The fact that an 8 hour roadtrip becomes almost 10 hours solely because you have to charge multiple times is the reason EV adoption is slowing rapidly. pic.twitter.com/yCdfC5d7MU

— Ethan (@EZebroni) June 16, 2024

Is it worth it?

Another question that I have heard asked but not really addressed, is the actual power usage during charging period for all the planned EV purchases.. ERCOT is already warning of probability of rolling blackouts during summer heatwaves...IIRC, they asked customers to cut power consumption during those times..even to the point of not using appliances...all the way down to hairdryers...With the rapidly increasing demand on our power grid due to MANY factors..where is power coming from to charge all the EV's currently planned to hit the market by major auto makers?

I've also read that insurance for an EV has been higher and higher every renewal. Driving 8 hours is impossible for old folks like us so I have no problem waiting 30 minutes for a charge. My question would be how difficult is it to find working EV stations and how long do you have to wait in line to charge?

As to your question about the power grid that is another concern. But if EV sales are slowing that may become less of a concern but we all know the grid is iffy regardless.

Aliceinbubbleland said:

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I've also read that insurance for an EV has been higher and higher every renewal. Driving 8 hours is impossible for old folks like us so I have no problem waiting 30 minutes for a charge. My question would be how difficult is it to find working EV stations and how long do you have to wait in line to charge?

As to your question about the power grid that is another concern. But if EV sales are slowing that may become less of a concern but we all know the grid is iffy regardless.

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Alice, I think car insurance in general has now skyrocketed to nosebleed levels for all vehicles..You're correct in driving 8 hours for me ain't happening anytime soon, but neither is paying the price for a new EV...China is selling them in Mexico now...I've read Chinese cars account for 10 percent or so of new car sales there, and EV's are growing their percentage of sales nicely..Some of the Chinese EV's start around 10K...That helps greatly... Edit: While power is always a concern in every nation, Mexico isn't quite as regulated as the US in their fuel sources for power generation..They also have a much bigger current issue, that being potable water..Mexico City is in dire straits regarding drinking water...i think we'll be hearing a lot about that very soon..

I don't own one. (Yet) it makes sense for me because I live in the city and never make 8 hour drives. If I had to go as to Tulsa and couldn't fly, I'd rent.

I see charging at home as a huge convenience.

Evs make it difficult to travel to lesser populated areas in Texas because you have to plan your route around charging vs gas, where one can just hop in and drive.

Evs seem nice if it's a secondary car and you have a gas backup. Would not own one as my only form of transportation.

With the demand on our Texas power grid growing exponentially, I hope our Austin band of sharpies sees fit to actually increase our supply of electricty in the near future...and not just issue "edicts" with no teeth that have no real enforcement power...Ecuador just had a nationwide outage this week..said by some due to ignoring the needs of their grid system...If weather forecasts for the Texas summer pan out, it will be interesting to see if we avoid rolling blackouts.....Here's the Ecuador story ...... https://edition.cnn.com/2024/06/19/americas/ecuador-nationwide-blackout-intl-latam/index.html

I don't believe Texas has a power generation problem (as long as the facilities themselves aren't impacted like the non-weatherized gas valves showed during Snowpocalypse). The limiting factor, currently, is the infrastructure. The power lines themselves cannot withstand the amount of energy required.

What happens is, the more energy they're asking to move, the hotter they get. Heat makes them sag. If they sag too much, bad things happen. Part of the power station operator's job is to ensure this doesn't happen - even if they still have power left to put on the line.

The good news is that a fix for this is a simple (!) matter of changing out the 1930's technology cables for newer, more heat tolerant lines (metallurgy and geometry are fun) that could increase capacities by around 90%. That's without building new towers, new runs, or digging trenches.
The bad news is that the owner of the lines doesn't get reimbursed for capital building projects at the same rate that they do for repairs.As long as the grid is technically working, they have no incentive to improve it.

Mr Tulip said:

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I don't believe Texas has a power generation problem (as long as the facilities themselves aren't impacted like the non-weatherized gas valves showed during Snowpocalypse). The limiting factor, currently, is the infrastructure. The power lines themselves cannot withstand the amount of energy required.

What happens is, the more energy they're asking to move, the hotter they get. Heat makes them sag. If they sag too much, bad things happen. Part of the power station operator's job is to ensure this doesn't happen - even if they still have power left to put on the line.

The good news is that a fix for this is a simple (!) matter of changing out the 1930's technology cables for newer, more heat tolerant lines (metallurgy and geometry are fun) that could increase capacities by around 90%. That's without building new towers, new runs, or digging trenches.
The bad news is that the owner of the lines doesn't get reimbursed for capital building projects at the same rate that they do for repairs.As long as the grid is technically working, they have no incentive to improve it.

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Good points.Mr. T...I would point out that the last request from ERCOT a month or so ago told of plants being offline for unscheduled maintenance...Happens I guess...sorry to stray off OP's thread on EV's..Just finish by opining that it always seems the plant operators point at suppliers..suppliers point at generation units. everybody points at infrastructure, and nothing gets done...still...and by definition, you get a clusterxxxk.

Mr Tulip said:

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I don't believe Texas has a power generation problem (as long as the facilities themselves aren't impacted like the non-weatherized gas valves showed during Snowpocalypse). The limiting factor, currently, is the infrastructure. The power lines themselves cannot withstand the amount of energy required.

What happens is, the more energy they're asking to move, the hotter they get. Heat makes them sag. If they sag too much, bad things happen. Part of the power station operator's job is to ensure this doesn't happen - even if they still have power left to put on the line.

The good news is that a fix for this is a simple (!) matter of changing out the 1930's technology cables for newer, more heat tolerant lines (metallurgy and geometry are fun) that could increase capacities by around 90%. That's without building new towers, new runs, or digging trenches.
The bad news is that the owner of the lines doesn't get reimbursed for capital building projects at the same rate that they do for repairs.As long as the grid is technically working, they have no incentive to improve it.

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Common sense like the post above just escapes the politicians in charge of our nation.

My only real experience with "EV" comes from the battery powered ZTR lawnmower I own. It's an EGO 42" and exactly perfect for what I do, which is maintaining my own 2/3acre plus my mom's Woodway yard. Frankly, the physics of turning stored electrical energy into rotational energy to be used by blades and wheels is a lot more straightforward than turning chemical energy stored in combustible fluids. IC engines need fuel, air, cooling, and exhaust before even beginning to turn a shaft.

To me, the benefits of EV are mechanical before even considering environmental impacts. That's not to say those impacts should be dismissed. The earth is to a point where those impacts have to be addressed. Electrical power just eliminates so many sources of failure.

I'm very intrigued with VW's forthcoming ID.Buzz recreation of the iconic microbus. I have really big dogs and play really big instruments. Moving them around is why I use a vehicle of that size. The minivan is reliable, but is looking for retirement.

I've learned to pause, so if there's a charger available, and I gotta spend 30 minutes eating a sandwich and chilling while it works its magic, I'm OK with that. Most days, it'd just charge at the house. However, if I wanted to take it out over 300 miles (that'd be rare), I'd like to have some options. Building out charging infrastructure is a classic "chicken and egg" issue. EVs won't proliferate until there's commercial charging widely available, and the charging can't grow until there's a need.

I've often wondered if home charging adds a lot to my already over the moon electricity bill

New article on growth of Texas power demand...Good read, https://www.texastribune.org/2024/06/20/texas-electricity-demand-forecast-ercot/