[aprssig] It's that time again. (at least consider an EV)

[KF4LVZ]

On 2017-04-05 13:19, Robert Bruninga wrote:
> But things are chaning very rapidly...
> 
>      >> Before investing in a fossil fuel car it is good to ask where EV's are
>     now and
>      >> where they will be in 6 years when you go to try to sell that fossil.
>      >>
>      >>See all the misinformation on EV's - Mostly wrong.
>      >>http://aprs.org/EV-misinformation.html
>     <http://aprs.org/EV-misinformation.html>
> 
>      > Half the people here at work commute at least 30 miles one-way.
>      > A third commute over 50 miles...
> 
> 
> Fortunately EV's now are coming out with over 200 mile daily range for those 
> rare individuals with those long commutes...
> 
>  > "Charging at Work: ... over 97% of all EV charging at work can be met
>  > with simple 120v outlets." {to refresh up to 40 miles during the 8 hours 
> parked at work).
> 
>  > Most employers either can't or won't do this.
> Eventually they will...

You skipped the part of employers that can't.  If the employer doesn't
own the parking lot, there's not much they can do.  It's up to the
property owner who may or may not agree.  There's a lot of employers in
this situation.  Nearly every big-box store is a lease-holder for their
storefront but not for their parking.

> 
>  > ... they may not want to foot the bill [without] pay stations.
> 
> No one is asking for free charging, just simply pay by the month to plugin.  A 
> 30 mile commuter would expect to pay about $30/month to plug in at work (at 14 
> cent/kWh rates).  and be full every afternoon in time for the ride home.
> 
>  > ...in a government facility, it turns out you *can't*  have a station...
> 
> After years of letter writing that has changed!  The Federal Policy now is to 
> let any EV pluginto any available outlet for a fixed paymend of about $15 per 
> month.  And local agencies can even use existing maintenance funds to install 
> additional standard 120v oiutlets.

That doesn't appear to have trickled down to all agencies.  The one I
work for has already stated they're still not allowed to add charging
stations and were told to remove the ones that were in place.

> 
>  > Perhaps Maryland has charging passes but I'd bet most states don't...
> 
> You are right.  Maryland is very progressive, but of the 30 people on the 
> Governonr's EV council, only 3 drive EV's.  And so we still have clueless people 
> stuck in the gas-tank/gas-station legacy thinking who cannot conceive of the 
> conveneience of simply plugging into a $15 simple outlet while parked and paying 
> a fixed monthly rate.

Are you sure they're clueless or is there a mitigating reason that they
don't have an EV?

> 
> Yes there are many people who cannot go EV yet, but there are a very large 
> percentage of us that can... and should take care to be informed before making a 
> huge investment in another fossil car they will be stuck with for the next 
> decade. [and forever married to the greed of the oil companies]
> 
> Besides, what Ham woiuld not like to have 24 kWh of battery whereever he goes 
> with potential use in any emergency...

Because not all EVs have a high current 12 volt circuit fed from the
high power battery pack.  For the same reasons you cite in one of your
pages on backup power from a Prius, manufacturers will move away from 12
volt components where possible  and utilize the HVDC supply directly or
possibly an HVAC three-phase inverter (for example, the motor for the
air conditioner compressor could be HVDC or three-phase HVAC).  Other
built-in components will likely go the same way which reduces the size
of the DC-DC converter to something in the 20-30 amp range
(radio/infotainment system, 12V accessory outlet) while other components
may get their own small DC-DC converters.