Can America’s Grid Handle The Rise Of Electric Cars??

[@Wol747]

Another brilliantly presented dissertation, Ricky. Kryten couldn’t have picked a better US commentator.

[@TwoBitDaVinci]

🙏

[@judebrown4103]

Yeah, more uplifting content. Cheers Ricky, you're a great addition to the Fully Charged team.👍

[@kulan9379]

Yup Ricky is awesome 🤘

[@louishenn3028]

When I drive on the highway, I see that some of the companies along the way have massive solar panel car parks with the cars of hundreds of employees parked underneath for 8 hours a day. I mean, the next step is a no-brainer. Fit those spots with chargers. Use some of the solar energy in your EV to power your house @ night.

[@readtherealanthonyfaucibyr6444]

The next step you refer to costs a whole lot more money that the first step. The first step actually makes the company money by cutting their power bills.

[@louishenn3028]

@@readtherealanthonyfaucibyr6444 Indeed, and I see the finances playing out in 3 possible ways: 1: employees pay the company for charging-company installs chargers. 2: external charging company installs and operates chargers-employees pay them, they pay the company. 3: many companies that require employees to travel more often subsidize petrol costs. If it costs less to fuel with electricity, I don't see why they wouldn't encourage employees to switch to EVs and charge at work. Will work out cheaper for everyone.

[@readtherealanthonyfaucibyr6444]

@@louishenn3028 1. That brings a question that I haven't heard discussed...how profitable is a charger? I've heard $10-14k to install just one. How long does an independently owned (and not installed by an automaker like Tesla) government subsidy-free private charger take to see return on investment? 2. Sort of like the vending machine financial model? 3. EVs definitely make sense for company cars that only carry people. To reiterate my first comment, it's just going to take a LOT of chargers when EVs are the only thing automakers are selling which they're strangely committed to doing relatively soon. I'm absolutely sure that mysterious outside pressure had nothing to do with that decision.

[@louishenn3028]

@@readtherealanthonyfaucibyr6444 Good and valid questions. I personally don't have enough info on hand to give absolute answers, but can guess. 1: You don't need fast chargers. 7 kW will do. That's about $1000-2000. Let's assume $2000. If the average employee requires 3000 kWh a year (excluding roadtrips/vacation), and they sell at $0.10 / kWh, that's $300 a year. That's 7 years break even. 2: basically like a vending machine. I'd guess the charging company would compensate for the electricity used and perhaps a lease agreement for the parking spot. 3: For cars that travel a lot, faster (and therefore more expensive) chargers may be required. But charging in between during the day could greatly help.

[@onlineo2263]

@@readtherealanthonyfaucibyr6444 all EVs have AC chargers built into them... So what you are installing is a power supply and a smart plug socket (like a Tesla destination charger) . The plug socket can be anywhere from $200-$5000 wholesale. Getting the correct power supply to each socket and supervising multiple sockets at once is usually the expensive stuff. Sure it can be as cheap as $100 or as expensive as $5000 per socket. However you can install DC rapid chargers (these are like Tesla superchargers) aswell and these have chargers built in and can come in different speeds and reliability. With prices ranging from $10-200,000.

[@jimlambrick4642]

If governments re-thought it and subsidized home solar with the objective of using all those dispersed home roof tops and power walls as power plants and grid storage instead of looking at each home as a demand center, the reduced capital cost around building large power plants and grid infrastructure could be enormous. If every home had extra panels coverage that was 20% in excess of their personal demand, we could soon solve any future shortfalls. Tax incentives and a check in the mail every month for power you sold would soon have a lot of people signing on. A total no-brainer in sunny locales like Southern US or Australia.

[@aussie2uGA]

Absolutely. But then how many government encourage the concept of being self sustaining? Governments usually demand citizen dependence, not independence.

[@unclegeorge7845]

Amen Jim, Let's embrace this opportunity rather than act like all of us own yachts and Rolls-Royce vehicles that need lease payments (next week).

