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Think apartment-hunting is frustrating? Try doing it with an electric car

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Re: Think apartment-hunting is frustrating? Try doing it with an electric car

#31

Post by jewayne »

_fat_santa wrote: post #13

This is one of the main reasons I have not gone electric yet. I currently live in an Apartment Complex and getting power to an EV there would be impossible. One of two solutions will fix this problem, either more chargers or better energy density in the batteries. The first solution is the simpler one, just add the chargers, not actually that simple but simpler than the latter option which is develop batteries with h…

Non-EV owners seem to be under the impression that DC fast charging has not been invented yet. The Superchargers that I use all charge at a peak of 250 KW. At 250 KW, my car is gaining up to ~17.5 miles of range per minute of charging.

Of course, it can only charge close to that fast when the battery is low, so what about a more realistic wattage, like 150 KW? That's still 2.5 KWH per minute, or up to ~10.5 miles of range per minute of charging. At that rate, I'm still gaining 30 miles of range is less than 3 minutes.

Re: Think apartment-hunting is frustrating? Try doing it with an electric car

#32

Post by helen___keller »

Depending on location, apartment hunting with any car can be difficult, and likewise house hunting without a car can be difficult.

In general the infrastructure needs of apartment dwellers and house dwellers tend to differ a lot.

Personally, if we're talking about upgrading legacy infrastructure in rental units, I would really like if including in-unit washer dryer combos would be the norm in my city (Boston). Although I own now so it doesn't bother me anymore, but it was quite frustrating paying $3500/mo rent and still hoarding quarters for the weekly laundry haul to the common-area basement of the building.

Re: Think apartment-hunting is frustrating? Try doing it with an electric car

#33

Post by gruez »

logicalmonster wrote: post #18

At one time, hotels didn't offer free (or any) Wi-Fi, and now it's basically standard even at the bargain basement cheapo motels. As the market demands a feature, it will eventually come. I think time will ultimately solve the EV charging issue in many apartment complexes, multi-family homes, townhouses, and other types of residential areas as that feature gets more demanded. Property management companies are particu…

The difference is that wifi has zero marginal cost and a modest fixed cost (ie. $100 for a decent router), whereas EV charging has a high marginal cost (30 cents) and high fixed cost (few thousand dollars for a charger).

Re: Think apartment-hunting is frustrating? Try doing it with an electric car

#34

Post by brianwawok »

echelon wrote: post #19
Insanity wrote: post #17

This is what is kind of keeping me back from going electric. My current condo building (in Toronto) does have chargers on the first parking level, but each time I drive past them, they are taken. Dealing with that sounds annoying. Across the pond, in Belgium, there is now a push for companies to offer electric cars as part of the compensation package, some friends have placed their first EV "order". Because of this,…

Non-California resident. I have a hunch that this is what is going to slow EV adoption. I could be wrong, but I don't see this changing since the incentives aren't directly linked. Apartments can easily find other residents. Condo associations have to subsidize a few residents. I can't fathom having an EV currently. Charging at home is a must.

A huge % of Americans live in home with garages though. Even if that’s all we get to adopt EV, that’s huge.

Re: Think apartment-hunting is frustrating? Try doing it with an electric car

#35

Post by logicalmonster »

lostapathy wrote: post #24
logicalmonster wrote: post #18

At one time, hotels didn't offer free (or any) Wi-Fi, and now it's basically standard even at the bargain basement cheapo motels. As the market demands a feature, it will eventually come. I think time will ultimately solve the EV charging issue in many apartment complexes, multi-family homes, townhouses, and other types of residential areas as that feature gets more demanded. Property management companies are particu…

I was really surprised on my vacation last summer how often I saw EV chargers at hotels in rural locations. Especially in central and western Kansas.

You'll come across them randomly in places you'd never expect. The problem still exists though.

1) Unless your trip is relatively short, you'll probably need to charge between your home and the hotel.

