Utilities say grid can handle rechargeable cars

[Godiva]

And if the grocery store is going to charge me to plug in while I'm grocery shopping.....I just won't. Why should I pay them (I'm sure MORE than the utilities charge them) for a quickie when I can charge over night at home.

I know apartment dwellers with no garage, whatever, can't do that. But hey, there's plenty I can do as a homeowner that an apartment dweller can't do. They'll just have to figure a work around.

[qbee42]

Originally Posted by Godiva

<snip> I know apartment dwellers with no garage, whatever, can't do that. But hey, there's plenty I can do as a homeowner that an apartment dweller can't do. They'll just have to figure a work around.

This is a good point. If you live on a farm you can do things that city dwellers can't do. If you live on a houseboat your options are limited too. We will never have a "one size fits all" solution to transportation. A good option is still a good option even if it works for only a subset of the total population.

Tom

[Rybold]

Originally Posted by darelldd

What's crazy is that people are running AC during the peak time. That should have a higher cost associated with it as well...

In a truly green society, all appliances that draw over a certain wattage would be required to report their serial number to the power company when they turn on - this way, such appliances can be billed based on a "peak rate," while low power devices would be billed a flat rate.

Originally Posted by mingoglia

It'll be dark at 8:30 PM here in AZ and still be 112 degrees. ... 2am on a Saturday night, look at the temp gauge, and it still reads 104.

I have a solution . We should bulldoze all buildings in AZ, cover the state with solar panels and thermal collectors, and force all residents to relocate to states that cool down to less than 80F degrees at night.

[chogan2]

Originally Posted by mingoglia

I'd imagine however unless there are timers that don't start charging until a certain time that most will begin charging their electrical vehicles around 6-6:30 PM when they get home from work. I know here in AZ the hottest part of the day is during this time so we're still at peak due to A/C demand.

I'm signed up for the Hymotion conversion, and I'm planning to use a water heater timer to do this. Plug it in when you park it, it'll only charge after midnight. So it's not a problem for people who care enough to install a $40 part in their system. But it'll be a problem when these go mass-market. As said above, a time rought to be a standard part of the charging system.

If it were up to me, and these go mainstream, I'd use "atomic clock" tech to regulate it. Build the charger into the car with a clock that picks up the Fort Collins time signal. Or a GPS, for that matter. Either way. If you want one that can only charge at night, your time, no penalty. Give it an emergency override for day charging, that you can use no more than once a month. But if you want one that'll charge in the daytime, you pay an additional grid improvement tax to cover the cost of the electrical infrastructure improvements that are going to be required by your buttheadedness and/or special needs. As with most things environmental, just making it slightly not-free will probably cause most consumers to shift their behavior to the more efficient mode. And that's all you'd need to keep the costs and impact down. You're not prevented from daytime charging, you'd just have to pay full freight on it.

[thepolarcrew]

On an other post they suggested a chip to track and charge(as in pay).

Just wondering how this would work if you where traveling, would hope not to run into same problem as flex fuel? Out in the middle of no where, no access(if it had a particular style plug).

[dwreed3rd]

Originally Posted by Godiva

And if the grocery store is going to charge me to plug in while I'm grocery shopping.....I just won't. Why should I pay them (I'm sure MORE than the utilities charge them) for a quickie when I can charge over night at home.

I know apartment dwellers with no garage, whatever, can't do that. But hey, there's plenty I can do as a homeowner that an apartment dweller can't do. They'll just have to figure a work around.

It's not saying the you have to charge at the grocery store. It's the point the if you try to accomplish your errands on a particular day, you may choose to charge up depending on your vehicles range, particularly if it's a full EV. In the north, in the winter, maybe just to plug in your EBH.

[thepolarcrew]

That too! It's not winter yet, good reminder though.

Some outlet stores have plug ins set up in lots assigned, as apartments too! This is where the wiring could become a problem. ie the plug and voltage required.