wyx087

This is the key to enabling people to travel in EV without worry about mid-journey rapid charging. The number of chargers at those locations need to scale proportionally to number of EV’s on the road. And selfishly as someone who can charge at home, I think this should be where most of infrastructure investment should happen. Get all those who can charge at home into EV as soon as possible. Then simply mandate all new housing to include cabling for any allocated parking spots. It won’t cost much to lay down the 40amp cable while the houses are built.

Remember, unlike liquid fuel cars, vast majority of charging will not happen at these rapid chargers. This is more designed for mid-journey rest stops, where you rest for 20-30min before continuing your journey. Over 95% of my EV is slow charged overnight when it's parked doing nothing. So will vast majority of EV's because vast majority of the time a car is parked doing nothing. Therefore throughput of these hubs doesn't need to be anywhere near traditional petrol stations.

Same. Was going to post it if I didn't see one. It's such a good build, this is how EV rapid charging should be like. Also notice how they are utilising the land and grid connection to make money on the side with its huge on-site battery. It's the overall energy solution I had been talking about way back in 2017/2018.

It's good you've picked up on the key part of the report: it's outright lies. On 5 years thing, remember, unless an early write-off, a car is normally in service for 10-15 years. So even with report's hand picked numbers, a Battery EV will pollute less within first half of its lifetime. Sounds good to me. On cost of EV's. As you can see Rootoot and myself have an EV as daily driver and a fossil fuel car for the other 10% journey. I used to run a 11 years old Mercedes C220 diesel. That used to cost me £400 per month including EVERYTHING (depreciation, fixes, servicing, insurance, etc). These 2 cars (wanted a bigger Skoda for family car) now cost me £500 per month, both around £9000 second hand, with EV being far cheaper to run whilst covering more miles. Point is, if your mileage pattern fits an early EV, buying and running an additional EV as daily driver is not as expensive as you thought.

To be honest, you may be reading too much into this. It hasn't left the drawing board, if it was on the drawing board to begin with. Probably more of a side note in a list of tax revenue ideas. It could be like VED, where after a certain date, all new cars sold will have to have telemetrics that report miles driven automatically. At the same time, all those new cars will have zero/cheap VED but expensive per mile tax. Implementing this retrospectively? I share your view, it can't be done effectively.

I highly doubt per mile tax will be levied against EV only. Tax on already expensive rapid charging, as targeted tax, yes. Additional per mile cost? No, it will definitely be across all cars, otherwise they have zero chance of hitting 2035 goal (2030 is ban on ICE only vehicles, 5 years later ban on all vehicles with ICE inside)

The trunk road BP stations I've drove past all seem to have those 150w chargers. I've no problem paying the contactless prices if I can get a charge easily. To be honest, all I'm after is reliable quick hassle free rapid charging at convenient locations. Price doesn't matter because it's such a small proportion of my overall EV miles.

The Octupus Agile smart tariff is actually just trying to encourage consumer usage pattern to avoid peak times and use during off-peak. Batteries are used to balance the grid at 50Hz examples can be seen here: https://www.energy-storage.news/news/undeniable-success-south-australias-129mwh-tesla-battery [quote]Using fast frequency response (FFR) services, HPR was able to stabilise grid frequency to within the accepted range of 0.15Hz either side of 50Hz. In addition to frequency regulation, the system also participates in AEMO and ElectraNet’s System Integrity Protection Scheme (SIPS), which offers protection against the loss of the locally-sited Heywood Interconnector if multiple generators fail. ....... It is required to discharge up to 100MW in under 150ms. [/quote] (Hydro storage not have started turning within 150ms. But after that burst, a more sustainable source is needed, like hydro storage) So yes, a good mix is needed. No single right answer. But one thing is for sure, EV and batteries are important part of overall future energy.

Takes seconds rather than microseconds compared to battery. Slower to react. Electricity to stay at 50 Hz need giant turbines. When moving to renewables, to keep this synchronous nature, a certain mass of battery storage is needed to do microbalancing.

That's engineering isn't it? Making use of best available solution. We can't afford to wait for the best possible solution, the next best thing. We need to stop relying on burning stuff right as quickly as possible! Pumped hydro is great as massive energy storage, but it's slower to react. The key is having a good mix of all types of solutions and having systems smart enough to predict the load and manage all that. Problems like this can be solved with "smart" solutions, imagine every car plugged in can be told to slow down or speed up its charging based on wind/solar. I know my Leaf was plugged in 2pm yesterday to 9am today but was only charging 1am to 4am, so if I can set it to be ready by 6am, I don't care how slow/quick it gets charged. Basically, batteries help make using more renewables possible today, when all available solutions are combined. I'm already doing something like it at home with home automation: If excess solar > 50w, turn on cordless vacuum charger, if excess solar > 300w, turn on my gaming PC and start CPU BOINC work if excess solar > 300w again, turn on GPU mining if excess solar < 10w, progressively turn off above in reverse order

People say Tesla are around 5 years ahead of any competition with its powertrain. But why doesn't other company just license the tech? A Mercedes C-class car with Model 3 powertrain would be excellent. Thanks for the update. Reads like even if you didn't stay overnight, you can still get around without any hindrance due to driving an EV beyond its home range.

