As someone associated with this project, I can inform you that the reason the words "blockchain enabled" are used is because the Share and Charge platform enables peer-to-peer payments between car charger and private (not commercial) charging pole owner via the blockchain. As it happens however, as this is a pilot in a new country (US) with new compliance requirements, there are no actual cash payments taking place for now. And as for the electricity cost of Proof of Work, we're actually looking to move to a special purpose chain using Proof of Authority in the near future.
Blockchain-Enabled Electric Car Charging Comes to California
51–60 of 69 posts
Re: Blockchain-Enabled Electric Car Charging Comes to California
#52Earlier quoted context omitted.
I don't have an electric car, but I was under the impression that filling a tank up took a significant amount of time? s/tank/battery
You don't have to stand at the car while it charges so the time comparison should really just be how long it takes to plug in and pay. This assumes the charger is at a location you are already visiting. If we accept that assumption you also save the time you went out of your way to a gas station.
That is what I meant. The OP is at the airport and wants to set the car charging. This really doesn't take long at all if the charger is working.
If the charger isn't working that's because someone didn't fix it. That's usually because there isn't a maintenance contract and people didn't pay enough for said maintenance contract. When you buy gas there are use taxes for road maintenance. Kinda like that.
Re: Blockchain-Enabled Electric Car Charging Comes to California
#53But why is there a blockchain? Why not just charge people? Crytocurrencies both have large advantages AND disadvantages. The advantage is that it is a decentralized, censorship resist currency. But if you don't care about the decentralized part of it, then there is no point. Just use a credit card.
And the credit card charges. I am sure people driving uber would not mind keeping the 3% to themselves.
Are we still pretending transactions are free and instant like crypto enthusiasts used to claim 2-3 years ago?
Re: Blockchain-Enabled Electric Car Charging Comes to California
#54Cryptocurrency enthusiast here. This is exactly the sort of nonsense that people are doing that makes other people think the entire cryptocurrency community is a joke. Obviously there is no benefit to having this on a blockchain here. You can just pay the charging station. I made a comment the other day that there is very little overlap between cryptocurrency enthusiasts and people who want to blockchain-all-the-thin…
> Obviously there is no benefit to having this on a blockchain here. - Minuscule transaction fees as opposed to 3% banking fees. - Less necessary server infrastructure to manage identity/payments Would these not be benefits or am I missing something?
Think through the 3% bit a little bit. Do you think that the banks charge 3% because their settlement software is that much less efficient than a blockchain?
Of course not. You're paying for customer service, marketing, fraud protection & settlement, and a host of other things with that 3%. It's not 3% because that's what it costs to run a computer to figure out payment processing, it's 3% because that's what the banks can charge to run their business. In effect most people pay 2% or less because of credit card points, so really it's just a forced discount on retailers. Again, because the banks can.
Re: Blockchain-Enabled Electric Car Charging Comes to California
#55I read the article and no where does it make a case for why a blockchain makes any sense in the application. I read a comment by a person claiming to be associated with the project saying that "blockchain enabled" makes sense because the payment are p2p but that doesn't make sense either. Blockchains are good for pretty much one thing: a distributed ledger that parties can trust to be immutable. I can confidently say they're only inserting a blockchain here because it gets the idea more buzz.
Side note: I had no idea people paid so much to charge they're EVs. the article mentioned that a electric bill in Cali can be upwards of $1000/yr.
Edit for clarity: the $1000/yr figure is the marginal cost of charging the EV, not the entire bill
Re: Blockchain-Enabled Electric Car Charging Comes to California
#56Earlier quoted context omitted.
I'm not familiar with how billing for Tesla's chargers work, except that some of the high end models include free charging (or at least they used to). Are you saying the electricity should be free, or simply that you prefer to pay monthly based on usage? This startup seems like a stepping stone to me. Eventually you should be able to define limits (max $/kWh, min charge rate, min time available, max distance) and the…
My Tesla is an early model, so charging at their stations is free. Paying a monthly usage bill would fine too. The bad thing is having to use a flaky UI every time I need to charge remotely (which is only every month or two). I think ChargePoint's fundamental problem is in order for their app to enable charging: - the app must be installed and updated - it must get an accurate location from GPS to look up the ID numb…
Why bother with the app? Just get a free tiny RFID card. It’s basically instant (although, you have to avoid losing the little card, I suppose).
Re: Blockchain-Enabled Electric Car Charging Comes to California
#57I read the article and no where does it make a case for why a blockchain makes any sense in the application. I read a comment by a person claiming to be associated with the project saying that "blockchain enabled" makes sense because the payment are p2p but that doesn't make sense either. Blockchains are good for pretty much one thing: a distributed ledger that parties can trust to be immutable. I can confidently say…
I fill up my Jeep about once a week. At an average cost of $25 to fill over the course of 52 weeks, that's $1,300.
Of course I don't have the added bonus of being able to charge from solar power, but at least that shows that the cost of electricity isn't prohibitive versus the cost of gasoline.
Re: Blockchain-Enabled Electric Car Charging Comes to California
#58I'd love to have an alternative to ChargePoint for charging my Tesla at airports. It takes multiple minutes of diddling around with their app to make their charger's relay contacts close. They have reviews within their app, wherein people report which of their chargers usually work, which sometimes work, and which never work. In no case is the actual power faulty -- it's their monetization strategy that fails to toug…
Just get the RFID card and keep it in the car. Way less hassle than the app for unlocking the charger.
Re: Blockchain-Enabled Electric Car Charging Comes to California
#59I read the article and no where does it make a case for why a blockchain makes any sense in the application. I read a comment by a person claiming to be associated with the project saying that "blockchain enabled" makes sense because the payment are p2p but that doesn't make sense either. Blockchains are good for pretty much one thing: a distributed ledger that parties can trust to be immutable. I can confidently say…
I fill up my Jeep about once a week. At an average cost of $25 to fill over the course of 52 weeks, that's $1,300. Of course I don't have the added bonus of being able to charge from solar power, but at least that shows that the cost of electricity isn't prohibitive versus the cost of gasoline.
> Of course I don't have the added bonus of being able to charge from solar power
Ugh, you also don't have the added bonus with an EV to just fill up when necessary.
Re: Blockchain-Enabled Electric Car Charging Comes to California
#60I read the article and no where does it make a case for why a blockchain makes any sense in the application. I read a comment by a person claiming to be associated with the project saying that "blockchain enabled" makes sense because the payment are p2p but that doesn't make sense either. Blockchains are good for pretty much one thing: a distributed ledger that parties can trust to be immutable. I can confidently say…
> the article mentioned that a electric bill in Cali can be upwards of $1000/yr.
I live in Phoenix, AZ - my electric bill is rarely ever under $100.00 per month; in the summertime it can edge upwards to close to $400.00 a month.
I don't have an electric car, either.
/two A/C units on a 2000 sf house will do that, tho...