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U.S. Postal Service starts nationwide electric vehicle fleet, buying 9,250 EVs

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Re: U.S. Postal Service starts nationwide electric vehicle fleet, buying 9,250 EVs

#251

Post by euroderf »

p1necone wrote: post #102
photochemsyn wrote: post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Implementing a battery-swap system at major truck stops seems plausible. The semi would pull in, its battery pack would be pulled out by a light crane and slotted into a charging unit, and a fresh pack would be installed, no stop-over time needed. I also wonder whether semis on certain well-defined long-haul routes (I-80 etc) could be partially automated, such that the driver could sleep in the back of the cab much o…

> I also wonder whether semis on certain well-defined long-haul routes (I-80 etc) could be partially automated, such that the driver could sleep in the back of the cab much of the time. Not sure if the technology is really there yet, though. Sure, it's called a train.

Maybe combined with autonomous electric forklifts to shuttle cargo to/from a waystation.

Re: U.S. Postal Service starts nationwide electric vehicle fleet, buying 9,250 EVs

#252

Post by zirgs »

b112 wrote: post #203
gwbas1c wrote: post #92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> In shipping and logistics, time is money. Fuel can be dispensed in the US at a maximum of 10 gal/minute. Factor that against the largest charger you can find and see why the single cost difference doesn't matter yet. You charge the mail trucks overnight, when they aren't being driven. I don't know about you, but I've never seen a postman out in the evening or nighttime. I also don't know about you, but I don't stan…

You have to go out of your way to get to the gas station, go up to the pump, pay for it, and then get back on your way. It always takes me 5-10 minutes to get gas. Wow. Gas stations are everywhere, conveniently located, and always on route to some place or another. The mental gymnastics employed, to try to make this seem arduous, does not make for a compelling argument.

Many rural areas have no gas stations nearby, but they do have electricity.

So it's now actually more practical to have an EV in those places.

Re: U.S. Postal Service starts nationwide electric vehicle fleet, buying 9,250 EVs

#253

Post by trompetenaccoun »

Symbiote wrote: post #227
trompetenaccoun wrote: post #220

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Also this may not be true for the US now but in parts of Europe the charging cost for driving an EV has at times already surpassed the gas cost for regular cars. And that was despite the war also leading to increased oil prices in Europe at the same time, thanks to the EU's climate policy and certain countries shutting down coal and gas power plants without even having enough alternate capacity yet. Germany was the k…

The rapid charging cost, on occasion, in the countries with the highest dependence on natural gas for electricity. That's not relevant for current commercial delivery use cases.

True. But keep in mind the price of electricity has gone up for everyone in all of Europe, not just at charging stations. For private car owners with no place to charge at home the effect is most drastically visible, as the example shows. But of course when the prices go up it also affects every businesses bottom line.

Btw in many countries there are discounted rates for large electricity purchasers, like corporations. They pay less the more they use. So companies do have an incentive to go electric. There's just a lot more nuance. The charging times the other user mentioned are one thing. Parts of North America also get pretty cold in winter which drastically reduces the range of EVs. That's something many people who've never driven an EV don't know about for example. Will be interesting to see real world results. From the electric bus projects I've seen in some cities, they're far from as cheap in real life as cities thought they would be when they were presented the numbers on paper.

Re: U.S. Postal Service starts nationwide electric vehicle fleet, buying 9,250 EVs

#254

Post by euroderf »

nine_k wrote: post #238
wpm wrote: post #163

Earlier quoted context omitted.

IL also sells off something like 250MW of excess power but it’s just like that all the time since it’s all coming from our nuclear plants.

250 MW of constantly available power from a reactor may be more valuable than 600 MW during sunshine that goes to 0 MW during night time. Solar will become vastly more valuable once enough electrical storage capacity goes online.

And after electrical storage capacity is solved, let's work on heat storage capacity. Do I really have to spend ten grand digging up my yard ?