[@timfallon8226]

Have you noticed how solar doesn't work at night or in winter in the northern hemisphere ?

[@judebrown4103]

@@timfallon8226 panels are more efficient and will work in winter light, just with a little less output than in summer. Battery storage is what you use at those times. If there is nothing coming from the PV you charge them cheaply at night. Sorted.

[@TonyLeach-airguntech]

Every Tesco, Asda, Morrisons, car showroom, distribution center, all could have solar feed in, add in grants for home owners and we would not have anywhere near as many issues imo. We just need to up storage for night time..

[@S2kDude36]

The US is building thousands of new homes each day adding 10's of thousands of kW demand on the grid and nobody is wondering if the grid can handle all the new home construction. Not to mention, the switch to all electric cars is estimated to take about 20 years, plenty of time to upgrade the grid.

[@S2kDude36]

@SD Dukay 15 years is still plenty of time t

[@Ramon314]

"the measure of intelligence is the ability to change" -Albert Einstein

[@scottmcshannon6821]

that makes most humans unintelligent.

[@misternordberg3675]

Einstein was a fraud.

[@abeywarc]

Really appreciate the Fully Charged team, I've been a subscriber for a while now, and you guys keep on making great content and never disappoints. I look forward every week for your videos and I do watch from beginning to end, until you guys genuinely say "if you have been, thank you for watching!" Thank you for creating such great content, hats off to the team and Bob for getting this ball rolling way back when sustainability and EV were not mainstream. Much love, and blessings from Sri Lanka.

[@pennesalmone6350]

One of my former bosses said “hope is not a strategy”. IF half of the EV owners could charge their cars during the day AND IF the sun would shine all day AND IF there would be a lot of solar charging stations and IF half of EV owners could leave their cars there for 4-6-8 hours then these cars could charge the other half of EV’s at night. (Oh I forget, even this would not be enough because ot the losses). As long you have to charge EVs for long hours we still face the issue of the british kettles just to a factor of 10. As long there is no breakthrough in battery technology there is no feasible scenario for widescale (short term) ICE replacement except for the lucky countries that have flexible energy sources throughout the day (see Norway etc)

[@موسى_7]

Or we could build Strong Towns where people walk, cycle, ride transit. Infrastructure is much less for these than for driving, even driving ICE because the suburban roads and pipes and electricity cables are so long because people drive everywhere instead of going short distances.

[@jimgraham6722]

EVs wont be a wholesale immediate replacement for ICE in short term because: a. there are currently around 1.4 billion cars in the world and new cars are built at a rate of about 70 million a year, it takes twenty years to renew the fleet; however, although only five million EVs are built per year, that number is increasing at 100% year on year so will constitute about half of all new cars in about four years, and nearly all new vehicles in about six to eight; b. at this rate it will be at least twenty, years before ICE are fully gone; however, conveniently obtained and affordable gasoline will become scarce much sooner, possibly in as little as ten years; and c. there are many reluctant adopters unable to accept change, they will hold out with ICE to the bitter end, but it won't be a very pleasant experience driving the last few ICE on the road while sweating the fuel guage.

[@desertstar223]

Tell them brother, these EV evangelists lose their capacity to think critically just to defend their point of view.

[@Yanquetino]

This claim about crippling the grid is just the same old, worn-out fossil foolish petrolganda. Most EV charging is done at night, when electric demand is at its lowest. Indeed, those EVs are helping to better balance the grid so that plants do not have to scale back or even shut down overnight. Besides, a significant percentage of EV owners power them with rooftop solar. I have done so for 11 years, and actually put more kWh into the grid than I have taken out of it.

[@aussie2uGA]

Keep in mind that if most EV's charged at night, there would not be the huge outcry for better charging infrastructure.

