Where will ‘garage orphans’ charge electric cars? • Hacker News Board

Re: Where will ‘garage orphans’ charge electric cars?

#131

Post by txcwpalpha » Mon, Aug 12, 2019, 7:17 PM UTC

NullPrefix wrote: post #124

txcwpalpha wrote: post #115

Earlier quoted context omitted.

16.12 miles a day is not going to cut it. In your previous comment you suggested 50 miles a day. In various studies, Americans drive >30 miles a day. 16 miles would hardly even cover most American's one-way commute, let alone any other errands or trips.

>you suggested 50 miles a day /s/suggested/calculated using data provided by parent comment/

Nobody in the entire comment chain brought up distance except for you, which you kicked off by suggesting 50 miles daily usage.

Regardless, even your drastically lower 16 miles a day isn't going to satisfy the needs of the average driver.

Re: Where will ‘garage orphans’ charge electric cars?

#132

Post by wffurr » Mon, Aug 12, 2019, 7:17 PM UTC

wffurr wrote: post #127

Yet another reason the real answer to the climate crisis isn't EVs - it's public transit, bicycles, e-bikes, scooters, e-scooters, walking, etc. All these other modes are much lower impact on the environment than purchasing and operating an EV, much less an ICE.

Or carbon-neutral liquid fuels for use cases where you absolutely need an ICE-type vehicle with 300+ mile range. e.g. synthetic gasoline or biofuels. Unfortunately, those fuels really need a carbon tax to be competitive with fossil fuels.

Re: Where will ‘garage orphans’ charge electric cars?

#133

Post by ummonk » Mon, Aug 12, 2019, 7:19 PM UTC

wffurr wrote: post #127

Yet another reason the real answer to the climate crisis isn't EVs - it's public transit, bicycles, e-bikes, scooters, e-scooters, walking, etc. All these other modes are much lower impact on the environment than purchasing and operating an EV, much less an ICE.

Plenty of travel (both commutes and long distance travel) which is too lengthy for bicycles / scooters, but doesn't have public transit servicing it.

Re: Where will ‘garage orphans’ charge electric cars?

#134

Post by whatshisface » Mon, Aug 12, 2019, 7:20 PM UTC

wffurr wrote: post #127

Yet another reason the real answer to the climate crisis isn't EVs - it's public transit, bicycles, e-bikes, scooters, e-scooters, walking, etc. All these other modes are much lower impact on the environment than purchasing and operating an EV, much less an ICE.

You have to add "redesigned cities" to that list. Electric vehicles are almost as much a patch for ICE cities as they are a replacement for internal combustion.

Re: Where will ‘garage orphans’ charge electric cars?

#135

Post by kennywinker » Mon, Aug 12, 2019, 7:20 PM UTC

jedberg wrote: post #121

oh_hello wrote: post #114

I always thought this was a big problem for EVs, but recently came to think nightly charging might not matter so much for these drivers. If an urban apartment dweller has an EV with 200+ miles of range, can't a public fast charger be used once or twice a week instead? I lived in an apartment with a ~200 mile range ICE car and filled it less than once a week.

Filling your car at the gas station is a five minute stop on the way home. Filing your electric car is at least an hour if you have a DC fast charger and that gets you only 80% full. To get totally full, it would take a multi-hour stop.

Sure. If your commute is 15% of your range, you’d be able to charge once a week. I’m pretty sure most people could work out a multi-hour stopover near a charging station into their week. Put them near a restaurant, arts, or shopping district and bingo problem solved.

Re: Where will ‘garage orphans’ charge electric cars?

#136

Post by ummonk » Mon, Aug 12, 2019, 7:21 PM UTC

ryanmercer wrote: post #130

oh_hello wrote: post #114

I always thought this was a big problem for EVs, but recently came to think nightly charging might not matter so much for these drivers. If an urban apartment dweller has an EV with 200+ miles of range, can't a public fast charger be used once or twice a week instead? I lived in an apartment with a ~200 mile range ICE car and filled it less than once a week.

>can't a public fast charger be used once or twice a week instead? It takes me less than 2 minutes to fill up my tank and pay, now you want me to sit 1-4 hours at a fast charger a week twiddling my thumbs? Never mind the fact a Tesla Model 3 starts at my annual salary.

I think it works if the fast charger is at e.g. a shopping center where you can grab dinner or shop while the car charges.

Re: Where will ‘garage orphans’ charge electric cars?

#137

Post by Excel_Wizard » Mon, Aug 12, 2019, 7:21 PM UTC

bkohlmann wrote: post #17

Not exactly pertinent to "garage orphans," but i was struck by the picture featured in the article and the design choice of how electric chargers look. They seem to be an exact replica of a traditional gas nozzle. Striking to me how initial conditions matter for human perception and adoption. While EV is an entirely new technology and thus could be built from a cleanslate, the easiest way to drive adoption was to sha…

Big Fat High Flowrate Hoses are stiff and need a big handle to manhandle them around. Pistol grip handles work well for this.

Big Fat High Wattage Cables are stiff and need a big handle to manhandle them around. Pistol grip handles work well for this.

Re: Where will ‘garage orphans’ charge electric cars?

#138

Post by dtwest » Mon, Aug 12, 2019, 7:21 PM UTC

wffurr wrote: post #127

Yet another reason the real answer to the climate crisis isn't EVs - it's public transit, bicycles, e-bikes, scooters, e-scooters, walking, etc. All these other modes are much lower impact on the environment than purchasing and operating an EV, much less an ICE.

That doesn't work in many low density areas (prime example is American suburbia). So your answer for those people is to make them move to a more dense area that can support such solutions. Which isn't a bad idea, but it's a much harder thing to accomplish.

Re: Where will ‘garage orphans’ charge electric cars?

#139

Post by trilila » Mon, Aug 12, 2019, 7:23 PM UTC

I think this points out the elephant in the room: why are so many people in supposedly high income cities not able to buy properties? This is an issue that needs to be solved hand in hand with pollution: less travel, less need for a car, and more living outside overcrowded cities means more living space. So how can we move more jobs to suburbs, where people can work at nearby or home locations and can afford more living space? I seriously struggle understanding why at least tech jobs are so centered around crowded cities, when these could really be located in tech clusters or tech cities on the outskirts.

Re: Where will ‘garage orphans’ charge electric cars?

#140

Post by kennywinker » Mon, Aug 12, 2019, 7:23 PM UTC

ryanmercer wrote: post #130

oh_hello wrote: post #114

I always thought this was a big problem for EVs, but recently came to think nightly charging might not matter so much for these drivers. If an urban apartment dweller has an EV with 200+ miles of range, can't a public fast charger be used once or twice a week instead? I lived in an apartment with a ~200 mile range ICE car and filled it less than once a week.

>can't a public fast charger be used once or twice a week instead? It takes me less than 2 minutes to fill up my tank and pay, now you want me to sit 1-4 hours at a fast charger a week twiddling my thumbs? Never mind the fact a Tesla Model 3 starts at my annual salary.

Not sitting twidding your thumbs. If they are near somewhere you want to be recreationally, you’re set. The gym, the grocery store, the movies, a hiking trail, spending 1-4 hours at one of these once a week would likely enhance your life not take away from it.