Re: U.S. Postal Service starts nationwide electric vehicle fleet, buying 9,250 EVs

#255

Post by diordiderot »

defrost wrote: post #229
konspence wrote: post #224

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No long-haul electric truck technology exists.

Daimler Truck, one of the world’s largest commercial vehicle manufacturers, has unveiled its first heavy-duty, battery-electric truck – the Mercedes-Benz eActros LongHaul – with a new e-axle and a range of 500kms. https://thedriven.io/2022/09/20/daimler-unveils-its-first-el... Electric truck maker Janus has debuted the first battery-powered prime mover in Australia and has plans to set up battery swap stations up and…

500kms isn't really long haul in the US though

Re: U.S. Postal Service starts nationwide electric vehicle fleet, buying 9,250 EVs

#256

Post by euroderf »

mulmen wrote: post #132
rrrrrrrrrrrryan wrote: post #127

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If we're willing to invest in the infrastructure, it's possible to charge the trucks while they're in transit: https://www.theverge.com/2019/5/9/18538030/germany-ehighway-...

Ok, that’s cool. Seems obvious in a place like central Washington where you can see hundreds of windmills lining the highway. Might also be beneficial on hillclimbs where instant battery capacity may be lacking. If we imagine building EVs that are 1:1 replacements for ICE we see challenging hurdles but with even small changes in the status quo EVs suddenly become feasible on shorter timeframes.

> Might also be beneficial on hillclimbs where instant battery capacity may be lacking.

Sounds like Norway or Switzerland would be your pilot project. Certainly Norway is all-in on electric. (They can afford to finance the cutting edge.)

Re: U.S. Postal Service starts nationwide electric vehicle fleet, buying 9,250 EVs

#257

Post by AdamN »

sgt wrote: post #250
euroderf wrote: post #237

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Oh, is this an automatic "feature" ? That explains what I've been seeing.

And with a lot of cars having turbos, which introduce a noticeable lag (especially as the cars get older - it seems to be inevitable), now you have an additional lag with the auto-stop/start.

Turbo lag isn't increased by start/stop. Start/stop may delay the initial acceleration but from then on, any turbo lag would be the same regardless of the state of the engine before initial acceleration.

Re: U.S. Postal Service starts nationwide electric vehicle fleet, buying 9,250 EVs

#258

Post by mnw21cam »

sgt wrote: post #245
hbarka wrote: post #230

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I know right. It’s one of those mysteries. Maybe they thought it saved gas, like in the old days when great grandpa would deliberately stop the engine at intersections. (Which by the way is common now in some modern cars and startles me.)

I don't like that feature very much since it basically introduces a lag.

While I didn't like the start/stop feature when I had a hire car briefly, I can't see how it would ever add a lag. By the time you have pressed the clutch pedal down to put it in gear, it has started.

Re: U.S. Postal Service starts nationwide electric vehicle fleet, buying 9,250 EVs

#259

Post by euroderf »

viraptor wrote: post #9
codazoda wrote: post #7

I’ve been wondering what the most repairable vehicle might look like, and I guess the USPS already put a lot of brain power into that problem. I presume this is ugly because it’s both purpose built and highly repairable.

Ugly is subjective. I see it as "modern style has been sacrificed to achieve functionality/safety/..." and that's a form of beautiful for me.

In the year 2100 it will be remembered as the Camaro of early EVs.

Re: U.S. Postal Service starts nationwide electric vehicle fleet, buying 9,250 EVs

#260

Post by diordiderot »

nine_k wrote: post #233
WalterBright wrote: post #216

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you really want to be environmental, long haul trucking should go by rail.

Where the rail exists, yes. The US is not as densely populated as Europe, so outside coastal areas much less land has a train station even within 200 miles radius.

The US used to be littered with railroad. Density isn't a problem

Here is a map from 189X[0]

Auto supremacy was and still is a choice.

[0]https://digital-collections.columbuslibrary.org/digital/api/...

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