[@billcichoke2534]

Boy, talk about lies... Your solar doesn't power your HOUSE, much less charge your batteries OR charge your golf cart...especially AT NIGHT, where solar is nonexistent. You get most of your power from the grid, and are SUBSIDIZED by the government-controlled utility company. This is done, by the way, at the expense of your less well off neighbors who don't have someone else's money to spend on virtue signalling. You're not adding; you're TAKING and getting paid for it through net metering programs. Also, with solar and wind being expected to provide power instead of coal and nukes and gas, the amount of available power on the grid is being REDUCED. We're already having blackouts during peak, where SUPPOSEDLY unreliables can provide enough power for what we use NOW. They can't and DON'T. Sorry, but videos like this are full of so many assumptions and sales lines, they're one notch short of outright lies. Do yourself a favor and don't add to them.

[@robertstout7756]

Right on Mark👌 we also have been producing more electricity than we use since 1999.

[@robertstout7756]

Ausse2 Statistics show that more than 95% of all EV charging in the US happens at home. More infrastructure for traveling is important as well of course.

[@davemartin9912]

@@aussie2uGA Most current EVs *do* charge at home or other private charging facilities. But as EV adoption increases, many who have a use case that would benefit from an EV lack those facilities, so best to plan ahead.

[@Movie16Master]

I will say if you plan to get an electric car and own a house put up some solar panels. It instantly makes moving over a game changer. I've had solar for about 6 months and 2 electric cars: produced more than I consumed. It is a breath of fresh air to feel like no matter what happens to the economy my life will generally remain unchanged.

[@aussie2uGA]

The ROI on that investment is enormous though. It's hard to think about how much you'll save in 15 years after it's paid off.

[@patreekotime4578]

@@aussie2uGA The real difficulty is that on an individual basis, the solar cells may be worn out by the time its paid off and require replacement again. (Also a problem with 30 year mortages on homes that start falling apart before they are even paid off.) So as an investment strategy it only makes sense if you have the deep pockets to pay it all up front, with the diminishing returns the longer your payment plan has to be. Which is why projects like community solar or wind co-ops are a good alternative to owning your own panels. A big investor makes the upfront big investment, while the smaller local investors can get the benefits of cheaper power and community input into the operation. A co-op can also buy/sell extra power from/to a big utility and flatten the prices to give customers a more sane power bill.

[@Movie16Master]

I personally paid for my panels in cash. I'm saving hundreds of dollars per month. It should pay for itself in 10 years (assuming nothing crazy happens). Even then it makes my property value go up, there are tax incentives, heck solar prices in the last 10 years have dropped from around $8 per watt to $2ish per watt. I would assume in the next 10 it'll drop even further especially if things keep pushing in the direction that they are. Replacing/upgrading later shouldn't be as terrible as everyone makes it out to be. Any investment has a risk factor. Buying a home you are half crossing your fingers that a water line doesn't break out of the blue. For me, switching to solar and all around electric made sense because it looked like gas prices and the economy had a rough future and I didn't want to be impacted by it.

[@aussie2uGA]

@@Movie16Master I do like the self reliance ability of solar. As the future progresses, I'm not certain we can always rely on the grid. It would be nice to have solar for that "backup" ability.

[@Jeroenneman]

@@aussie2uGA Save in 15 years? How about save in 2 years? Solar isn't expensive everywhere. I got twelve panels for 4K Euros. My bill is negative each month. Time before I recoup all of my costs is a little over 26 months.

[@robertstout7756]

A majority of EV charging happens at night when there is a surplus of electricity in the grid. It actually helps balance production.

[@homomorphic]

Absolutely incorrect (nothing further from the truth). That is not true at all for the cleaner grids like California. In California during the spring and fall solar production is curtailed (i.e. wasted) during the day because there is more production than demand, then at night, the grid must be increasingly augmented with gas turbine (hydrocarbon) production due to the increasing demand due to overnight charging.

[@robertstout7756]

@@homomorphic That may be true in California an extremely unique situation that likely does not exist anywhere else in the world including the other 49 states

[@Garrison169]

There isn't a surplus of electricity at night. There is a surplus of electrical power generation capability at night.

