Electric Vehicles and Renewable Energies

[Oniya]

And then we get into the confusion of 'distributors' - Our power company here is PP&L, but there are loads of distributors (who call and go door-to-door trying to get you to switch) with a plethora of rate plans.  Luckily, there are sites that let you do actual comparisons instead of relying on high-pressure sales pitches.

[TheGlyphstone]

You don't live in one of the places with a government enforced monopoly on power providers?

[GloomCookie]

I know there are some places like that and it's a pain in the ass.

Here, there are government mandated monopolies, but there are two power companies with jurisdictions that cover parts of the other so it's a toss up if your neighborhood is served by one or the other. Damned confusing.

[Dashenka]

Unrelated... Or maybe not...

Going to put my electric car to the test tomorrow. 380 miles, from our house to Amsterdam. The WLTP range is 304 miles, which is unrealistic but even so, it should be able to do that distance with only 1 charging.

[CriminalMindsFan]

I think it will be interesting, if ability to make batteries ever starts to disappear. We could end up back to the Flintstones where feet are the way to move a car with wooden wheels, if we aren't careful moving away from gas powered cars to electric powered cars.

[Dashenka]

They already exist. They're called bicycles. And they're a menace. :D

[Thufir Hawat]

They already exist. They're called bicycles. And they're a menace. :D

???
Surely you mean "a blessing"?

[Dashenka]

No I definitely meant a menace. Cyclists in the UK think they're the Lord God Almighty and act like it.

[RedRose]

Bikes in Amsterdam are terrifying. Nowhere else do I experience random dudes hitting or yelling at cars.

[GloomCookie]

No I definitely meant a menace. Cyclists in the UK think they're the Lord God Almighty and act like it.

So I live in one of the most bicycle friendly cities in America and normally I don't mind but there are some who absolutely take up the entire road and will make rude gestures if you pass them. Like, my Brother in Christ, there is a sidewalk wider than the lane you are taking up that runs the entire way and there's little to no pedestrian traffic. Get. Your. Ass. Off. The. Road. Also those shorts are not flattering.

[Thufir Hawat]

No I definitely meant a menace. Cyclists in the UK think they're the Lord God Almighty and act like it.

Bikes in Amsterdam are terrifying. Nowhere else do I experience random dudes hitting or yelling at cars.

So I live in one of the most bicycle friendly cities in America and normally I don't mind but there are some who absolutely take up the entire road and will make rude gestures if you pass them. Like, my Brother in Christ, there is a sidewalk wider than the lane you are taking up that runs the entire way and there's little to no pedestrian traffic. Get. Your. Ass. Off. The. Road. Also those shorts are not flattering.

OK, that's weird. Never had that happening around here... live and learn, I guess?
(Of course, there's non-insignificant odds of such behaviour leading to a beating, so that's probably a limiting factor).

Though no, bicycles are totally not meant to drive on sidewalks only, they are meant to switch between the two as necessary, IMO. But that also means that considerate bicyclists change the road and the sidewalks a lot, for maximum efficiency.

[RedRose]

Yeah. I don't like stereotypes but I've had too many bad experiences to be comfortable. I am nervous when I see bikes arriving, especially if I am with my kids and it's unfair.

[CriminalMindsFan]

I have balance issues so riding a bike was something I stopped trying to do at young age. Once I learned to drive a car, I never wanted to use any other kind of transportation to get around where I live again. I still walk sometimes to get around locally though.

The thought of them wanting to go from a balance of gas and electric for home needs and transportation options to 100% electric and 0% gas to me is very risky.

[RedRose]

In here most peoplee (afaik) still drive stick, so I can't imagine switching to electricity unless it's all paid.

[Oniya]

I have balance issues so riding a bike was something I stopped trying to do at young age.

There are some nice-looking recumbents - and also 'adult tricycles' (poorly named) that give you a more stable wheel-base these days.  (Mr. Oniya basically runs the bike department at the local sports store.)