2) What happens when there's 4 EV parking spots at your hotel and 5 (or more) guests show up at a hotel with EVs? Are people willing to spend their vacations stressing out over getting one of those spots?

Personally, I think EVs only work as a toy for the rich and mass-adoption currently involves too many problems for average people that cannot be resolved anytime soon.

Re: Think apartment-hunting is frustrating? Try doing it with an electric car

#36

Post by Analemma_ »

jewayne wrote: post #31
_fat_santa wrote: post #13

This is one of the main reasons I have not gone electric yet. I currently live in an Apartment Complex and getting power to an EV there would be impossible. One of two solutions will fix this problem, either more chargers or better energy density in the batteries. The first solution is the simpler one, just add the chargers, not actually that simple but simpler than the latter option which is develop batteries with h…

Non-EV owners seem to be under the impression that DC fast charging has not been invented yet. The Superchargers that I use all charge at a peak of 250 KW. At 250 KW, my car is gaining up to ~17.5 miles of range per minute of charging. Of course, it can only charge close to that fast when the battery is low, so what about a more realistic wattage, like 150 KW? That's still 2.5 KWH per minute, or up to ~10.5 miles of…

You’re supposed to use Superchargers as seldom as possible; like just for the occasional road trip. Using them for regular charging shortens the lifespan of the battery considerably.

Re: Think apartment-hunting is frustrating? Try doing it with an electric car

#37

Post by drewg123 »

The real problem is lack of choice in where you live. If it wasn't the charger, then the folks in the article might have had another problem that their inflexible landlord would not resolve. If you have a choice, then things are a lot easier.

I rented a townhouse in the fall of 2019. As I was negotiating rent, move in dates, etc, I got the landlord to agree to have his electrician install a NEMA 14-50 outlet in the garage at my expense. It was all quite painless. If he would have said "no", I'd have rented a different townhouse. I made it clear that was a deal breaker.

When I bought my current place, I was pleasantly surprised to find that it had a NEMA 14-50 already installed in the garage, so I didn't have to do anything to secure charging for my car.

Re: Think apartment-hunting is frustrating? Try doing it with an electric car

#38

Post by gruez »

netsharc wrote: post #28

I wonder if a hack would be - just like a USB power bank to power your phone away from an outlet - to have a portable lithium ion battery (something like Jackery, the only name I know since I watched an LTT video about it[1]) to charge your car. You fill up the Jackery at home, and you drag it to your car when it's time to charge. Optimally you could leave it in inside your car while charging (otherwise it'd be stole…

There's no way this can work when you consider that the battery packs in cars are massive. Wikipedia says that the long range version of the tesla model 3 weighs 1060 pounds. Assuming that energy density of your "portable lithium ion battery" is similar, you'd need to lug around a 200 lb battery pack just to charge your car 20%.

Re: Think apartment-hunting is frustrating? Try doing it with an electric car

#39

Post by buildbot »

There’s a lot more to be considered here - while charging in your own parking garage is great, has anyone thought of what happens when your tesla overheats and catches fire in the basement? Are the fire suppression systems rated for electric car fires?

Re: Think apartment-hunting is frustrating? Try doing it with an electric car

#40

Post by doubled112 »

krolden wrote: post #11
codekansas wrote: post #2

When I first bought a Tesla in Tennessee we had the same problem with our condo's HOA board. We were lucky to live in a newer building but it still only had a single third party charger that would milk you dry if you used it (still not sure why it was so expensive). We just ended up charging at a supercharger when we got groceries. Would've been a nightmare if we had a Leaf or another electric car without that option…

>We were lucky to live in a newer building but it still only had a single third party charger that would milk you dry if you used it (still not sure why it was so expensive). Totally unrelated, but does anyone know if stealing power to charge your car has the same repercussions as stealing gas?

Theft of service is a crime in many places. Somebody could probably make a case for it.
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