Electric cars

[Neil Ives]

In a future where all vehicles are electrically powered it would seem to be possible to have mass control of the vehicle's speed. On motorways in the UK for instance vehicles could be controlled to not exceed 70mph. If there was an obstruction or a traffic accident or sheep on the road, all vehicles would be slowed right down.

Also, automatic distancing could be implemented.

A vehicle reported stolen could easily be immobilised.

Police persuits would be a thing of the past; the police would just send a signal to the central control unit and the chased vehicle would glide to a halt, with the doors locked.

Are you scared yet?

I wonder if some of the gizmo's on modern cars, such as ACC, are being developed to get us used to these ideas.

[culzean]

Just seen an article which asks the question 'will electric vehicles destroy the value of terraced houses ?'. Until the problem of on-street charging in crowded urban areas is solved it could destroy the value of terraced houses and most of the modern houses that are crammed together and do not have a garden, let alone a parking space ( they sometimes have a communal parking area with designated parking space near to them ).

[Neil Ives]

Just seen an article which asks the question 'will electric vehicles destroy the value of terraced houses ?'. Until the problem of on-street charging in crowded urban areas is solved it could destroy the value of terraced houses and most of the modern houses that are crammed together and do not have a garden, let alone a parking space ( they sometimes have a communal parking area with designated parking space near to them ).

In my opinion, the problem of charging points will be one of the reasons that fully electric vehicles will not completely take over. I have hopes for hydrogen as a fuel.

I was told that to have fast vehicle charging you need to have an expensive heavy-duty supply provided to the premesis; the normal domestic supply will not carry the current.

[Kremmen]

Very true.

Only new builds will have the amperage wiring. I think the current 'boards fuse' is 60A and some fast chargers are 48A. Under the max but still a lot of heat may be generated, but I'm no expert.

I'd be quite happy with a 13A granny charger, assuming I get another car when they are only electric.

[richardfrost]

This is just a transition stage. Before you know it, filling up with electrons will be just like filling up with petrol, at fuel stations. On street charging with cables across the pavement is clearly a non starter. I had my mate round yesterday who is working on this and he amazed me with the progress being made. Did you know there are over 200 electric car brands in China, and the biggest is bigger than Tesla? Within ten years, most cars will be electric and will come from China or Chinese companies. They will have 200 mile+ batteries and recharge in minutes.

Right now, the car that makes most sense to me is a plug in hybrid. No range anxiety and can spend the vast majority of it's time pooling around on EV and being recharged on my drive from a mains plug.

[culzean]

This is just a transition stage. Before you know it, filling up with electrons will be just like filling up with petrol, at fuel stations. On street charging with cables across the pavement is clearly a non starter. I had my mate round yesterday who is working on this and he amazed me with the progress being made. Did you know there are over 200 electric car brands in China, and the biggest is bigger than Tesla? Within ten years, most cars will be electric and will come from China or Chinese companies. They will have 200 mile+ batteries and recharge in minutes.

Right now, the car that makes most sense to me is a plug in hybrid. No range anxiety and can spend the vast majority of it's time pooling around on EV and being recharged on my drive from a mains plug.

Quite ironic then that China gets most of its electricity from coal fired power stations, and no promise from them to reduce their usage before 2070,  same with India, Russia etc.. 

[richardfrost]

Quite ironic then that China gets most of its electricity from coal fired power stations, and no promise from them to reduce their usage before 2070,  same with India, Russia etc..

There was a time, my friend told me, that they were completing a new coal fired power station every week! That is over. They are now investing heavily in renewables. They just aren't telling us. He visits China regularly and is at the heart of electromotive power and research, partly for your favourite car company, BMW.

[culzean]

Quite ironic then that China gets most of its electricity from coal fired power stations, and no promise from them to reduce their usage before 2070,  same with India, Russia etc..

