid will resolve the current weaknesses in the grid w/in a few years. In addition to the obvious benefit for the general public, this will result in thousands–possibly 10s of thousands–more jobs for the manufacturing of the necessary materials and their installation nationwide.
There, I fixed it.
It’s also worth noting… all kinds of home appliances, light bulbs, TVs, etc…are getting more and more efficient. Meaning… the less electricity they’re using could, in theory, go to power EVs. Which uses our existing electrical infrastructure.
Progress is happening, folks, whether all of us are ready for it or not…
+1
Appliances, light bulbs, and TVs have already gotten a lot more energy efficient, and as the years go on, that situation is sure to improve even more.
When I was a kid, back in the '50s, we would occasionally visit relatives who had both a color TV and a window A/C (two things that we lacked…) in their living room. However, they had to choose whether to be cool or to watch TV. Both of those appliances were such energy hogs that if you turned both on at the same time, the best case scenario was that the TV image would shrink to a much smaller size, but it wasn’t unusual for the 15 amp fuse for that room to blow.
In our own home, if my mother used the electric iron while we were watching our black & white TV, the TV image would become really small. Clearly, these types of happenings don’t take place with modern energy-efficient appliances.
I have been in older apartments where the entire service is only 30 or 50 amps. You definitely have to choose what you want on, even with modern appliances.
I still don’t understand why something like the Chevy Volt isn’t more common than a pure EV. I live in a rural area and frequently drive long distances. I also sometimes have jobs in town, then get an emergency call at night when I am wrapping up. With a gas or series hybrid, you don’t have to worry about driving 3 counties away. A pure EV wouldn’t be practical for me.
I got something in the mail from my local electric coop a year or so ago. You could get all kinds of incentives and rebates to buy a Nissan Leaf. I went to the Nissan dealer in town and started explaining my needs and they basically told me that they don’t stock these because they wouldn’t work for most people in my area. They also said getting stuck out on a cold day would reduce the range.
That would have been an improvement for my family. The apartment that we rented from 1959-1967 was on ONE 15 amp circuit. The landlord was a true Luddite, as well as a cheapskate.
When my parents bought a home in 1967, we thought that we were living like royalty, with Central A/C and–probably–10 15 amp circuits.
It was discountinued in 2019 .
Progress… Both water heaters and clothes dryers (expensive energy, especially if they must be electric) are now available as “hybrid” using heat pumps to make heat. Heat is drawn from inside the house to heat water or dry clothes…so basically a net zero effect as neither exhaust any heat or air.
More expensive, yes, but they use much less energy. These are mainstream now, available most anywhere.
Musk wanted to use power from plugged in cars as daytime reserve for grid and make money selling the power. Then recharge cars at night using off-peak. Been told. Heard it on internet.
I know it is discontinued but this is a series hybrid. That means there is a gasoline engine but it isn’t mechanically coupled to the wheels in any way. It is a very efficient generator made to run at a set RPM so it is much more efficient than a regular engine that needs to run well over a wide range of RPMs. It kicks on to charge when needed and can be set to come on sooner if you plan a longer drive or a trip. For short trips, you might not burn a drop of gas in a month commuting to work, going shopping, etc. When you need longer range, the engine kicks on.
Something like this seems like a good compromise instead of going into this full on.
I have some battery yard tools and would love to be able to get rid of my gas riding mower. I know that anything electric couldn’t mow many acres without a recharge. I always get matching tools with an included battery so have plenty of capacity for cutting, trimming, etc. The downside to electric is certainly not power or torque for sure.
As of last September there were 34 PHEVs available. Don’t get tied up with the particulars of the Volt’s system, they all do about the same thing.
PHEV Models Currently Available in the US | EVAdoption
Any new model is very expensive to produce and a lot of work has been done by the manufacturers already. Yes there are problems but there are problems with new ICE models too.
As others have mentioned range is not an issue for most people. At this point it’s often more about whether a driver is comfortable with an EV or prefers a hybrid. A friend at work prefers hybrids even though he lives less than 10 miles from work and his wife’s Odyssey is the family car.
This is a California energy policy issue that does not affect the use of electric vehicles in other areas with traditional energy policies. Even without EVs there are big problems in California regarding electricty generating policy.
They insist on only having clean energy in their State. No more nuclear nor hydro electric can be built. Only wind and solar can be used. These source do not produce reliable electricity and cannot be scaled up without huge investment money. The reliable dirty electricity that they get has to be brought in from out of State. This makes electricity expensive. If price controls are put on electricity, then there is less incentive to increase production, which results in shortages or rationing.
I think you may be overstating the issue a little. Calif currently has natural-gas fired steam turbines that provide a considerable % of electricity use. I think they have coal fired backup systems, but only used if no other method available at the time. Calif has one big remaining nuclear plant, previously scheduled to shut down in 2025 I think, but life on that one has recently been extended another 5 years, to 2030. Easy to say you will some day shut down the nuclear plant, than actually doing it. Of course if it goes Fukushima, much of Calif farm land will be in ruins. Possibly unusable for 100’s of years. But CA politicians who voted to extend the nuclear plant apparently don’t think that will happen, or if it does, why worry, they’ll just find another job.
It isn’t necessary for clean renewable energy like solar, wind, water-power to supply all the electrical needs of the state all the time. Any amount those clean sources supply is that much less burning of carbon sources.
Big heat here the past week, but electricity at my abode only went out one time, for 20 minutes. Nothing to write home about. Personally I’m not in favor of CA banning the sale of new gasoline powered cars. I think the market should decide that sort of thing. But if you’ve been following my poor Corolla’s trials and tribulations, you know the state’s politicians don’t much care what I think … lol …
