The irony here is off the chart

[Por_sha911]

First Karlifornia decided to ban selling ICE cars by 2035 (and pro-EV folks wonder why we think this agenda is being shoved down our throat). But wait, there's more!

Today, the state power energy operator has encouraged owners of EV's to not charge up their cars when it is needed most because the system can't handle the demand due to a heat wave! (like there are never heat waves in KA?)
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/gop-leader-slams-ca-power-operator-discouraging-ev-charging-during-heatwave-vote-ban-gas-cars

So, lets look at this:
-They want everyone to use only EV's.
-They are enacting laws that will eventually push citizens to not have an ICE. -The CA infrastructure is already not able to handle the current demand other than in optimal conditions.
-There are no current plans or funding (can you say "massive tax increases"?) to upgrade the power grid to meet the normal increase of power demand coming on top of the huge demand for more power when more people go to EV.

You can't make this stuff up. How do these lawmakers do these things with a straight face? Why do residents stay there (on top of all the other problems)?

Before you whine about someone bashing your beloved state, please take a hard look at these things and give us some realistic reasons why CA isn't full out cray cray.

Please don't give us fairy tales about how technology will change. What if it doesn't and who will pay for it?
"Hey Jim, why are you speeding up? Can't you see the bridge up ahead has collapsed?
"Oh don't worry Fred, they'll come up with technology so that this car can fly before we get there".

[MysticLlama]

Why is 4-9pm when it is needed most to charge an electric car?

[Scott R]

Originally Posted by MysticLlama

Why is 4-9pm when it is needed most to charge an electric car?

For me, that's just when I'm usually done using mine and I plug it in. If I go to the store or, hockey practice after work I come home and drop it on the charger. Normally it's two plus hours to top it off. Here I don't need to bother scheduling the charge for later since the per/kw rate is the same regardless. Don't know if it gets cheaper in California off-peak though.

I know range anxiety figures in with a lot of peoples charging habits though. I always want a full charge, and leave it plugged into the wall all of the time like the manual says. But my wife will drive the thing down to 20 miles before she charges it.

[rusnak]

Never mind the distribution grid. Where is all of the electricity going to come from 24/7?

[island911]

Originally Posted by MysticLlama

Why is 4-9pm when it is needed most to charge an electric car?

Yeah, I would expect most are like Scott - want to get it on the home charger when they get home, and have it charged full in the morning.

IDK, do most home chargers have a delay to charge option?

[flatbutt]

Originally Posted by rusnak

Never mind the distribution grid. Where is all of the electricity going to come from 24/7?

Unicorns will deliver it?

[Scott R]

Originally Posted by island911

Yeah, I would expect most are like Scott - want to get it on the home charger when they get home, and have it charged full in the morning.

IDK, do most home chargers have a delay to charge option?

For Tesla (the only one I know) you can schedule the charge on the dash or on the app.

[MysticLlama]

Yes, most cars can just be set with a start charging time, or a please be ready by x time (I'm less of a fan of this one since the leaving early thing could come up for sure.)

My normal charge level is 80%, and a commute to the office and back takes about 20%. So just setting it to not charge until midnight is really no big deal. I'd still just plug it in when I got home.

Just this Sunday I left Chelan w/98% charge (gained from a 120v 20A outlet at the in-laws)

Stopped 20 min out of town for 10 min because wife needed to put gas in the other car. Just waited.

Stopped in another hour and a half because my aunt/uncle wanted a bathroom/coffee break, charged for 10min (15kwh/$6.75) because we were there.
Got home ~180 miles total later with 36% battery left.

Plugged it in for about 45 minutes or so, left to go to the store for a bit.

Came back, plugged it in for about 30 minutes or so, left to go get dinner (was in the 55% range now)

Came back from dinner, plugged it in and it was 80% in the morning like normal again.

It's just really not that big of a deal, could have still done all of that driving with the 10min charge and had 20% left and could have charged at midnight.

[pwd72s]

Ideals over practicality....chasing rainbows, anyone?

[rfuerst911sc]

Can Amazon deliver electricity ? 😁 . Regardless of EV's our country needs a major overhaul of many aging and decrepit infrastructure . We need a lot of work to be done to keep us as a super power just within our borders . Plenty of broken down roads/bridges/electric grids/drinking water etc etc .

[GH85Carrera]

The infrastructure should be rebuilt, and enhanced by the utility itself, with money they get from the customers. Not a bunch of new taxes on everything else.

Every city, and state need to pay up to provide more electrical generation capacity. Wind power and solar is a help, but useless on calm days and at night. The USA must, simply has to build more power plants that can cope with peaks of demand, and the power generation turned down when the demand is lower. That really should be nuclear. Zero carbon emissions, and the new thorium plants make little waste, and no possibility of making a bomb from it.

The current leaders need to wake up, and start planning for the next dozen generations. That is the real challenge.