[@homomorphic]

@@robertstout7756 but that's where every grid is supposed to be going and designing a system that is guaranteed to increase GHG emissions is stupid.

[@homomorphic]

@@Garrison169 there is a deficit at night and the load is balanced with hydrocarbon based peaker plants.

[@wf2v]

I get in arguments with ICE owners all the time. All I point out is that I can drive around for 4.2 cents per mile. I also have super low maintenance charges…. Just brakes and tires. No oil changes! Last time we did a quick change oil for my kids car was $80! For a 5000 mile interval, that is 1.6 cents alone! Electricity is 16.8 cents a kwh here. A 30 MPG car using $4.00 gasoline is operating at 13.3 cents a mile. Add in the oil changes and you are now at about 15 cents a mile. A 300 mile trip will be $12.60 EV or $45 ICE. I also have many free charging stations available. Any free gasoline out there?

[@readtherealanthonyfaucibyr6444]

The issue is mass EV adoption. It will become nearly impossible to find a public charging station that isn't in use, considering 100.9 million US residents who live in rented space, and a lot more than 1 car per house for those who don't live in rented space. There are already horror stories of those who have had to wait at a public charger.

[@wakannnai1]

@@readtherealanthonyfaucibyr6444 There's ways around this though. We think of solar panels as things that go on top of roofs, but they could be integrated into the walls of buildings. Apartment complexes could easily do this (with government subsidies and regulation) along with rooftop solar and place batteries inside parking complexes to solve this issue. It's not that hard to fix the situation for those living in rental areas. In high population density areas, they should be looking at drastically improving public transit though.

[@readtherealanthonyfaucibyr6444]

@@wakannnai1 "Apartment complexes could easily spend more money on EV infrastructure than the amount that it cost to build the apartment complex! Just have the government print a bunch of money! Inflation is a Republican conspiracy theory!"

[@andyfreeze4072]

@@readtherealanthonyfaucibyr6444 fear not. Your looking at this issue as if nothing changes. you will find charging station numbers ramping up substantially in the next couple of years. Dont let bubble thinking get in the way of clear thinking.

[@readtherealanthonyfaucibyr6444]

@@andyfreeze4072 Installing one single charger carries a 5 figure price tag. Apartment complexes aren't going to spend half a million dollars creating a station for each resident unit. And there is often more than 1 car per unit. 1/3rd of the US population (100.9 million people) MUST publicly charge and the other 2/3rds needs access to more than one single outlet for overnight charging (more than 1 car per household), there WILL be hours long waits at public charging stations. People who live in rented space will need to set aside at least one entire evening per week dedicated to finding and waiting hours and hours at a public charger. EVs are great in a natural market. Forcing 100% of the population to drive them is a completely different animal.

[@drxym]

You only have to look at the VAST amount of space devoted to parking to know that there is no danger of EVs ever overwhelming the grid. Every single carparking spot, whether it is in a private dwelling, offices, or supermarket car park has the potential to have solar above it, beneath it, or adjacent to it.

[@pasiutrial]

There is potential, sure. But who's gonna pay for this? Especially when recession just began.

[@stevehayward1854]

@@pasiutrial How much money has the oil companies had from the government over the decades, it's no time to switch that electricity companies and roll out renewables which can be done a whole lot faster than Nuclear. The government can find $ Trillions to wipe a small amount of student debt, I'm sure they can find the cash to sort out the power problem

[@drunkenhobo5039]

Not sure there's much scope for putting solar panels _beneath_ a car park!

[@darylnd]

@@stevehayward1854 Some of you are going to trust the government until your pronouns are "was/were."

[@darylnd]

@@drunkenhobo5039 EVangelists frequently are more enthusiastic than rational. But then, Mr. Green New Deal himself, President Biden, recently announced the U.S. has "bold plan" to "build a railroad across the Indian Ocean."

