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Where will ‘garage orphans’ charge electric cars?

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

#401

Post by hwillis »

xenocyon wrote: post #382
hwillis wrote: post #369

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No, electric vehicles are the best option in nearly all cases. Natural gas makes Boston electricity one of the cleaner grids in the country. For my zip, a LR Model 3 makes 131 MPG[1] per unit of CO2, while manufacturing produces ~5 tonnes more CO2 (an SR will be ~3.5 tonnes)[2]. That's a break even period of only 15,000 miles. Unless your gas car will be tossed away in under 15,000 miles you are adding more CO2 to th…

That's interesting. The last time I did the math it looked like the breakeven point would be well over a decade for me (approx 4000 driven miles per year). It may be that things have changed since.

You can also just buy a used EV. If it has more than 40-60k miles, has already paid itself off. Completely, not just the extra cost of manufacturing.

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

#402

Post by clouddrover »

chrisseaton wrote: post #241
thehappypm wrote: post #220

This stopped me from buying a Tesla with my most recent car purchase. I live in a 100 year old apartment in Boston that has 0 parking spots for over 100 units. My wife and I share a car, mostly for weekend adventuring, so we rent a spot in a dude's backyard down the block from us. It works well for us, much more convenient than the rat race of street parking. But it was hard to imagine that life with a Tesla. I could…

> I live in a 100 year old apartment Keeping in mind '100 years old' sounds dramatic but is now as recent as 1919, which doesn't sound that old when you write it out! That's about a fifth of the housing stock in the UK I believe. Obviously, almost none of these houses have garages. I wonder if local governments could install plugs under little hatches like they use for stop cocks all the way down residential roads. h…

London is putting charging points in street lamps:

https://www.electrive.com/2018/08/21/char-gy-new-player-on-l...

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

#403

Post by rootusrootus »

Reason077 wrote: post #28
SketchySeaBeast wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I imagine the same people who are garage orphans are probably also those who haven't got time to charge their machines for an hour or two. That's already a concern for road trips, but day to day that'll be a nightmare. Just hang around the charging station for an hour while your car recharges.

The latest generation of cars and chargers don't need an hour to charge. A Tesla Model 3 can already charge at 250 kW, which is over 1000 miles per hour. Practically speaking, that means a decent charge in less than 20 minutes. On a long trip, most stops for gas take around that long anyway by the time you use the restroom, buy supplies, eat, etc. The newest chargers being installed today go up to 350 kW, so the char…

> A Tesla Model 3 can already charge at 250 kW

Can it really? I saw something more like 130 kW when it started charging, because it was pretty low. It tapered off steadily. Still only took about 45 minutes overall, but I doubt the hardware could actually sustain 1000 miles/hour charging levels for more than a few minutes.

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

#404

Post by ColanR »

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.

It's been entertaining to read the discussions (below) about how to make this practical. So far, it looks like the only way to make this work is to a) live in a city, or rebuild your suburbia into a city, and b) construct your entire life around riding that bike - choose a job with a tolerant boss, spend extra hours every day showering and changing clothes after biking, etc.

I'd rather drive an air-conditioned car, sit in traffic for that hour or two, and enjoy my private backyard (however small it may be).

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

#405

Post by clouddrover »

thehappypm wrote: post #221
makz wrote: post #153

I thought it was illegal to own a car without having a parking spot. I don’t know really, can someone clarify?

It is not illegal to own a car without a parking spot. Where did you even hear that?

In Japan you have to prove you have a parking space before you buy a car:

https://www.reinventingparking.org/2014/06/japans-proof-of-p...

https://jalopnik.com/why-the-japanese-will-never-buy-lots-of...

https://www.japantimes.co.jp/community/2017/06/04/how-tos/pa...

Kei cars (tiny city cars) don't require proof of parking so they are a popular segment of the Japanese car market.

