Thread: EV general discussion

Originally Posted by Tombie

Charging power from solar… then “charged overnight”

So which is it???

A decent battery in an EV would wipe a household system empty by morning. Not to mention the losses of converting back and forth.

Nope. E-tradies will be a while off yet

Well a tradie could charge their van at home with a lot of solar, but they wouldn't be out getting many jobs done. Can't see the point really, unless charging at night from the grid.

Its not that simple.
As I'm sure you know, the cost equation is an overall picture involving both putting surplus power into the grid and drawing from the grid when necessary. Hundreds of thousands of people already do this.
A house with solar earns credits by putting surplus power into the grid during the day, and may also charge a home battery pack.
When an EV is plugged in to recharge it can draw from daytime solar, a home battery pack and the grid.
Once the EV is charged it becomes part of the home system.
If the home solar system is big enough it can be profitable.
Talked recently with friends with 15 kw of solar and 15 kw of batteries who have been off the grid for years, running three houses.
There's nothing new about this.


This is an interesting summary of the history of the EV, including the brief period when EVs outsold fossil fuel vehicles.

The lost history of the electric car – and what it tells us about the future of transport | Motoring | The Guardian

Exactly, its not that simple. How is a tradie supposed to charge the E-van from their solar and battery when they are out working in their E-van all day whilst the sun is shining on their home pv system?
As i said, they'll charge from the grid when they get home in the evening

Once surplus day time solar power becomes commonplace from the large scale plants, the feed in tariffs must decline towards Zero.
Aren't they already 2c per Kwh in WA?
Once people come off the attractive feed in tariffs of yesteryear they will get a shock when the next offer is made.
Regards PhilipA

Originally Posted by PhilipA

Once surplus day time solar power becomes commonplace from the large scale plants, the feed in tariffs must decline towards Zero.
Aren't they already 2c per Kwh in WA?
Once people come off the attractive feed in tariffs of yesteryear they will get a shock when the next offer is made.
Regards PhilipA

Tariffs have dropped, then risen again, but as the feed in tariff rises, so does the consumption tariff. Shop around and you can get 17c feed in, but consumption goes up to around 36c, ideally you want enough pv to cover your daytime consumption needs, and if you can afford it, to charge a battery as well, then drain that whilst the sun isn't shining.

Originally Posted by Vern

As i said, they'll charge from the grid when they get home in the evening

Thats if they get home,with the hopeless range they have ATM,home maybe sitting at a charging point somewhere(thats if you can find one,and its not being used by someone else),and waiting hours for it to charge,or on a tilt tray....

The tech still has a huge way to go before EV's are used as commercial vehicles.
The weight of the batteries will also be a huge issue,as it will reduce the payload of the vehicle.
Our work vans are not far off their GVM at the moment.

I have attached a report on the latest Toyota Mirai.
The thing that stuck out to me was that it carried 142L of hydrogen for a range of less than 700Km as this was an objective. You can see if you look at the video. Also the hydrogen tanks take up about 1/2 the vehicle and the generator is also pretty enormous.

Now a few weeks ago I read about a Hydrogen truck in California and it mentioned in specs what I thought to be an improbably small amount of Hydrogen. I think it was 350 l for a range of 500Km and the price was currently USD16 per litre.
I have to say that I believe Toyota before I believe the truck manufacturer. I would say that someone is fibbing.

Toyota Bet Against Electric Cars. Now It's Stacking the Deck Against Them (thedrive.com)
Regards PhilipA

Originally Posted by PhilipA

Toyota Bet Against Electric Cars. Now It's Stacking the Deck Against Them (thedrive.com)
Regards PhilipA

Yota are not silly,they did not become one of the biggest Auto manufacturers,or the biggest, just by falling out of bed.

They produce vehicles that sell in huge numbers,the ones the majority of people want.
In many countries Ev's are not selling well,for many reasons.Hybrids are the huge sellers,and they(Yota) have led the market with them for decades.
Europe is not one of their large markets,where Ev's are selling reasonably well,and suit the market.

My guess is they have Ev's ready to go,and will wait until they sell in droves,then will step in.Probably a smart business decision.
Just like Service stations in Aus, and charging points,they wont install them until over 15% of the vehicles on the roads are EV's.