[@SteveAkaDarktimes]

the problem is that there are large powerblocks very much NOT interested in a decentralized grid, giving up their monopoly on the power market.

[@caseyat88]

I love this topic. When you want to get an EV, or two, please look into how you can offset, minimize or balance the grid energy you use. I could have bought a Model 3, but instead, I bought 2 used, short range EVs, $17k for both, and just kept my old Corolla around for rare, long trips. I then invested 2-3 times more money, into the Tesla Powerwalls and solar. In Phoenix, AZ, I stay off the grid 8 months of the year, and during the 4 hot and cloudy months, my grid use is only from late at night, to early morning, when it costs 6c/kWh. If I wasn't able to charge either EV from direct solar power, or battery backup, I charge at the lowest Level 2 amperage possible, and only in the super-off-peak times. I like to tell anyone that brings charging EVs up, that if everyone turned on their Electric Dryer at once, it's the same grid strain, only you're not doing laundry at midnight, like your car can be set on a timer.

[@CHIEF_420]

🎓

[@rogerstarkey5390]

BOSS!

[@hamshackleton]

Yes, great, but in the UK, that would mean three lots of road tax, and three lots of insurance - AND at least one annual MOT test! (All vehicles over three years have to be tested for roadworthiness)

[@luissousa6]

norwegians might disagree

[@luissousa6]

My comments whore erased, i've made some printscreen

[@rngalston]

Everyone needs to watch this! I hope to live to see the day when transport batteries are what helps the energy grid go carbon negative by providing the energy storage needed to stabilize the system.

[@barrygiles9149]

I believe that there is currently a trial of 8000 cars in England under a V2G process. Seems it was over subscribed. Hopefully that will get the 'ball rolling'

[@jellybean1976928]

You're completely ignoring that these short lived batteries embody so much environmental destruction. There's nothing green or carbon negative about them, they are a disaster.

[@rngalston]

@@jellybean1976928 I ain't ignoring nothing-used batteries make great back up power! U got a better idea?

[@paulsmith3921]

@@jellybean1976928 If you had listened to the podcast you would have heard that battery materials are mined once then used forever, and recycled. Fossil fuels are much dirtier, more expensive, must be transported, and have to be mined and refined continuously because they are consumed. Get your head around that. Electricity is much cleaner and cheaper.

[@toby9999]

@@paulsmith3921 Battery and panel recycling are the issues that trouble me. Can it be done? Is it being done? Both to protect the environment and to preserve resources.

[@SuperVstech]

I am an electrician… it ALWAYS makes me giggle when I hear em spouting how the grid will fail due to EV’s Even from code inspectors… it s odd…

[@redbaron6805]

It is bizarre when considering that the power demand increase when everyone added air conditioning in the USA was actually greater than adding EV's, yet the grid didn't crash. In fact, due to energy efficiency improvements, electricity demand in the USA had been dropping around 1.5% a year, as people switched to more efficient appliances, LED lights and more efficient HVAC systems.

[@derrickstableford8152]

It always makes me laugh. Lots of people cook their Xmas turkey at lunch on dec 25th. The grid doesn’t fail then. Ovens have a larger demand than lots of EV charging. Factor in VPP’s. These will help. Also there needs to be a charge demand control with local utilities, to manage surges.

[@redbaron6805]

@@derrickstableford8152 Exactly. I think there is a fundamental lack of understanding how EV's work, how much energy they use and require to operate, how they are charged, etc. It always cracks me up when people talk about how using the lights at night and listening to the radio will affect the range on an electric car. Electric cars have LED lights and the radio uses very little power, but people's reference is their combustion car's 12V battery, and leaving the lights on and listening to the radio will quickly deplete that. Never mind that a 12V battery is typically 0.5kWh and the battery in the average electric car is 60kWh to 75kWh....

