Where are the charging stations?

[pninen]

but a "400 mile" battery is very likely not 400 highway miles. Figure a 500-600 mile battery to get your 400 highway miles. At the current rate of capacity increase those cars are only 5-8 years away.

Batteries are not rated like fuel tanks. A "400 mile" battery (per mfr spec) is probably good for 300 miles after a couple of years. At freeway speeds, that's probably 200 miles. If your freeway limit is 200 miles, you need a way to recharge it after 150 miles or so.

In other words, you really would like an 900 mile battery (per mfr spec).

Might be 10 years away.

 

[Arkean]

Batteries are not rated like fuel tanks. A "400 mile" battery (per mfr spec) is probably good for 300 miles after a couple of years. At freeway speeds, that's probably 200 miles. If your freeway limit is 200 miles, you need a way to recharge it after 150 miles or so.

In other words, you really would like an 900 mile battery (per mfr spec).

Might be 10 years away.

Well.. reasoning in terms of miles in Battery capacities may raise some additional problems.

Given the Model is claimed to have a 160 Miles standard battery pack, and a quick-recharge capacity for about 45 min. ok.

If you double the battery capacity, Full quick-recharge time may be doubled, hence lasting about 1.30 hours, assuming the charge station is thresholded on his max Amp capacity... imagine then "quick-recharge" a 900 Miles battery pack. The only solution I arithmetically see is to raise drastically the Amp a quick-charger can supply... but this raise the problem about connectivity capacity and surely the availability of such electrical supply in a standardized way.

The other solution would be then to enhance the car energy-efficiency. In other words, how to make your EV suck less energy from battery to accomplish a fixed distance?

Check me if I'm wrong.. I just put up some simplistic maths given the numbers supplied publicly.

Cheers

 

[WarpedOne]

Your reasoning is OK.

ICE cars have tanks rated in litres or gallons not miles and everyone gets along just fine. BEVs will have batteries rated in kWh and everyone will get along just fine also.

This "160mile battery" is just an interim step, before our minds adapt to what 50kWh in a small car actually means for range, or 40kWh in large car, or 70kWh in a big car.

The other solution would be then to enhance the car energy-efficiency. In other words, how to make your EV suck less energy from battery to accomplish a fixed distance?

Don't hold your breath here. All low hanging fruits are already picked. Maybe such improvements could bring another 10% or 20% improvement in range, but they would also bring other compromises like smaller size, lower max speed, odd design choices etc. Our boddies are as big and heavy as they are, the car has to be big enough for us to get in, materials have their phisical properties that will not change. When you have 90% efficient drive train you have to improve it 10times or 1000% for 10% increase in range with same kWh. Range reality.

 

[vfx]

... imagine then "quick-recharge" a 900 Miles battery pack.

Why? Are you swapping Le Mans drivers? The percentage of owners that will demand back to back 900 mile trips is statistically insignificant. No one will address this niche until it evolves naturally.

 

[EVnut]

This "160mile battery" is just an interim step, before our minds adapt to what 50kWh in a small car actually means for range, or 40kWh in large car, or 70kWh in a big car.

I hope you are right... but I have my doubts. Why, for example, are we still using "wattage" for lightbulb brightness?

And of course we are still using non-metric units in the US while our "minds adapt" to our official units of measurement.... metric. :sigh:

 

[EVnut]

Batteries are not rated like fuel tanks. A "400 mile" battery (per mfr spec) is probably good for 300 miles after a couple of years. At freeway speeds, that's probably 200 miles. If your freeway limit is 200 miles, you need a way to recharge it after 150 miles or so.

In other words, you really would like an 900 mile battery (per mfr spec).

Might be 10 years away.

Yikes. using this reasoning, my Rav4EV would only be good for about 40 miles of nail-biting freeway driving. And after six years of constant use, I can still go 100 miles on a battery pack that is officially rated at 120 miles. And if I drive slower, I can still beat that range. Several times a month we drive the car almost 100 freeway miles still. So if the ratings stay the same, then I fully expect a "400 mile pack" to carry me at least 375 miles on the freeway - not 200, or even 150.

 

[Kevin Harney]

Based on the real world numbers coming back from Roadster owners it appears that it gets about 70-75% of the mileage at highway speeds if I am not mistaken. It does have some very strong regen and there is hardly any of that on the highway. Just based on numbers I have seen posted here any owners can correct me if I am mistaken.

 

[EVnut]

Based on the real world numbers coming back from Roadster owners it appears that it gets about 70-75% of the mileage at highway speeds if I am not mistaken.

That makes plenty of sense, and is what I'd expect. The other thing to consider is that "highway speed" is a huge variable. I dare say that "highway speed" means significantly different things to your average Roadster driver than it does to your average Prius driver, ya know?

In other words, if I drove my RAv4EV at 75 mph for my "freeway speed," my range would lower by about 25%.

 

[dpeilow]

Chicago unveils solar-powered recharging stations for electric cars

 

[Tdave]

Chicago unveils solar-powered recharging stations for electric cars

They don't say how much power that station provides. Can't be much. Right?

 

[TEG]

Well if they are grid tied (as they should be) then they can trickle power all day long even when no one is charging.

 

[vfx]

Chicago unveils solar-powered recharging stations for electric cars

 

[Joseph]

"...I can still go 100 miles on a battery pack that is officially rated at 120 miles...So if the ratings stay the same, then I fully expect a "400 mile pack" to carry me at least 375 miles on the freeway - not 200, or even 150."

You're comparing the NiMH on a Rav4 EV to the lithium on a Roadster. As far as I know, lithiums (especially in the Roadster's setup) don't have a known calendar life.

On the other hand, NiMH is known for long calendar life.

Plus, the batteries of the Roadster will undergo very different conditions (on account of it being a sports car) in comparison to the Rav4 EV.


Tesla's FAQ says,

" Our testing and modeling indicate that a typical Tesla Roadster owner who drives 50,000 miles over five years should have about 70 percent of initial performance levels available."

On average that's a six% decrease. (I remember one Tesla blog said their batteries degrade most quickly the first year) So after a couple years (that's two in my book), a 400 mile pack should be 12% less.

That would mean 48 less miles; 352 would theoretically be the range according to Tesla's numbers given to their Roadster.