Charging electric cars on Club sites.
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Overnight slow charge on EVs is generally 10 amp maximum which is fine for supplying from a Caravan external socket.
Concerning the safety risk from a crashed vehicle, would you rather approach a vehicle containing 10 gallons of highly flammable liquid which will ignite at the smallest spark or an EV with fully insulated terminals and connections.
Concerning power outages, doesn’t anybody remember tanker driver strikes and refinery blockages by road tanker drivers? Also, how about the Suez crisis? Supply of refined fuel is potentially more uncertain than electrical power. Just look at the logistics of getting fuel to petrol stations, oil production, pipelines, tankers, refineries, road transport, underground storage etc. compared with distribution of Electricity across existing networks.
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Concerning the safety risk from a crashed vehicle, would you rather approach a vehicle containing 10 gallons of highly flammable liquid which will ignite at the smallest spark or an EV with fully insulated terminals and connections.
If no fuel is leaking and everything looks OK, probably the petrol one. It is a lot more difficult to spot leaking electricity. Until of couse you touch it. 😖 Everything might have been well insulated before the crash, afterwards, who knows.
However, I posed the question because I feel it is something we may need to be concerned about as more and more EV's enter use. I can't say that I have seen any reports, re their safety in accidents, either way. The Marshalls at the Grand Prix had insulated gloves.
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Just look at the logistics of getting fuel to petrol stations, oil production, pipelines, tankers, refineries, road transport, underground storage etc. compared with distribution of Electricity across existing networks.
You need to make the electricity first though. Where is all this extra capacity going to come from. As I understand it available power generation is already stretched to capacity at certain times. Add on potentially millions of EV's and unless we do something fairly radical, the lights will go out. There are of couse currently slack times when there is over capacity, perhaps folk will only be able to charge at these times, which could be slightly inconvenient.
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The road fund licence is free for my new Smart Electric as it is for my existing Smart car.
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National Grid have done a number of extensive studies and are satisfied that the small additional capacity required can be accommodated within the existing networks.
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The Nat Grid does not see a problem to manage much before 3020
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I wouldn't worry too much about that, ocsid. Medical science may well in the future have the technology to re-build you too, ocsid. In a few years to come we could all become immortal!
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Thanks ET. That is a very interesting artical. Not exactly a small amount as hitchglich states. 3.5 to 8 GW by 2030. So at least the capacity of the Nuclear power station we are building. Which hopefully will be ready mid to late 20's. However, isn't this replacing phasing out of old plants.
The bit about the grid using car batteries to supply extra demand is interesting. Could be an issue when you jump in your car to go somewhere and find it only part charged. Although I assume they would use places like long term airport parking, where the cars aren't need for several weeks.
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Its the infrastructure for charging that is going to be expensive as the majority of owners will not have, as a large majority here, access to a charging point , and charging points that will be installed at other than domestic properties will probably need to be of the high capacity "fast charge",so will need an upgrade of the power supply to these places.
The boss of Stagecoach East buses has already stated that to have EV buses in Cambridge alone, will need a major upgrade of the supply to the City to cope,
There has had to be a major upgrade of the Power supply to the East Coast rail route from Kings Cross to cope with all the extra trains that now run, and a big Add load on the National Grid to cope with the new electric Railway out of Paddington,
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It just goes to show if countries (UK) pour money into subsidising renewables(payed for through our fuel bills)then it helps,but as also said we are useing too much of our natural gas reserves,which was not intended for making electricity when first "discovered"
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Yes we should not forget how fragile our mild climate is. Change salinity levels by increasing ice melt, switch off the North Atlantic Drift and we start to get very long sub zero winters and little or no summer. That would not be good for power consumption, crop growth or life in general. Always seems odd that global warming could well mean a much colder climate for us in the UK.
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Steve, just to put the matter straight you can't get a shock from an electric car (I wonder if the manufacturers think about safety?
) and F1 drivers are usually instructed to jump free where possible.Last night we were out in our EV, it didn't need a charge when we got home.
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"Steve, just to put the matter straight you can't get a shock from an electric car"
Possibly not quite correct.........
Here's the official advice to Emergency Services staff attending RTC's etc.......
http://www.hse.gov.uk/mvr/topics/electric-hybrid.htm
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Just thinking don't we live in cosy ignorance. I can think of a dozen reasons why energy supply could/would be interrupted. I guess a lot of us can remember lighting candles in the 1970's during the 3 day week. So from security of supply (including terrorism) to Solar interference and everything in between I don't think anything there are any guarantees.
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So far on this thread, only Conductive charging of EV's via cable has been discussed.
There is another method currently being developed and tested called "Static Inductive charging" where you simply park your suitably equipped EV over the inductive charging point on the road/drive/car-park. There is no negative impact to the City-scape as all devices are hidden in the ground.
A follow on from that, would obviously be "Dynamic Inductive En-Route charging", but that would involve considerable investment.
The future of personal and commercial transport is certainly very interesting.
K
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It is possible that we are facing a disruptive change in the transport market. Put together electric cars, driverless cars and a successor to the Uber technology alongside the increase in leasing rather than owning cars and you have an interesting future (albeit maybe a distant one).
Why would anyone want to own a car when parking on modern estates is impossible and the majority of cars are only used a tiny percentage of the day? Just call a car to pick you up and take you where you want to go. If that happens to be beyond the range of a single charge the system can arrange for another car to meet and take you on the next leg - no waiting for recharging.
Peek times such as rush hour could be an issue BUT the system could allow for car share with optimum routing.
Interesting times ahead.
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