Plug-In Hybrids Have No Future By Matt St-Pierre - June 26, 2019

Says who?

Not long ago hydrogen was the future. And nuclear before that. Pretty sure at some point in history it was flying carpets.

 

Because they're pretty much the most efficient way to store energy, even with our crappy battery tech level.(They can get better in other words, and they're already more efficient)

As for Hydrogen, I was never on that bandwagon, getting hydrogen from water takes as much energy as the hydrogen could produce. Cold fusion, maybe, if it ever becomes possible!

 

If we can get some more infrastructure in place, EVs can mostly charge with cheap renewable power when it's most available. For example, if there are enough chargers that everyone can be plugged in all day while at home and at work, the car can charge when power is cheapest. The utility can make power cheapest when they have an excess of wind or solar power.

Even if everyone suddenly switched to EVs, they don't really use that much more electricity than we use now. I think I saw a video where they calculated it would be about a 4% increase in total electricity demand if all commuting switched to EV in the US. That excludes things like commercial trucks, long drives, etc. 4% sounds a little low, but if anyone else wants to check the math you're welcome to.

My electric water heater and my dehumidifier each individually use more electricity than my car, and I have a 30 mile round trip commute (I'm assuming the total of how much I charge at work and at home). If I had central AC that would use far more.

My fridge uses about half as much electricity as my car. I replaced a few incandescent light bulbs with LED, and I calculated that saves enough to charge my car once a month. It's really not that much electricity to drive an EV.

I think I read the average US household uses 24 kwh per day. I assume 6 kwh per day for my commute.

 

Right now it costs me about 57 cents to charge my Prius. I honestly would prefer an electric vehicle, but the numbers don't add up. The infrastructure you talk about is a relic all ready. Who wants to wait around for hours to charge a car. I could envision a 10 min or less station type battery exchange, but the cost right now doesn't make sense with the United States the largest supplier of oil. So, the only way I see this EV vehicle in the future is some kind of mandatory government mandate. People won't stand for that especially if petro costs less than electricity. Each part of the United States is not equal when it comes to renewable energy. Humans are a fickle species and electric vehicles and global warming etc. is the flavor of the day. Tomorrow it will be something else. Best keep your options open and stay in the middle and see where the technology goes. PS if you didn't all ready know we are floating on trillions of debt. Most Americans live day to day. Mandating EV just not an option. We can't even keep the roads paved right now.

 

sounds more like a political rant than an ev argument

 

*Looks at Prime's 54mpg on gas*
Yup, his argument seems well researched.
/sarcasm

FIFY to the more likely future scenario.