Utilities say grid can handle rechargeable cars

Its about time that the news media is catching on to this, and about time that utilities realize that they have the extra capacity. A November, 2007 Pacific Northwest National Laboratory report concluded the exact same thing. You may read the report here.

I am also attaching a copy of the report.

I think the report is extremely interesting in that it says that there is enough power on the grid to power 86% of all vehicles in the US, and that doing so would displace 53% of foreign oil imports. It boggles my mind why the government has done little to jump on this and make it a priority.

 

Funny how they can't support the grid as it is.

 

I am kind of cynical when it comes to big business. Maybe part of the problem has been that the big 3+ can produce vehicles that get high mpg, but haven't figured out how they can develope a plug they can keep track of how much you charge and where, so they can collect.

With a standard plug end a person could plug and go, like a drive off. You can pull into a lot of hotels and access wireless, why not electricity?

 

Well, at some point the hotels (probably the better ones) will be offering free recharge as well as free wifi.

And the articles are absolutely right. It's off peak because the is significantly less demand from midnight to 7 am. But....the electricity is still produced. Wasted if you will. So recharging is perfect. It actually is better for the grid.

 

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.

 

Utilities have known this and have been saying this since the production EVs of the mid-90's. What we get from the press and the public, however, are comments such as:

Considering what is asked of the grid, and how it is today a big patch-work - the grid is amazingly stable, and is clearly oure most efficient and cost-effective way to distribute energy in this country. You can't find a distrubution system that works any better or cheaper. Imagine how great it would be to haul truckloads of electricity from where it was made to where it will be used...

Anyway - we have the energy, and we have the ways to continue to make it cleaner. Once everybody is on-board, and the oil lobby gets a wee bit weaker, there will be no stopping transportation electrification.

 

Time-delay charging was standard in the production EVs of the 90's, and will certainly play a big role in any electric transportation going forward. In this day of time-shifting everything we do (read TiVo) there's simply no concern about plugging in during peak times. It will be cost-prohibitive to do so, so it will rarely be done. What's crazy is that people are running AC during the peak time. That should have a higher cost associated with it as well...

 

That answers my question. I should have assumed there was a time-delay option...after all, my dishwasher even has this option.

Some people have to run their AC during peak time unfortunately. It'll be dark at 8:30 PM here in AZ and still be 112 degrees. It's an interesting feeling coming home at 2am on a Saturday night, look at the temp gauge, and it still reads 104.

 

I'm also in Phoenix. For what it's worth, I do pay more for electricity during peak hours.

 

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.

 

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

 

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.

 

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).

 

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.

 

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.