Featured VW Site "Electrify America"

Given the deployment versatility of EV chargers, locations could include:

• Multi-family homes (e.g., apartment complexes)

Hmm. Since that would certainly be a big perk over the competition, how would they decide which complex gets them? I would think unbuilt projects still in the design phase would be the cheapest installation.

 

how many stations does 2 billion buy? i'm thinking shopping area's along major routes.

 

I've seen quotes of $60k to $100k for a DC fast charger. Even if higher, two billion will buy a lot.

 

20,000 spread around the country? it can't hurt. i suppose you need banks of 5 or 10, but that should be cheaper.

 

I would include a mix of L2, 40A @240VAC, because they can be installed for $6-10k at shopping centers. Suddenly these become assets to encourage shopping and restaurants. But to get maximum gain, equipment free with the circuits provided by the center with a 10 year, no electrical charge, condition.

My experiments have show a fast DC charger is of limited utility. The problem is the car has to be pretty well drained and the taper at the end looks more like an L2 charger load. So let the chargers become more wide spread supporting shopping centers.

Bob Wilson

 

but if the end game is 2 and 300+ mile bev's, won't they charge 80% much faster on the dc chargers?

 

Faster, yes, and critical to being able to handle cross country, long range travel. But I also remember being in 'fly-over' towns like Stillwater OK and not finding a single L2 charger.

Looking around Huntsville we have a sparse charging infrastructure. But there is no charging infrastructure in all but one town within EV commuting range:

I'm covered because the REx with an 80 mile range means we can hop between truck stops and go any distance we need. But within the EV range circle: Scottsboro (East), Culman (SW), Arab (S), Florence (W), Ardmore (NW), and Fayetteville (N), these towns and cities have no charging infrastructure outside of Decatur (W) and there only because of dealers.

If the goal is to increase EV sales in an area, the local towns have to become EV friendly. Making the Interstates into EV paths is nice but only 1.8k of 10k miles in the last 6 months have been highway and REx supported. Around town, 8.2k miles have been 'in real life' of which about 1/3d are on chargers away from home. So I'm in favor of building out an area and THEN placing the high-speed, DC chargers between these areas.

Bob Wilson

 

Do note that CARB is apparently putting pressure on Volkswagen to spend some of this $2 billion on hydrogen infrastructure: VW opens 'Electrify America' site for comment on $2 billion charging plan

That'll blow it very quickly...

 

with 200 mile bev's coming quickly and prices continuing to drop, what percentage of drivers need public charging for their daily routine?

 

Daily...not many at all, though I do see some power commuters who would. My personal hesitation is that I also use my car for road trips where I put on over a thousand miles in a day. That would be nearly impossible if I needed to stop for 3+ hours to charge.

 

That's incredibly extreme example and to the point of becoming unsafe. I know because I've BTDT three times in my life and I could have easily rented instead (did on one occasion) and put all those miles on someone else's vehicle.

 

Here is the Dec 8, CARB/California presentation: https://www.arb.ca.gov/board/books/2016/120816/16-11-1pres.pdf

My concern is the California proposal emphasizes disadvantaged communities. I think it makes more sense to look at 'charger density in communities' which has a similar effect. I don't get too worried about the fuel-cell as much as a model showing how many EV miles per $ investment in a particular charging system. Something along the lines of:

EV_merit = (EV_miles * Users) / (cost_of_station + operational_cost)​

Overall, I like the outline of the VW plan. I would suggest trying part as a cost-sharing system so local folks put in part: (1) circuits, and (2) commit to "n" year, free charging. This has the advantage of leveraging the VW investment so it goes further.

Bob Wilson

 

Between the increasing range of new BEVs and PHEVs, low speed, in town chargers become less and less useful over time. Nice to have, but I wouldn't get a BEV unless it could handle my regular daily use on one charge from home. Relying on public Level 2 chargers for that is asking to get stranded at times.

 

that's why i think highway chargers are more important, at least for the future.

 

I would Bolt if I could persuade my wife. The Bolt would cover 95%+ of my trips, maybe half my miles. But then she'd want to keep her Avalon or its like and so our overall MPG computed including our two cars might not drop much at all. I need the utility of the v and the MPG of the Bolt and v to persuade me.

 

I suppose I should read all the threads subsequent but I'll go ahead & post anyways. Trump (not to get political) just appointed a serious oily representative as his chief mucky-muck. Just saying I hope this doesn't throw a monkey wrench into the works.

 

oh fred, here we come.

 

Be positive . . . It was just a thought . . .