Think apartment-hunting is frustrating? Try doing it with an electric car • Hacker News Board

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

#41

Post by triceratops » Mon, Oct 03, 2022, 3:18 PM UTC

helen___keller wrote: post #32

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). Althou…

No in-unit washer-dryer at $3500/mo in Boston?! Even from the Bay Area that seems absurd.

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

#42

Post by Pasorrijer » Mon, Oct 03, 2022, 3:22 PM UTC

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,…

In Norway, they had what looked like old fashioned parking meters outside apartment buildings. What it was a combination parking meter and electric charging meter... So you could park overnight and charge on the street... And get charged for parking at the same time!

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

#43

Post by noirbot » Mon, Oct 03, 2022, 3:22 PM UTC

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.

There's definitely some chargers, but the issue ends up being that you need a lot more chargers per mile than you do gas stations in rural areas, assuming you don't have a robust planning/reservation system.

You can easily fill a gas tank with 100+ miles worth of gas in just a couple minutes. Recharging an EV locks up a spot at a charger for a fair bit longer, even if you don't charge to full.

Driving through remote West Virginia earlier this year, I stopped at a couple 2-pump gas stations that were doing fine business because they were the only station on the highway for 50 miles or such. You probably couldn't get away with just having 2 EV stations.

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

#44

Post by mellavora » Mon, Oct 03, 2022, 3:22 PM UTC

toast0 wrote: post #16

giantg2 wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I would think being low income is itself prohibitive to adopting electric.

If your needs fit its range, off lease Leafs were pretty low cost when I was last looking; you could get an older gas car for much less and not everyone can afford a $10,000 car. Electric $/mile operating cost is very often less than gas $/mile, especially if you have significant access to free charging. Of course, if you move, you might need to get a different car.

> especially if you have significant access to free charging.

and if you don't? Because your apartment building doesn't offer it, and low-wage jobs are less likely to include it as a perk..

and OMG, the US tied health insurance to jobs and what a clusterfuck that is, so severely limiting entrepreneurship, now we want to tie "ability to charge your car" to employment? Can't quit your job because you don't have a charger at home and public ones are rare/expensive??

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

#45

Post by colinmhayes » Mon, Oct 03, 2022, 3:22 PM UTC

drewg123 wrote: post #37

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 g…

Right, as with almost all problems related to the housing crisis, the issue would be solved by building more units.

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

#46

Post by colinmhayes » Mon, Oct 03, 2022, 3:24 PM UTC

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.

I charge at work and the grocery store. Not sure how charging at home is a must.

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

#47

Post by vehemenz » Mon, Oct 03, 2022, 3:24 PM UTC

yboris wrote: post #4

joshuaheard wrote: post #3

Why is "equity" and race mentioned? It's completely irrelevant to the story.

Literally the next sentence: "Unsurprisingly, renters tend to have lower incomes than those who own their own homes; they are also more likely to be Black or Latino." Given the history of the US, this seems a worthwhile thing to note.

Looking at median incomes, most of the Black and Latino population can't afford EVs anyway, so the inclusion of equity here looks a bit disingenuous. It kind of undermines the entire premise of the article because people struggling to find housing are not going to frivolously spend twice as much on a car, even if the upfront price difference levels out for some buyers.

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

#48

Post by CapitalistCartr » Mon, Oct 03, 2022, 3:25 PM UTC

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.

America is overwhelmingly single-family residences. By the time half of those have EVs, the apartment owners will feel the need.

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

#49

Post by saveferris » Mon, Oct 03, 2022, 3:26 PM UTC

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?

I dont know what the policies are now but I was an inspector for the electric company (PSE&G in north Jersey) for a few summers in college. Mostly, someone would call in about their bill being high and we'd go check and find someone had run power from their meter so they were paying for a neighbor. We'd report it, someone would come out and usually just remove the offender. I don't even think they even tried to find out where it went. As far as I know the matter was dropped at that point. No charges filed, etc. even though it was theft of some kind since it was intentional.

Maybe today with EVs there is a different approach. I don't know. Some of the things people would do not to play their electric bill were literally shocking :-)

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

#50

Post by vehemenz » Mon, Oct 03, 2022, 3:27 PM UTC

evv wrote: post #5

yboris wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Literally the next sentence: "Unsurprisingly, renters tend to have lower incomes than those who own their own homes; they are also more likely to be Black or Latino." Given the history of the US, this seems a worthwhile thing to note.

The whole paragraph is self explanatory and makes sense in this article because it prohibits huge swaths of people from adopting EVs. Some people tend to freak out when race is mentioned, I suppose, so they can't even read a few more lines of context.

The context of the story is EVs, vehicles that are primarily purchased by the upper 20-25%. It's not clear how minorities are disproportionately affected or stand to benefit disproportionately by urban EV charging adoption if they generally cannot afford them in the first place.