[GloomCookie]

An alternative I could see would be perhaps a pedal-powered alternator that also has a battery, to make an electric bicycle. You charge it up at home and for short commutes, it could be an easy way to scoot around town without having to expend too much energy. Sure you'd be limited on range but... I mean, what isn't?

[CriminalMindsFan]

I'm still surprised when I hear that fully electric cars don't require break fluid, transmission fluid, power steering fluid along with the obvious gasoline. I think lot of auto mechanics will be out of work once the number of electric cars surpass the number of gasoline and other similar vehicles.

I'll be curious when it comes to auto theft stats and how parking electric cars outside goes in the long term future. Lot of homes here in California no longer have a garage or people don't use garage for car and tend to use it for storage leaving car outside on driveway or the street. Life of a battery as most know can be negatively impacted by cold weather and also extremely hot temps.

[Oniya]

I think lot of auto mechanics will be out of work once the number of electric cars surpass the number of gasoline and other similar vehicles.

The smart ones are probably looking into what it takes to do repairs on electrics, much like auto-mechanics from the 70s and 80s had to adapt to dealing with more computer-based cars.  My late father-in-law could repair pretty much any older Ford or Chevy engine (when he was sober), but put him in front of anything post 1980-ish and he'd be flummoxed.

(FunFact:  The first consumer auto with a computer was the 1968 Volkswagen 'Type 3' - which used a transistorized system to control fuel injection, beginning the long phase-out of the carburetor.)

[CriminalMindsFan]

I'd probably enjoy working on electric car because getting grease and other fluids on my hands was always something I intended to avoid when looking into work in past and now.

[GloomCookie]

There will ALWAYS be a need for certain fluids for lubrication and function, it's just that electric vehicles don't require the same types in all cases. For example, Jiffy Lube's official FAQ states some EVs use transmission fluid, which must be changed periodically.
https://www.jiffylube.com/resource-center/do-electric-cars-use-oil

And yeah, they'll still need brake fluid and stuff, that's obvious.

Car mechanics will still be needed to do basic repairs and maintenance, but a lot of the oil change places will dry up. Plus, auto body places will still be a thing since people get into accidents all the time. Like all industries faced with a revolution in technology, some people will lose jobs but that's just part of it. I can assure you no one laments the loss of typewriter repair technicians or manual draftsmen. Well... ok I do the last one but that's just because without CAD I can't draw for shit.

[TheGlyphstone]

I remember writing a paper in my "senior year", so to speak, of my 2nd pass through college - it was for a finance class, and I decided to crank out a cost-savings analysis of BEVs against their ICE counterparts. I don't have it around anymore, but IIRC my end conclusion was that the higher up-front cost of a BEV ends up breaking even after around 7 years of ownership (3 if you don't take depreciation into account), between the lower cost of electricity vs. fuel and the need for less/less frequent maintenance. That wasn't no maintenance, just less of it.

[CriminalMindsFan]

Since I was born in the 70's, I think every car besides one of the current cars was owned by us for 20+ years before we got rid of it or it was written off as totaled by insurance. I could easily see us buying one more new gas car before our state bans sale of new gas car and never needing another car because I'm the youngest driver right now and would probably choose to go somewhere else at some point before having to buy a EV car.

[CriminalMindsFan]

Since I was born in the 70's, I think every car besides one of the current cars was owned by us for 20+ years before we got rid of it or it was written off as totaled by insurance. I could easily see us buying one more new gas car before our state bans sale of new gas car and never needing another car because I'm the youngest driver right now and would probably choose to go somewhere else at some point before having to buy a EV car.

Then we tend to buy economy level cars ($20,000 or less sticker price) so an EV to us would be like unless we win lottery or they give it to us, probably would never buy one.

[TheGlyphstone]

That was the flip side of the math - that up front sticker price was 30-50% higher, so even though it was more affordable in the long term it was out of reach for many in the short term.

The Sam Vines Boot Theory of Economics, as applied to automobiles.

[Dashenka]

With the rising costs of electricity, the financial benefit of an EV is quickly evaporating. Especially due to the higher new prices.