Smart home charging, vehicle to grid would be part of that solution. The national grid says "thanks to recent efficiency improvements, we have spare capacity and even if we all switch to EV overnight, it would only increase demand by 10%" https://www.nationalgrid.com/stories/journey-to-net-zero/5-myths-about-electric-vehicles-busted Battery are very effective way to store energy right now: https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/green-tech/a34598095/elon-musk-battery-farm-sequel-australia-tesla-powerpack/ Fossil fuel isn't really storing energy in the same sense as storing excess generated by renewables and hydrogen electrolysis: we can't currently easily create fossil fuel. It's more of an energy reserve made by planet Earth over thousands of years.

I always take WLTP rating to be absolute maximum, EPA to be higher typical, 80% of EPA to be typical minimum. I recall the Chevy Bolt dash display shows the normal range guess-o-meter with a min and max figure. I haven't seen any other cars do that. But I prefer Tesla's typical range readout, calculating based on last few miles of driving makes no sense.

The ban on hybrid is said to be still 2035. The only thing that has been bought forward is ban on brand new pure ICE powered vehicles. This makes a LOT of sense: - most manufacturers have already moved to mild-hybrid now, banning sales of new cars in 10 years isn't going to affect many models. - EV isn't for everyone and won't be over next 10 years, so hybrid for a further few years while infrastructure catches up The biggest thing changing over next 10 years would be people's mindset. Around 2015, EV was seen as a toy. In 2017, second hand Leaf finished from leases were piling up, I got my one relatively cheaply. But from look of things, starting in 2020, we will see an accelerated shift in public opinion of EV's as motor journalists race to change their outdated tune.

The ban on hybrid is said to be still 2035. The only thing that has been bought forward is ban on brand new pure ICE powered vehicles. This makes a LOT of sense: - most manufacturers have already moved to mild-hybrid now, banning sales of new cars in 10 years isn't going to affect many models. - EV isn't for everyone and won't be over next 10 years, so hybrid for a further few years while infrastructure catches up The biggest thing changing over next 10 years would be people's mindset. Around 2015, EV was seen as a toy. In 2017, second hand Leaf finished from leases were piling up, I got my one relatively cheaply. But from look of things, starting in 2020, we will see an accelerated shift in public opinion of EV's as motor journalists race to change their outdated tune.

£550 now? Was £490 when I was forced to do it in Oct 2017 due to leaking from waterpump. 1 year earlier than anticipated. The fixed price risen by 12% over 3 years. UK Rate of inflation was 2.29% in 2018, 1.74% in 2019, let's assume 2% in 2020. That only comes to £520. Main dealer and VAG rip off, as usual!

Indeed. This certainly make a LOT of sense at rapid chargers (or Tesla's super chargers). I think it's something like if the car isn't disconnect after 10min, fee gets added. Doesn't stop people hogging the charger to slowly get to 100%, but it's a start. I believe Polar network rapid chargers also add surcharge after 90 minutes. Similarly, Ecotricity EH chargers will end charging session after 45 minutes. Rapid chargers are meant for splash-&-dash. Exactly like petrol station at motorway services. They function similar to petrol stations, you shouldn't leave the car unattended for long period of time and you shouldn't use it as parking spots. But for slow destination chargers, expecting one to move their car after charging finished is unrealistic. They are essentially parking spots with benefits for EV's. Thus I think at premium locations, a time-based fee for using those parking spots make a lot of sense.

Shocking news! Doing things inefficiently costs more money! Proven using maths! I wonder what people would say about those Chelsea tractors..... Realistically, would anyone solely rely on this single charging spot, always only top up 80-100%, over 1000 miles? (the basis of their calculation) Also who in their right mind would move their car from a slow charging spot the moment it finished charging? Slow charging spots are like parking spots, no one waits around for charge to finish. So the calculation had left out a large chunk of cost in their calculation. They missed the opportunity to use the headline "EV cost more than 10mpg petrol car" The way Source London levy their fee by time make a lot of sense. I hate to admit, but I've abused pay-by-kwh before. I hooked up to central London pod-point, free parking for 4 hours, but I had almost full battery so costed me very little. The charging spot need to be either pay to park with per-kwh charging OR per-minute charging session with free parking. In central London, the latter makes more sense.

Ah, yes, my mistake. I misread your post. You are right, mirror dip works regardless of hardware modules. Folding mirrors will require the folding hardware.

This is almost correct. My car doesn't have memory seat (I think this is the required module). You can still code it in, just the mirror will only dip to a predefined angle and return to another predefined position. It won't be what you've set because there is no memory in your car to memorise your set positions. I have: - changed so car only chirp on lock only (I leave before 7am, don't want to wake up neighbours with the 2 chirp unlock noise) - wiper washer fluid saver tweak by not activating headlight washer unless it's 2s hold - the mirror dip on reverse, works somewhat despite not having required module - DLR LED dims when indicating ....... to be honest, my car has a lot of mentioned configurable in the infotainment menu already, if hardware permits. It was a showroom car. Eg. remote controlled windows, HBA, the lock/unlock chirp, catan base control, cornering fogs.

