The transition to EVs

[IT Minion]

That really is a fact.

I could currently use a hybrid. It's not entirely clear those will disappear. Software has always been part of my work and modelling vehicles has figured for a while. One option on a hybrid is a motor driving a generator. Pass on cost effectiveness etc but an EV can avoid the need for a gearbox and those are never that efficient and result in a significant power loss. I have also worked on EV controllers, no gear box so with the correct type of control a conventional gearbox isn't needed.

Early work that lacked suitable batteries but ok for feasibility and some usage but 1 tonne of lead acid batteries doesn't exactly help.

Plugins are the worst of both worlds. All the costs to build a low emission engine and most of the battery costs and even heavier.

The i3 range extender version was canned in Europe a while back as it was such a poor seller.

At first glance they seem great, it's only when you look harder you see how flawed they are.

 

[albaPhenom]

The new infrastructure will be a natural progression as we work to adapt to the changing number of EVs, this seems fairly obvious to me.

Following the ban on selling new ICE cars there will be a natural lifespan for the cars left including the 2nd hand market. However as the numbers dwindle, you’ll see a reversal of fortune with the number of charge points to fuel pumps… fuel prices will skyrocket due to the squeeze on demand as those cars become less viable.

The fossils who steadfastly refuse to move to EV will be a small minority of enthusiasts (like classic car collectors today) willing to put up with the expense and inconvenience.

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

Hybrids are as end of life as petrol and diesel according to the strategy.

Did I read somewhere that the hybrids are even less fuel efficient?

 

[transam]

Doubt emergency vehicles will move to leccy

armed forces vehicles

fire engines

ambulances

???

 

[transam]

My neighbour has a leccy car
He cannot charge it from his house as he cannot get his car close enough

he would need a massive extension lead so he has to charge it at his work or go to Sainsbury’s

 

[mitch66]

What about all the homes with 3,4 or more cars? 30 to 40 odd KW draw over night. My service, main fuse and meter are only good for 80 Amps. It's gonna take a while to upgrade millions of houses. Or do we leave our cars at the supermarket overnight? Talking to a guy in a N Grid planning department and he said they are decades away from even being able to supply 2 cars per house. Is that part of the plan, back to only one vehicle per house? The timescale talked about for leccy cars just don't add upto me.

 

[transam]

Perhaps all leccy cars will have to come with a portable petrol generator

 

[IT Minion]

Doubt emergency vehicles will move to leccy

armed forces vehicles

fire engines

ambulances

???

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/dec/24/uk-police-trial-tesla-model-3-electric-cars

 

[IT Minion]

What about all the homes with 3,4 or more cars? 30 to 40 odd KW draw over night. My service, main fuse and meter are only good for 80 Amps. It's gonna take a while to upgrade millions of houses. Or do we leave our cars at the supermarket overnight? Talking to a guy in a N Grid planning department and he said they are decades away from even being able to supply 2 cars per house. Is that part of the plan, back to only one vehicle per house? The timescale talked about for leccy cars just don't add upto me.

A wall charger typically does around 7kW. Or a single puny electric shower, and that'll fully charge practically any EV flat to full overnight. Do you really need four cars being fully charged every night?

Your contact might be right, but it's not about individual houses charging EVs, they must be thinking of something else

 

[transam]

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/dec/24/uk-police-trial-tesla-model-3-electric-cars

Oh well leccy fire engines on the horizon and the British army going all leccy

 

[IT Minion]

Oh well leccy fire engines on the horizon and the British army going all leccy

Fire engines would be fine. Big bloody batteries and generators available when needed. They're easy.

The services will lag behind but they're also very interested in renewables to reduce the logistics pipeline. They'll probably just buy carbon neutral fuel, or as it will be called in 2050+ 'fuel'.

 

[jeds]

The vast majority of houses can only manage one 7kw charge point and many can't even do that, but make no mistake, those that do will take a huge load off of public charge points.

Hybrid EVs are only any good for a certain pattern of usage but if you fall within that pattern they work out well. I do agree that a lot of people won’t make full use of them so for a lot of people they will be a waste.

 

[diy_fun_uk]

My neighbour has a leccy car
He cannot charge it from his house as he cannot get his car close enough

he would need a massive extension lead so he has to charge it at his work or go to Sainsbury’s

It's an interesting point. As I touched on earlier, in one area the council was piloting a scheme whereby they ran a channel across the pavement for the cable to slot into, thus no trip hazard. However as the presenter pointed out, it only works if you get parked immediately outside your house. The car owner agreed with this and said a few had been installed in the street for those with EVs. They'd created a WhatsApp group so they could do their best to communicate when one of the spaces was free. However, a channel like this outside more and more houses would look pants. Plus he only had a pavements width between his front gate and the car.

They also showed another pilot scheme whereby you could connect your car to an adapted lamppost. However it didn't work when the presenter tried it.

For all those that live in housing estates or streets where they simply can't park close to their house due to the design of the area, home charging will never be an option for EV owners. So yes, would need to be a public/work charging point.

 

[transam]

Afaik ??? Or recall

Prince Charles had his Aston Martin classic car converted to run on wine ???

years ago ???

 

[Alec_t]

Did I read somewhere that the hybrids are even less fuel efficient?

Perhaps it depends how you define 'fuel efficient'.
My charge-as-you-drive hybrid gives me about 2.5 times the mpg that my old petrol-only car did, despite having a 200cc larger petrol engine and a kerb weight ~80kg heavier.