Electric cars 2

To get the electric car discussion back on topic.

I said my main concern was how I would charge my car as I live in a terraced Street looks like they are going to get round it one way or another.


Scroll down page to video http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...-Britain-s-streets.html#v-3065680768486886602

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One advantage of electric cars at the moment if you are an Ecotricity customer is that charging on motorways is free. A friend of mine has a Nissan Leaf and he went from Preston to Glasgow for free.

I live in a very rural area but it is surprising how many of these charging points I see. Noticed them at the national trust property, outside the local hall (used to run burger van) they even have one at my wife's work because the grounds staff have a electric buggy.

Charging points are only conspicuous by their absence, around here - I can't say that I've ever noticed one. When they do appear, I hope they are treated with the same contempt as the first fixed speed cameras.

Gunge said:

Charging points are only conspicuous by their absence, around here - I can't say that I've ever noticed one. When they do appear, I hope they are treated with the same contempt as the first fixed speed cameras.

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And I thought Chippy intended this to be a serious discussion.

There are about 11.5 million diesel cars in the UK.
Assume that each covers about 6000 miles p.a. (which is below the average )
If all of those were EVs and required a charge every 200 miles that is about 345 million charges per year.
Assume that half of these are carried out away from home and that each charge point provides an average of 24 charges per day.
That requires about 40,000 charge points across the country.
And that only provides for diesel cars, let alone diesel commercial vehicles doing big mileages, and all the petrol cars.
Doable?

I think so, they have a few years to sort it and as has already been said batteries are getting better so will not need charging as frequently as they do in electric cars today.

We have recently had two charging points installed in one of our pay and display car parks I pass it several times a day and have never seen a car using it.

BarnBrian said:

And I thought Chippy intended this to be a serious discussion.

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I am being serious - these things must not be allowed to proliferate. We can stop this lunacy before it gets out of control.

Gunge said:

I am being serious - these things must not be allowed to proliferate. We can stop this lunacy before it gets out of control.

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You're ok for proliferation with drilling rigs for fracking around the countryside but charging points in car parks etc are not what you want. Hmmmm

BarnBrian said:

You're ok for proliferation with drilling rigs for fracking around the countryside but charging points in car parks etc are not what you want. Hmmmm

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Rather a few drilling rigs than twenty million sodding wind turbines. In fact they could treble that and it'd still not be enough to keep the Noddy cars going. Be a right laff on calm days which, despite popular misconception, are the norm.

Hydrogen fuel cell and there are cars running on salt water. I was looking into it and was around 150,000$ to fit out a large house in the USA. That would supply enough fuel to run your car once paid for. Eventually the prices will come down and its non polluting. I forget the guys name but he has had his house open to the public for the last 5 years or so.
"At CES 2015, Toyota announced it would make 5,680 patents related to fuel cell drive systems available as a means to help other automakers build fuel cell cars."
https://www.cnet.com/roadshow/news/toyota-kickstarting-fuel-cell-future-with-patent-release/

Not seen it mentioned on anything but if they standardised batteries you could have places where you swap yours for a charged one instead of having to charge it. Obviously there would have to be a system where you rent your battery instead of owning it and there likely currently a bit big but its an idea that makes sense to me.

What happens to all the people who wish to tow something?

As far as I am aware, NONE of the all-electric cars currently on sale gives a "Towing Limit".

When looking into this matter, I came across this article.

https://www.outandaboutlive.co.uk/c.../your-tow-car-and-its-future-with-electricity

It was written before the latest "All Electric" pronouncement and waxes lyrical about the weight of hybrid and all-electric cars. It then links this weight to the legal requirements for towing but fails to point out that electric cars aren't apparently designed to tow anything.

PS

Before anyone says "Good!" to the lack of towing capacity I refer you to a Radio Phone-In show that I heard a few years back.

The general talk was about the massive build up of traffic jams in the UK being caused by roadworks and the sheer volume of modern traffic.

