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The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.
byp51d007 ( 656414 ) writes:
You can drive across each country pretty much in one day.
It takes MULTIPLE days to drive across just the state of Texas,
and there are 47 others in the continental U.S.
bygurps_npc ( 621217 ) writes:
There are these things called gas stations, perhaps you have heard of them. The only issue with distance is if you can not fuel up with gas. 2/3 of EVs can use gas in an emergency.
There are 3 kinds of EVs - plug in only (no gas), hybrid with plug in (gas or plug in), and Hybrid without plug in (gas fill up only cannot plug in).
In Europe, those gas stations also have places to plug in, which means even the plug in only EVs can cross all of Europe.
If Texas was smart, they would have plug in gas stations als
bylarryjoe ( 135075 ) writes:
In Europe, those gas stations also have places to plug in, which means even the plug in only EVs can cross all of Europe.
The reason public EV chargers work is that there are so few EVs. If we assume that all cars on the highway could charge from 10% to 80% in 20 minutes and all cars were EV, the number of chargers and parking spaces for cars waiting for those chargers would be staggering. Its simply not practical unless charging times can improve to ICE levels of 3-5 minutes.
The only reason public chargers work is (1) there are so few EVs and (2) 80-90% of EVs are charged at home or work because they are owned by relatively
byTom ( 822 ) writes:
The reason public EV chargers work is that there are so few EVs.
No, the reason they work is because unlike petrol pumps you can put up a charger anywhere. Over here, most supermarkets have EV charging in their parking lot, and if demand goes up they could easily just add a couple more. Same for train station parking and park&ride. Heck, the P&R in my village added solar panel roofs last year so we now have charging and parking in the shade.
Not to mention that as prices for solar continue to fall, more and more people can charge at home for free. And people love
byfluffernutter ( 1411889 ) writes:
How long do you really think supermarkets are going to keep putting more chargers in the lot? Where I live we have block heaters and lots not only had to be legislated into putting power to each spot but it's not even permanent power-- it cycles on every 10 minutes. If EVs become mainstream there is no way there will ever be a charger at every spot; it's just not workable. The only thing driving them now is virtue signaling, but that has a limit.
byshilly ( 142940 ) writes:
It’s a revenue opportunity for the supermarket — it increases dwell time and they get a cut of the charger fees. Which is why more and more supermarkets in Europe are putting in more and more of these. But definitely not at every parking space, because that would massively outstrip demand.
byfluffernutter ( 1411889 ) writes:
You have to PAY to park at a grocery store and use the charger? Lol. As for demand, I was taking about when EVs are mainstream.
byshilly ( 142940 ) writes:
You don’t have to pay to park, you do have to pay to charge. Just like, ya know, you pay to refuel at a supermarket, they don’t give the fuel away for free. And supermarkets will still not need to install chargers at every parking space in 25 years when the transition is complete, because that will still mean supply massively outstripping demand.
For the UK
- 34m cars
- 30% can’t be charged at the home, so 10m
- Average time between charges is 10 days
- Therefore, 1m public charges a day
- There
byfluffernutter ( 1411889 ) writes:
Well, remember this conversation when there are no charger spots because someone went into the mall for a day and left their car plugged in there also the thing that you don't realize is by going to a store with chargers you have lost your choice to go to any store you want. There is a good chance you will pay higher costs overall. Same with hotels.
bytragedy ( 27079 ) writes:
Well, remember this conversation when there are no charger spots because someone went into the mall for a day and left their car plugged in there also the thing that you don't realize is by going to a store with chargers you have lost your choice to go to any store you want. There is a good chance you will pay higher costs overall. Same with hotels.
What utter drivel. While the typical parking spots would not be pay spots, there absolutely could be extra charges for occupying a charging spot while not charging. Also, it's not like timed parking with a fine if you exceed the time isn't already a thing. That's even if you ignore technology that pretty much already exists. All it takes is a system for the charger to unplug itself when it's done (robotic attendant, scorpion/tentacle arm on the charging cable, wireless charging pad on the underside of the c
byfluffernutter ( 1411889 ) writes:
Robotic attendant. Lol. And full self driving by 2020.
bytragedy ( 27079 ) writes:
I think you missed the part about those being potential technological solutions to a non problem. As in, you could technically solve them that way if you had to, but you don't because it isn't really a problem.
As for "full self driving", I clearly never said it. That's just a straw man. What I said was "basic self driving features" As in, enough to move from one parking spot to another. Self driving cars capable of handling all driving situations are a long way off. Self driving cars that can handled the co
byfluffernutter ( 1411889 ) writes:
Where I live they can't even keep parking meters and tire air pumps working due to the weather. Never mind things that have to roll along the ground reliably. First snow that will be done.
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bytragedy ( 27079 ) writes:
Where I live they can't even keep parking meters and tire air pumps working due to the weather. Never mind things that have to roll along the ground reliably. First snow that will be done.
Talk about things looking for a technological solution. I think someone said you live in Canada. From what I can find, the coldest place in Canada is in Nunavut with average low temperatures in the coldest part of winter at -38.4 C. Let's just say -40 without the degree marker so that if anyone asks if it's F or C, the answer can be "Yes!" and record cold of around -50 C. Chilly and also pretty close to lethal for humans, so I am guessing you might not be going to the mall in that kind of cold. If you do, t
byfluffernutter ( 1411889 ) writes:
Generally I use -30c as my litmus test. It's not the insulation that is important, so much as the fact that they have to be sealed. If water gets into the equipment anywhere, either it will warm and condense if heated or it will freeze to surfaces if not. Either way the damage of water or ice can be catastrophic. I'm not sure how easy it would be to seal a robot. And we have to park cars outside! You think everyone can afford indoor parking?
bytragedy ( 27079 ) writes:
If you mean hermetic sealing, that is completely unnecessary for the whole system, though pretty normal for plenty of the internal parts, so not much of a problem. If you just mean general weatherproofing, that's pretty standard and implied along with the insulation. I wasn't suggesting just wrapping a bunch of wax paper backed pink fiberglass around it. The insulated outer cover would, of course, be water resistant, but it would also be designed to be breathable, to deal with the condensation you're worrie
byfluffernutter ( 1411889 ) writes:
Lol... Park all cars inside because it's cold out. All in the name of saving energy. Now I can't even take you seriously.
bytragedy ( 27079 ) writes:
Lol... Park all cars inside because it's cold out. All in the name of saving energy. Now I can't even take you seriously.
I'm the one who can't be taken seriously? I can't even tell if the above is a straw man or if you just have really poor reading comprehension.
byfluffernutter ( 1411889 ) writes:
You are talking about machines that cost millions of dollars and proposing that there will be one in every grocery store lot. The reason they use equipment not designed for the weather is because they don't want to pay for equipment that is. Now what will this all do to the price of charging? You won't have any choice but to charge at home.
bytragedy ( 27079 ) writes:
Quite aside from the fact that you are grossly overestimating the cost of the even the most technically sophisticated solution, you are suggesting that doing absolutely nothing because there isn't really a problem (which I have stated again and again is my actual position) will cost a million dollars. Aside from that, the parking lots we're talking about already tend to cost millions.
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