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California power outages: What do EV drivers do when this happens?

Discussion in 'Environmental Discussion' started by ice9, Oct 10, 2019.

  1. ice9

    ice9 Active Member

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    Race cars have superchargers, not Teslas. :whistle:

    Sorry, I couldn't resist.
     
  2. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    i'll let it go this time...
     
  3. Salamander_King

    Salamander_King Senior Member

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    The number I got for our house is 10x of that. :eek: I really would like to built and move to a tiny house totally off-grid, but with running water and sewer and access road for such house, it can get just as expensive.:(
     
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  4. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    our daughter wants a tiny house, but you can't find a tiny lot :p
     
  5. Salamander_King

    Salamander_King Senior Member

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    She can build it on your driveway! ;)
     
  6. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    she could build it on the back forty, but building codes and all that :rolleyes:
     
  7. RobH

    RobH Senior Member

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    I've posted this already in another thread, but it seems relevant to do it again. SMA grid-tie inverters have a mode called "Secure Power Supply". It provides 1500 watts (2000 watts on newer models) of 120VAC with a non-battery grid-tie inverter. It normally works like any other grid-tie inverter, but you can switch to SPS and have a separate circuit that works with the grid down.

     
  8. fuzzy1

    fuzzy1 Senior Member

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  9. ice9

    ice9 Active Member

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    Ah. So I could charge an EV using my portable Honda EU2200i?

    Problem solved. I just need gasoline! :cool:
     
  10. Dimitrij

    Dimitrij Active Member

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    From what I remember, EV's are "not supposed to" be charged from portable generators, which has to do with the power quality. I think the whole-house generators are good, though.
     
    #30 Dimitrij, Oct 10, 2019
    Last edited: Oct 10, 2019
  11. T1 Terry

    T1 Terry Active Member

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    My silver Prius is a plug in hybrid because it has an additional 10kWh battery in where the spare tyre normally goes. We recharge from our motorhome's solar and battery system via the inverter and the 240vac charger. Very inefficient but the power is free and not being used otherwise. It is not a big deal to simply connect solar panels in series till the open circuit voltage (marked on the back of the panel as (OCV) adds up to the upper voltage (fully charged) voltage of your EV battery pack. Then just add a cable and 50 amp Anderson plug with either a mechanical switch or a solenoid contactor into the cable so the Anderson plug is disconnected from the battery when it is not plugged into the solar array.
    There are inverters on the market that aren't real expensive that can handle up to 450vdc on the solar input side and can produce 240vac on the output without needing a battery in between. I posted something about this on the thread about using the traction battery as a back up power supply thread.
    The idea is to run an Anderson plug from the solar input side of the inverter and power selected circuits around the house with the EV battery, then when the sun is shining the solar can both power the house loads and recharge the EV battery. Get an EV with a big enough battery pack, like the new Kona, and have that as the wife's shopping cart/taxi and you have a good battery backed power supply that would have enough to spare to recharge the worker's EV as well.
    These inverters can also be paralleled to double the 5kW output to 10kW or up to 45kW if you really needed it, but you'd need a big battery and solar to keep that powered up.

    T1 Terry
     
  12. Zythryn

    Zythryn Senior Member

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    Most of the areas I saw were rectangular, perhaps 10-20 miles across and 40-120 miles high.
    NOT that big of a deal. If you are required to drive very far you are likely also driving out of the blackout area.

    Map of PG&E power outage zones in Northern California - Curbed SF
     
  13. bwilson4web

    bwilson4web BMW i3 and Model 3

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    Our 16 kW, Generac system detects the outage and isolates the house from the grid while starting the 2-cylinder, natural gas fueled engine. In about 30 seconds, the generator power routes to the house which includes our 240 VAC, 40 A, 9.6 kW EV charger. Either of our EVs take ~7.2-7.7 kW.

    In April 2011, we had a four-day, grid power outage with no interruption of natural gas for our furnace. Our Prius provided the electricity to run the furnace and keep the house warm.

    Bob Wilson
     
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  14. ice9

    ice9 Active Member

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    I was assuming such... ...That's why I was wearing shades.
     
  15. Dimitrij

    Dimitrij Active Member

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    Oh, I thought that was for privacy protection purposes ... :notworthy:
     
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  16. ice9

    ice9 Active Member

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    No. That's only if I'm ACTUALLY doing something shady, not when I'm just writing about it. :eek:
     
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  17. Dimitrij

    Dimitrij Active Member

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    Whatever, you can talk about this until you are blue in the face ... oh wait ... never mind :barefoot:
     
  18. ice9

    ice9 Active Member

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    Ditto. You can talk about it and turn blue all you want. Just don't start cracking puns.
     
  19. Trollbait

    Trollbait It's a D&D thing

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    Inverters come in three basic types; sine wave, modified sine wave, and square wave. The electricity coming from the power company is sine wave. A generator or inverter that supplies electric in pure sine waves will run anything(assuming the watt draw isn't over the rating) that can plug into an outlet, including charging an EV.

    Cheaper generators may only be modified sine or possibly even square wave(not common anymore), as those are cheaper inverters. Electronics don't run well, if at all, on them, and may even be damaged. Teslas refuse to charge if the car doesn't detect a pure sine wave.

    A portable generator with pure sine wave inverter should be able to charge a BEV.

    Inverter Basics and Selecting the Right Model | Northern Arizona Wind & Sun
     
  20. wjtracy

    wjtracy Senior Member

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    Yes I was just reading on another board that many Florida residents have relatively large under-ground propane tanks for generators. Apparently underground propane does not have the negative eco-concerns of underground heating oil tanks if leaking. I had not been aware of that approach.

    We do not hear as much these days about using Prius or Prime to generate emergency power, but I assume Prime is good at that?