{"id":20650,"date":"2018-04-18T08:30:45","date_gmt":"2018-04-17T22:00:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/?p=20650"},"modified":"2024-05-15T14:46:38","modified_gmt":"2024-05-15T05:16:38","slug":"electric-car-range-charging","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/electric-car-range-charging\/","title":{"rendered":"Ronald Checks Out Electric Cars Part 2 — Range, Charging, And Trivia"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Electric<\/p>\n

Nine days ago I attended the Charge Together electric car event in Adelaide and scored some sweet electric rides.\u00a0 Last week I wrote about 5 specific electric cars<\/a> and today I’ll describe what I learned about driving electric cars in general from their owners.\u00a0 I’ll cover range anxiety and how it’s not really a problem provided you get an electric car that suits your needs.\u00a0 I cover charging at home, at public charging stations, and even what to do when out-the-back-of-Burke and desperately seeking a charge.\u00a0 I’ll even cover a little bit of electric car history.<\/p>\n

Electric Cars Have Been Around For A Long Time<\/h2>\n

One interesting thing I learned at the charge together event was the first production car ever made was electric. It was built by Thomas Parker<\/a> in the UK in 1884.\u00a0 Then I went home, checked this on the internet and promptly unlearned that fact.<\/p>\n

Maybe you could say the electric cars Thomas Parker made were identical enough to count as production vehicles, but I wouldn’t choose that particular hill to die on.\u00a0 There are much nicer hills you can go to cark it and I actually know some hills that are worth living on.1<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n

I think it’s enough to know that, while the first horseless carriages were steam powered, electric cars came before internal combustion engine2<\/a><\/sup> ones. \u00a0But the short range that resulted from the lead-acid batteries of the time meant petrol and diesel vehicles soon left electrics in their dust.\u00a0 And also in their noxious exhaust fumes.\u00a0 But since people were used to breathing coal smoke, they didn’t seem to mind the extra pollution.3<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n

So while electric cars have been around for over 150 years, only now are they poised to take over<\/a> from internal combustion engine vehicles.\u00a0 Of course if petrol and diesel cars had to pay for the cost of their pollution, the poising would have been decades earlier — but I’ve already gone over this in another article<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Range Anxiety<\/h2>\n

An electric car can only drive so far before its battery pack goes flat.\u00a0 But since only an idiot would buy an electric car that didn’t suit their driving patterns, I think concern about this is a little over-done.\u00a0 If current electric cars don’t suit your driving habits but you want a car that is less destructive to the planet and people’s health, you can buy a hybrid or a plug-in hybrid and refuel it whenever you need to.4<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n

Families with two or more cars are the norm in Australia.\u00a0 My parents are a two person household and they have two cars.\u00a0 My sister has a two driver household and she has about eight.\u00a0 (Actually, I think she may be down to seven now.)\u00a0 For many households it would not be inconvenient to have one short range electric car for use around town while using their other vehicle for longer trips — whether that vehicle is a hybrid, plug-in hybrid, or conventional infernal5<\/a><\/sup> combustion engine.\u00a0 To “fuel” their electric town car, all a household will need to do is plug it in at home.<\/p>\n

Home Charging<\/h2>\n

At home all an electric car requires is a 15 amp power point, which is a simple job for an electrician to put in.\u00a0 It will depend on the vehicle, but generally this will allow around 20 kilometers of range to be added per hour.\u00a0 So if you park for 10 hours overnight that will allow for around 200 kilometers of range to be added.\u00a0 As the average passenger car is only driven around 40 kilometers a day, that should be plenty.\u00a0 If a 15 amp socket isn’t available an adapter will let you charge at a slower rate from a regular 10 amp power point.<\/p>\n

An electric vehicle (EV) charger installed in your home can allow over 40 kilometers of range to be added per hour.\u00a0 I have been told that overseas some car warranties require a specific charger be installed in your home. So that is something to look out for as they are not cheap and can cost over $2,000<\/a>.<\/p>\n

You can learn everything you need to know about home EV charging here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Fast Charging<\/h2>\n

Any new electric car will be capable of some form of fast charging at public electric car charging stations<\/a>.\u00a0 Just how fast you can shove energy into their battery packs depends on the car and the charging station.\u00a0 Cars with larger battery packs and liquid cooling systems allowing more rapid charging.<\/p>\n

The current champion is Tesla and its supercharging stations can provide an almost-flat battery pack with up to 120 kilowatts of power.\u00a0 This can add up to 200 kilometers of range in 20 minutes, but, just like with a smartphone, the charge rate slows down the closer the batteries get to being full. It will take 55 minutes to go from half charged to fully charged.\u00a0 But you may never need to need to wait until it’s at 100% because Tesla superchargers are pretty close together.\u00a0 Only if you were driving away from the supercharger network might you be tempted to wait for a 100% charge.<\/p>\n

\"Tesla

Australia and New Zealand’s Tesla Supercharger networks. The locations in red exist and the ones in grey will soon be coming.<\/p><\/div>\n

Electric car makers are looking at charging rates over 300 kilowatts in the future.\u00a0 This is technically possible with the right battery pack.6<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n

Nissan Leaf Fast Charging Can Be Limited By Heat<\/h2>\n

The Nissan Leaf battery pack doesn’t have a liquid cooling system and is air cooled.\u00a0 Continually charging and discharging the battery generates heat and being at a high temperature for an extended time is bad for batteries.\u00a0 If its batteries become hot for a long period due to continual driving and charging the Leaf will slow the rate at which it can be charged.\u00a0 So perhaps the third time its charged in a day will take a long time.\u00a0 This is something to keep in mind if you are taking a Leaf on a long distance trip.\u00a0 It may be possible other cars with air cooling have a similar issue, but those with liquid cooled battery packs should not.<\/p>\n

Ad Hoc Charging<\/h2>\n

If you are not at home and there isn’t a public electric car charger available then there’s no need to despair.\u00a0 There are still plenty of places to charge.\u00a0 Caravan parks have 15 amp power points and it’s also possible to use three phase sockets at businesses and showgrounds.\u00a0 These locations can be recognized car charging points or you can simply ask nicely if you can charge your car there.<\/p>\n

The stories I heard from electric car owners about traveling long distances in Australia sounded very similar to ones I heard from the United States a couple of years ago when their electric car charging network was much less built out than it is today.\u00a0 To show how extensive their network of chargers is here’s a map of North American showing only Tesla Superchargers:<\/p>\n

\"Telsa<\/p>\n

There are so many red locations it’s like Communism has triumphed. \u00a0And there are many locations opening soon that are no doubt shivering with antici…<\/p>\n