[@JackScarlett1]

Great vid. What an addition to the team you are, Ricky! 👊

[@Eatfreshguy407]

Imagine a world where every building has solar on the roof. You pay $0 for electricity, $0 for fuel for cars, and you create bonus electricity that you can store in case of emergency and/or sell to others. We could get rid of traditional power plants almost entirely, with a few remaining solar/wind/nuclear plants as emergency backup. We could also get rid of probably half our gas stations and just have public charging stations at businesses and parks. All of that land freed up from getting rid of those obsolete buildings could go towards housing, which is also out of control. Flood the market with housing and rid humanity of fossil fuels, saving everyone thousands of dollars per year or more.

[@grahamstevenson1740]

Solar on your roof in Britain won't help much with your winter heating ! There are places where rooftop solar makes a lot of sense but it absolutely ISN'T the answer to everything.

[@Oldcarnut63]

That's not going to happen in our lifetime. Really free energy the reality is the the price will soar supply and demand just like with gasoline .solar panels cost money employees have to maintain them . it will never be free and don't forget the solar companies will have stock holders and your have to keep them happy yeah it will never be free.

[@grahamstevenson1740]

@@Oldcarnut63 Solar panels are entirely maintenance free. They may only have a 25 year guarantee but There is nothing to wear out ! They'll probably be working fine for 50 or more years. Just clean the glass surface to remove grime occasionally. You really have no idea at all.

[@MrArtist7777]

EV's, just like computers, cell phones, automation, etc., are all inevitable. Anyone who complains about them or says they won't happen, are delusional and not dealing with reality. Batteries will continue to get better and better, making EV's even more obvious to everyone.

[@aussie2uGA]

There's so much excess Nuclear Energy in Georgia during the night, residents in the state can get their EV's charged up for just $.01/kwh! It's been an amazing deal, I'm sure they will find a way to raise it in the future.

[@eastmanresearch3143]

That is where Nuclear fills the gap, you could add 10x the solar and it won't change the off peak capacity. Amazing. I pay .25 per KWH in California to charge the car.

[@redbaron6805]

@@eastmanresearch3143 Or, just charge the car during the day when excess solar power is available, or use more wind power at night. More public and work chargers could make that happen, along with people that work from home during the day.

[@jondonnelly3]

Georgia is good at Nuclear, they are building 2 new plants to replace old ones. They are the ONLY state doing that.

[@eastmanresearch3143]

@@redbaron6805im at the office during the day six days a week. business rates are even higher in cali. i supercharge once every 2 weeks to help fill the gaps.

[@redbaron6805]

@@eastmanresearch3143 There are going to be different solutions for different scenarios. CA doesn't have much wind power yet. That is scheduled to change with more offshore wind installations. It could also change with more businesses getting incentives to install solar and chargers so you can charge at work during the day using the company solar array.

[@patreekotime4578]

The one thing that wasnt mentioned but is very exciting is the maturation of the idea of microgrids. The idea of a microgrid is basically that instead of a centralized power station servicing 100 miles of customers, every community would have its own solar and/or wind and most importantly, its own stable storage. Stable storage is really THE key to making renewables work, but also solves the problems of demand peaks and virtually eliminates brown outs. Microgrids can even operate wholly with stable storage and not even produce their own power, by buying cheap power from utilities during off-peak hours and then selling it to their customers. The goal of these systems isnt nessecarily to eliminate big powerstations, but to transform the energy use curve at the power plant level away from the duck-curve and towards a totally flat baseline. There are also programs like energy co-ops that allow communities to actually OWN their own local energy production that have been succesful in Europe. Those schemes usually have a third-party investor who buys the equipment and land, and takes a fraction of the profits, while the community investors sit on the board and make decisions. Especially for people who live in small rural communities who are most vulnerable to aging power infrastructure, they could produce their own power and reduce their reliance on that aging grid. These schemes also tend to be able to sell power for cheaper than the big utilities and without the seasonal price swings.