[Deschodt]

You forgot one stupid thing - CA is trying to shut down its Diablo nuclear power plant, making that power shortage even worse..

That said people normally charge 11PM-6AM when the rates are super low, I am on an EV plan with PGE - I should say I was, I went solar and PGE can kiss my $$$...

I view this 2035 mandate as an incentive - and that alone. I believe within the next 10y, we'll either have been wiped off the planet by the PlatypusPox, or live in caves thanks to Putin's nukes, or more cheerfully will have figured out better batteries that do not pollute so much in mining minerals, have upgraded to nuclear microgrids, or...reason will prevail and it'll be a mix/match of cleaner fuels for ICE and hybrids and better electric cars.. Just the charging situation is not viable for non home owners.

[stomachmonkey]

Everyone is making an EV these days.

The advances we will see in a decade plus will be driven by competition amongst the auto makers.

Same as we see with MPG driving purchase decisions we will see the same with efficiency in not only range but also in charging.

You'll have lighter cars, more efficient motors, better charging tech.

The impact of an EV that you buy 10 years from now will most certainly be demonstrably less than the EV you bought today.

You will also see growth in another market, PowerWalls.

You can store solar all day and charge at night and never touch the grid.

Current Powerwall 2 can maintain a Tesla off solar alone if you are only driving 100+ miles per day.

It's entirely possible for EV's to not only have zero impact on todays grid but actually have less demand on todays grid a decade down the road.

[Scott R]

Originally Posted by stomachmonkey

Everyone is making an EV these days.

The advances we will see in a decade plus will be driven by competition amongst the auto makers.

Same as we see with MPG driving purchase decisions we will see the same with efficiency in not only range but also in charging.

You'll have lighter cars, more efficient motors, better charging tech.

The impact of an EV that you buy 10 years from now will most certainly be demonstrably less than the EV you bought today.

You will also see growth in another market, PowerWalls.

You can store solar all day and charge at night and never touch the grid.

Current Powerwall 2 can maintain a Tesla off solar alone if you are only driving 100+ miles per day.

It's entirely possible for EV's to not only have zero impact on todays grid but actually have less demand on todays grid a decade down the road.

It's two Powerwall 2's minimum to charge and run the rest of the house, and we get a lot of sun here. in reality, I need three if we go to a second EV, you can daisy chain up to four currently.

[stomachmonkey]

Originally Posted by Scott R

It's two Powerwall 2's minimum to charge and run the rest of the house, and we get a lot of sun here. in reality, I need three if we go to a second EV, you can daisy chain up to four currently.

There will be competition in the charging space with solutions specific to maintaining EV's.

There will be more options than just the current Power Wall is the take away there.

EV's can be maintained off the grid.

[Scott R]

Originally Posted by stomachmonkey

There will be competition in the charging space with solutions specific to maintaining EV's.

There will be more options than just the current Power Wall is the take away there.

I'm dubious about that, in the decade that I've been using solar and batteries there has really been no significant improvement. No quantum leap. And someone can correct me, but I don't think there has been one in decades.

[Baz]

What happens if you are on the road and your car's battery runs out of juice?

Call a service to come give you a charge - or tow to a charging station?

Can you carry an emergency source of energy?

Do these cars have a reserve?

Thanks!

[stomachmonkey]

Originally Posted by Scott R

I'm dubious about that, in the decade that I've been using solar and batteries there has really been no significant improvement. No quantum leap. And someone can correct me, but I don't think there has been one in decades.

Demand drives innovation.

Drawing a line in the sand creates incentive for capital investment to innovate.

Reality is the line in the sand has already been drawn by consumers who are validating the demand.

Innovation, not just in batteries but across all tech, has already happened.

That we've not seen it is more a function of economics.

There is plenty of stuff sitting on shelves that can be done today but won't really be marketable till some time down the road when it becomes profitable.

It's always been that way.

https://www.cnet.com/roadshow/news/the-new-batteries-that-will-make-you-an-electric-car-believer/

[stomachmonkey]

Originally Posted by Baz

What happens if you are on the road and your car's battery runs out of juice?

Same as with gas, you no go anywhere.

Call a service to come give you a charge - or tow to a charging station?

Yes.

Can you carry an emergency source of energy?

Probably not, well you can but it's impractical.

Do these cars have a reserve?

Tesla 5-15 miles after it reads empty. Not very generous but still yes.

[aigel]

Plug in hybrids and hydrogen fuel cars are still allowed too. So, if you still have range anxiety, you can get one of those.

I was all up in arms about smog checks and pollution control until I moved to LA.

Do we know what's happening for commercial vehicles including long haul trucks?

I think Stomachmonkey is correct, EVs in 10 years will be a lot different from today. And CA has a **** ton of sun, so point of use creation will be a big part for all of suburbia. And there is a LOT of suburbia.