There was a time, my friend told me, that they were completing a new coal fired power station every week! That is over. They are now investing heavily in renewables. They just aren't telling us. He visits China regularly and is at the heart of electromotive power and research, partly for your favourite car company, BMW.

Yeah and the Covid virus was not made in Wuhan 

[JimSh]

Are the Chinese targets any more or less realistic/believable than those being discussed at COP26?

https://www.independent.co.uk/climate-change/news/cop26-glasgow-climate-latest-today-b1953370.html

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/nov/08/china-calls-for-concrete-action-not-distant-targets-in-last-week-of-cop26

“The world has enough for everyone's need, but not enough for everyone's greed.”
― Mahatma Gandhi

[richardfrost]

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/nov/08/china-calls-for-concrete-action-not-distant-targets-in-last-week-of-cop26

Great article. Really enlightening and adds a lot to what my Professor friend was saying. China is very misunderstood.

[culzean]

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/nov/08/china-calls-for-concrete-action-not-distant-targets-in-last-week-of-cop26

Great article. Really enlightening and adds a lot to what my Professor friend was saying. China is very misunderstood.

What China says for western consumption and what China does are entirely different things. When I worked in Australia we used to sell equipment to China and had plenty to do with the Chinese,  I have yet to meet a more slippery bunch, apparently lying is not considered wrong in China, especially where the economy and cutting pollution clash.

Chinese also shamelessly spy on the west and undermine its institutions.

[Hugh R]

Right now, the car that makes most sense to me is a plug in hybrid. No range anxiety and can spend the vast majority of it's time pooling around on EV and being recharged on my drive from a mains plug.

Lucky old you - having a driveway and a mains plug.  Lots of us don't - and that may be one of the biggest obstacles against buying an EV (apart from the current price.)
Interesting if someone knows the average number of GB households with driveways against those houses, flats etc. without. 
Not to mention when my street will be up and running with chargers at every parking space - or even at a lamp-post or two.

[JimSh]

What China says for western consumption and what China does are entirely different things.

I think a similar lack of honesty applies to the western world.

The Chinese have been developing renewables at a greater rate than the West.
Once it becomes apparent economically and politically that the future lies in renewables the West will find it difficult to catch up.

https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2018/05/china-is-a-renewable-energy-champion-but-its-time-for-a-new-approach/

https://www.weforum.org/whitepapers/accelerating-sustainable-energy-innovation (pdf)

[peteo48]

Very true.

Only new builds will have the amperage wiring. I think the current 'boards fuse' is 60A and some fast chargers are 48A. Under the max but still a lot of heat may be generated, but I'm no expert.

I'd be quite happy with a 13A granny charger, assuming I get another car when they are only electric.

Bit of a long story but we had our electrics assessed for a smart meter recently. A lot of work needed, some at my expense (ie removal of kitchen cabinet OR digging up a brand new drive). We didn't go ahead but it seems to get our house ready for a charge point might be £2000 to £3000.

Discussing this with a friend of a friend. This chap worked for Bentley on energy issues and also served on a committee advising government - he is a physicist by training. I asked him about the scare stories around granny cables and he said that that was exactly what they were, scare stories. Issues have arisen when people have used extension leads and not unravelled them (the heat builds up and can be a fire hazard) but he said you can purchase heavy duty leads and, if unravelled, they were fine. Granny cables themselves have a mechanism which causes them to trip out if they get too hot. He then said he used a granny cable himself despite having a charge point. He said they did a low mileage and a couple of trickle charges a week were adequate and better for the battery.

My son-in-law, a qualified electrician, also said that a granny cable was fine if used correctly. He recommended having a spur off one of the 13 amp plugs at the front of the house and  getting a waterproof power point (commando?). He had earlier told me that the cable run from our consumer unit was not ideal.

So granny cables are fine, safe and ideal for low mileage users. The problem around terraced houses and apartments is a different matter altogether.

[Kremmen]

Why did they perform a full assessment for a smart meter ?

Round me they've just swapped meters.