Pollen filter on these Skoda's are so easy to do. Glove box off, a few screws and it's directly in front of you. I did my wife's Nissan Leaf, it was behind central dashboard, had to get my fingers to bend in unnatural ways to remove it. My dad's Volvo S40 (Ford) is a glovebox + fusebox + trip removal job. After all that, it's hidden much deeper than the Nissan. Diesel filter, and engine oil for that matter, are messy and dirty. I don't want to touch these messy ICE parts. I had my 7 year old car done a few months ago by an independent (VeeW in Bristol). They did a great job and very reasonable price considering the amount of fluid/filters they actually did in major service. I can't wait to only needing to do pollen + brake fluid every other year. ICE cars are cheap to buy but WOW they are high maintenance.

£73 per month in a very efficient diesel. (does it need Adblu? How much is timing belt replacement?) 250 kWh at national average of 14p per kWh means £35. So for same monthly cost, you could spend £38 more on a EV monthly payment. You could spend a bit more on EV's by going with a time-of-use tariff where overnight charging becomes really cheap. It wouldn't increase your daytime household elec bill by much, may be even reduce it if you move dishwasher/laundry to the cheap period. Although recent prices of diesel are not £1.10, they are between £1.15 and £1.20 around here. So 5% increase to your £73 becomes £76. Whereas it is possible to fix your elec tariff giving you a consistent monthly cost to EV ownership. But to avoid people taking those sensible but theoretical calculations personally, I just add: currently EV isn't for everyone.

Fuel saving would be the biggest difference. It's easy to do the calculations yourself: a- How much do you spend on fossil fuel? b- How much do you drive? c- How much is your electricity tariff overnight? Price difference of EV = a - (b / 4 * c) (assuming EV averages 4 mi/kWh) Say you spend £100 per month on very efficient non-plugin hybrid with 60+ MPG, driving 1000 miles a month, your electricity overnight is around 8p (Octupus Agile smart metering or other time based tariff). You will be able to afford £80 more expensive per month payment for an EV. Then just add other cost savings as bonus money back into your pocket because they are far less significant. £140 VED per year, £70 saving for maintenance (Nissan EV vs petrol as example) every maintenance cycle.

Current crop of EV's doesn't automatically run AC and heat-pump heating at the same time due to efficiency. Previously this was not needed as the ICE provides heat and AC is a separate unit. On my Leaf, running heating only draws ~0.5kw of power to have hot air blowing. Running AC only draws similar amount. AC+heating draws around 1.5kw. I put it down to Leaf switching the heat pump to AC mode and use resistive heating. In another words, re-hash of ICE car climate control topology, replacing ICE with resistive heaters. So with more research done on EV efficiency, it should be possible to improve AC+heating efficiency by using only the heat pump. A heatpump that can both pump out moisture and provide heat. I'm in the same boat. I run Leaf as local car, I got a Skoda Octavia for those long trips and my commute if wife needs the Leaf. I'm looking to replace the Skoda with an EV to reduce my commuting cost and also doesn't hinder us on long trips. My conclusion is that only a Tesla is able to do this. No matter what range your EV can offer, you'll always want a reliable and convenient charging infrastructure. Reliable and convenient combined is difficult to find with current charging infrastructure. You can have reliability with Instavolt, but their locations are not usually convenient, in business parks or gyms. You can have convenient trunk road charging with Ecotricity Electric Highway, but their chargers are known to have problems on CCS cars (all modern EV's). I stop at motorway services what I usually find? 6-12 chargers for Tesla, 1-2 for everyone else by Ecotricity, of which only 1 is CCS. Wife have now agreed a Model Y is a capable replacement to the Octavia in terms of internal space. I'm now waiting for Giga factory Berlin to start producing them for UK market.

The problem with some PHEV is that it burns dino juice for heating even if you have the range to do your thing plus ample heating. It doesn't have the hardware to drive on pure electric mode in all weathers. ICE is not as efficient as a proper heater neither it is as efficient at moving the car, it's a very compromised engineering to fit into a car. The root of the problem is that petrol/diesel are not a ready-to-use form of energy. Doing energy conversion in massive heating complex or power plants give the best efficiency. Whenever you scale things down you have to make compromises. What my wife does is turn on pre-conditioning when she's getting ready. When she goes out to the car, it's nice and toasty. Then toggle the demist if required. As EV's iterate through revisions, I'm sure we'll see more and more efficient AC+heating units that will allow automatic demisting. I was listening to Robert's latest news episode last night and I agree. Hybrids were relevant up to ~2017. Now we should be looking at pure electric for vast majority of cars. I think car industry is 3-5 years behind what is needed, UK charger network is 2-4 years behind.