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

#406

Post by donjoe »

quicklyfrozen wrote: post #336
stevesimmons wrote: post #318

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I cycled to work for years in the Netherlands (down to -5C in winter) and Australia (frequenctly 35C+ in summer). The secret in both cases is: (i) keep appropriate clothes at the office; (ii) wear suitable cycling gear (as the Dutch say, there's no such thing as unsuitable weather, only unsuitable clothing); (iii) find a way to shower at work; (iv) be good humored when weather or other mishaps occur...

-5C isn't particularly cold. Would you have been out in -20C with gusty winds and drifting snow? How do I get those appropriate clothes to the office, and where do I store them? Can't be all wrinkled -- and these days you may not even have an assigned desk. And I can be good humored, but will my boss be? Really, though, if we consider bikes safe enough for transportation, why can't we have ultralight enclosed EVs?

Where do you store your car?

Assuming your car takes up 12sqm * 2m I assume you'd find plenty of space to store some panties replacing your wet ones ;)

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

#407

Post by umeshunni »

thehappypm wrote: post #363
umeshunni wrote: post #335

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've been trickle charging for the last 3+ years I've owned a Tesla. I live in a condo and the HOA was ok with me pulling an extension from an existing 110V line and charging from it for a nominal fee (we agreed to $50/mo). I got an electrician to pull an extension (cost ~$200). I have a non-driving commute and use the car mostly on the weekends, so it's worked out great vs the cost of installing a level-2 charger ($…

That sounds nice—I take it you own the parking spot? That would have changed the equation for me considerably.

No, I'm renting the parking spot as well.

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

#408

Post by rjbwork »

drivers99 wrote: post #322
rjbwork wrote: post #308

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sub-zero weather isn't too bad down to maybe -10C. After that, it's pretty brutal. I do try not to take superfluous trips on my e-bike above maybe 95 though.

Since he's talking in F (e.g. 105), when he says sub-zero, he means -18C or lower. Or did you mean -10F?

Ah okay fair enough. I'm from the US, but lately I've been playing a game with temperature set in C, and am used to working in C from talking with a bunch of international people in programming chats.

Yeah sub -18C is extremely cold. Definitely not cycling out there. I don't think I've ever seen below 0 Fahrenheit where I live.

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

#409

Post by zanny »

ColanR wrote: post #404
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.

It's been entertaining to read the discussions (below) about how to make this practical. So far, it looks like the only way to make this work is to a) live in a city, or rebuild your suburbia into a city, and b) construct your entire life around riding that bike - choose a job with a tolerant boss, spend extra hours every day showering and changing clothes after biking, etc. I'd rather drive an air-conditioned car, s…

Instead of constructing your life around a bike you construct it around a car. You can't commute to work any other way, if it breaks down you are bound to mostly Uber as a backup strategy to get anywhere.

Except those car-centric environments you live and work in are a more effective gate to keep the poor out than the grandest gated community. Almost no where else on the planet is the idea of a city being a tiny urban core surrounded by hundreds of miles of single family houses in spiraling one lane streets of sprawl the norm. Its a purely American fixation on centering all human activity around cars. And for your benefit, even - the world would be alight in a raging inferno if we ever tried to globally house everyone in quarter acre single family houses with 4 hour single-occupancy car commutes every day.

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

#410

Post by RandallBrown »

gist wrote: post #87
dmitrygr wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A little longer? What am I going to do at a gas station for an hour? I am already bored when I am there for 3 minutes with an ICE car...

Exactly. I simply don't get this. All of that effort when it's (for lack of a better way to put it) 'not ready for prime time'. Other comments include running an electric extension cord out the window and other hacks. A cord out the window be serious. Imagine for a second of what compensating good could be done for the world if people put the same time, thought or effort into something else with more immediate (and u…

It's not any extra effort to plug your car in at the grocery store while you're shopping. In fact, it's often less effort because the electric charging spots are often closer to the doors.

Then you don't have to make an extra stop or trip just for gas. It sounds way better than the current situation with gas.

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