There was the usual raft of moaning gits then the programme announcer took a phone call from a man who stated:

"I don't know what the problem is. I drive almost every day of the week and over the years I have driven in almost every area of the UK. I travel about ten thousand miles a year and in all my time as a driver I have never been delayed by a traffic jam and I have never been slowed down by the weight of traffic. If you want a clear road ahead of you I suggest that you tow a caravan like I do." :whistle::whistle:

I doubt not being able to tow will put many off buying an electric car at the moment and I am sure they will sort this in the next 20 years.

Chippy_Tea said:

I doubt not being able to tow will put many off buying an electric car at the moment and I am sure they will sort this in the next 20 years.

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Come on now, you MUST have seen "Tomorrows World" on TV!

About 90% of what they proposed would happen "in the next 20 years" turned out to be a pipe-dream.

I will be happy to be proved wrong, but I believe that the massive improvements required for electric motors and batteries won't happen ...

... but by then, the general public will have been fed so many doom and gloom stories and false promises that they will accept whatever is foisted upon them.

Just by building more cycle tracks in and around cities, the government would improve our environment NOW; and it would have the side effect of improving the nation's health! :thumb:

Dutto said:

Come on now, you MUST have seen "Tomorrows World" on TV!

About 90% of what they proposed would happen "in the next 20 years" turned out to be a pipe-dream.

I will be happy to be proved wrong, but I believe that the massive improvements required for electric motors and batteries won't happen ...

... but by then, the general public will have been fed so many doom and gloom stories and false promises that they will accept whatever is foisted upon them.

Just by building more cycle tracks in and around cities, the government would improve our environment NOW; and it would have the side effect of improving the nation's health! :thumb:

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I do believe a lot of what you say is true about the technological advances required. :thumb:
However as far as your last sentence is concerned, I really wish someone would build a few off road cycle tracks around here for all the lycra clad riders on expensive sports bikes that festoon our narrow winding country lanes every weekend, trying to be the next Froome or Boardman, but in the process hold everybody up and create hazardous conditions for themselves and others.

simon12 said:

Not seen it mentioned on anything but if they standardised batteries you could have places where you swap yours for a charged one instead of having to charge it. Obviously there would have to be a system where you rent your battery instead of owning it and there likely currently a bit big but its an idea that makes sense to me.

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Not sure how easy it is to change the batteries at the moment. In the Formula E races, the charge only lasts for half the race and it is easier and quicker for the driver to jump into a second car than change the battery due to its size and ease of access (I think its part of the chassis on the race cars).

Presumably the technology will advance at great pace now that a 'deadline' has been set so this will be an option for those not wanting to wait/have a coffee while their car is charging.

Like others, I am yet to see any charging points in my area (but I'm not actively looking for them either!).

simon12 said:

Not seen it mentioned on anything but if they standardised batteries you could have places where you swap yours for a charged one instead of having to charge it. Obviously there would have to be a system where you rent your battery instead of owning it and there likely currently a bit big but its an idea that makes sense to me.

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Much as logic dictates that standardised batteries are by far the best way forward, I honestly can't see that happening. Motor manufacturers will be doing their best to ensure that we are locked into their batteries with the commercial advantages that brings. The mandate to have standardisation will have to come from government, not just in the UK, but worldwide, and that won't happen either. I do hope I'm proved wrong though.

I once drove battery-powered reach trucks whose batteries had to be changed with an unlikely looking swinging hoist affair that took about twenty minutes. Only used batteries in the first place to avoid fume build up in the enclosed environment they were operated in. Let's just stick to petrol and diesel. It ain't gonna run out anytime soon and who gives a **** about pollution anyway except hypocrites who can't resist mounting the moral high-horse. Ain't that so, Charlie? You young uns know nuthin' about pollution - you weren't around when all homes had a coal fire using full-fat coal, not emancipated coke and the like. Today's pollution, cars and all, pales into insignificance. And it never did us any harm.

When I was a lad batteries were rubbish compared to today's versions then came long life batteries followed by rechargeable batteries, rechargable batteries last a lot longer than they used to when they first arrived in the shops so I see no reason why this trend will not continue over the next twenty years.

I have seen a video on the internet that shows a vehicle pulling into a service station and the battery pack is lowered from the under side and replaced with a fully charged pack this takes no longer than filling with fuel so maybe that's the way forward.