EV Q&A
February 8th, 2010I’m not sure why Hasso Hering has it out for EVs, but he clearly does. In a recent editorial asking if “we can handle electric cars”, he complains about the fact that the political response is more study: “You get the drift: More committees, more initiatives, more studies, more big words.”
Then he turns around and suggests that we need a bunch of answers to questions about EVs.
You can’t have it both ways.
Perhaps I can help him, however, having been driving an EV here in Corvallis for nearly 4 years, and in Portland for a year or two previous to that:
Q: Suppose I get an electric vehicle for quick trips around town, but if that’s the only vehicle I can afford, how do I make trips of more than 100 miles or so?
A: If that’s the only vehicle you can afford, you can get a plugable hybrid (e.g. the Chevy Volt coming out late this year), you rent an ICE (Internal Combustion Engine) car, or you will just have to wait for technology to improve, which it is doing at a phenomenal rate at the moment. Low end and/or used EVs suitable for low speed city driving can be had relatively inexpensively however.
Q: If ODOT puts in charging stations at all the rest areas on the freeway, how long do I have to wait around there for a charge to be complete so I can continue on my way?
A: That is one of the areas where technology is improving and a key factor for pure EV technology to become viable as an exclusive transportation means. Because we’re not there yet doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be planning for it and taking the first steps, particularly as it’s useful for hybrid technology in the interim. Even so, the Nissan Leaf, coming out in a couple of years (and in limited rollouts sooner) is supposed to do an 80% charge in half an hour. Not ideal, but not unmanageable either.
Q: How would they handle congestion at public charging stations if even 10 percent of the traffic runs on battery power and each charging session takes, say, an hour or two?
A: That is indeed something that is going to have to be addressed, but doesn’t seem like a gating factor when you consider that, unlike liquid fueled cars, you don’t *have* to gas up at a public station. Most EVs will be “fueled” at the destination and only cross country trips will require “gas stations”. I would expect that in cities, parking meters will become charging stations where you pay for a charge and your parking space at the same time. The amount of electricity needed is so low that the cost of the charging station is likely dominate the parking charge, and I would expect build-out to ramp up to meet demand. People will likely often choose to wait until they get home to charge, reducing the problem.
Q: What happens to electric vehicles that get caught in tie-ups on the freeway, the kind where you can’t turn off the engine but have to spend an hour or so moving ahead a few feet at a time?
A: Electric motors don’t work like ICE: if you’re not moving, they’re not consuming power, and they don’t consume very much at all when moving slowly. Stop and go traffic is very EV friendly, however unfriendly it is to the passengers.
Q: If these kinds of considerations make it impractical or unlikely that households could rely on electric vehicles alone, how could most people afford an additional rig for just short errands around town?
A: How many families have two (or more) cars already? A large percentage I’d wager. And I’d also wager that it’s a rare thing where all need to be long range vehicles. Reset your trip meter first thing in the morning, just after noting the value for the previous day’s ventures. That’s your worst case, not counting “opportunity charging” options, range requirement. Particularly in Corvallis, it’s just not going to be an issue. My EV is particularly short ranged, and I’ve had to switch to my ICE maybe twice in the 4 years I’ve been here (and at least once was more for comfort than need), and the only time I drive my ICE otherwise is when I’m leaving town.
Q: If they can afford them, where would the extra vehicles be parked, since the garages are already full with the cars they have and can’t do without?
A: How many people actually put cars in their garages as it is? Really, if that were the biggest problem we had to worry about, gas would already be history. Countering misinformation is a far bigger problem.