[@michac3796]

Yes, this one here, threatens the status quo, he was speaking heresy against the holy centralized generator gods...

[@mralistair737]

who would a micro-grid be better than a macro-grid? scaling things up evens it out even more. Maybe it'd avoid dealing with bureaucracy or other states but it seems that's a people problem not an engineering problem... and *should* be easier to fix,

[@redbaron6805]

@@mralistair737 It would address the transmission infrastructure which is the main issue. There have been studies showing that right now, there is enough energy production capacity in the USA to convert the entire auto fleet to electric cars tomorrow. The issue is, we don't have the transmission infrastructure to deliver the energy where it is needed. Micro grids would solve that by producing the energy where it is needed. As a bonus, you could reduce transmission losses which can account for up to 10% of all energy produced, before it is delivered to the end user.

[@patreekotime4578]

@@mralistair737 Microgrids make the macrogrid more resilient to localized peak demand spikes. The idea is that the macrogrid will run at the baseline without peaker plants, while the microgrids would handle local peak demand, handle excess local power generation from renewables etc. Microgrids also prevent outtages at the macro level from disrupting local customers, and allow for faster rebuilding in the event of natural disasters. Obviously this is more for rural areas, but rural areas are also more threatened by aging infrastructure and natural disaster events. Microgrids also help reduce energy lost in transmission. Making the grid LARGER by connecting more states just doubles down on the problem of long distance transmission. Which already isnt being properly maintained.

[@redbaron6805]

@@patreekotime4578 In many ways it is a basket of solutions, not a single solution. Having large buildings make ice at night so they don't require as much cooling energy during the day. Shift energy intensive tasks to peak energy production, like doing more energy intensive tasks during the day when peak solar is active. Charging EV's could do that. Electric water heating can too. Some of it is simply addressing the demand side. Using more heat pumps for HVAC, using more LED lighting, using more efficient appliances, etc. It is an overall approach that is needed. There is really no one single magic solution that will solve it all.

[@ltribley]

Recently California's governor asked EV owners TO REDUCE THE USE OF THEIR EV'S because the power grid is unable to handle the increased load from EV's. Cost of energy will continue to rise in the US for years to come due to political choices and bad geopolitical decisions, Russian sanctions, by the US government making EV's less cost effective. It will get worse as the US plans to target OPEC. We see this now in areas of the EU where energy prices have risen so far that EV's are no longer cost effective and countries are beginning to implement blackouts and temporary electricity reductions, such as 20% for a few hours each day. Forget EV's for these people. ALL because of bad policy and geopolitical decisions, Sanctions against Russia. Their energy costs WILL NEVER RETURN to the low levels as before. This will likely increase in other areas of the country as EV use picks up. We see limited investment on the part of utility companies to upgrade their infrastructures to cope with EV growth over the coming years. Few utilities are Installing Tesla-like mega-battery storage to help strengthen the systems. We see cities, communities, and businesses reluctant to make the necessary investments in EV infrastructure, public charging stations as demands increase. Auto manufactures are not producing affordable EV's for the typical American family and the ones being produced are over-priced. We need to move away from using Tesla as the model. It's not, because Tesla is not indicative of EV for Americans and Tesla never did meet its promise of an Inexpensive EV for the rest of us, instead raising the prices of their vehicles and other manufactures increasing prices to compensate for the tax credits. With some legislatures mandating EV use by 2035, we are dealing with politicians out of touch with reality and the needs of our country and industries with a lukewarm commitment to EV's. We talk with little commitment and innovation on the foreseeable horizon.

[@itsROMPERS...]

The grid is sorely in need of upgrading and modernization anyway, even if there were no EVs, we'd still have to do it. This puts market pressure on lazy-ass utilities to get going. The California wild fires are largely caused by old, poorly maintained transmission wires, so this would even cut back these fires! Talk about win-win!

[@annekecornee]

Engineering Explained also has an episode about this. Plus, as Elon Musk said a while ago "We would have plenty of electricity for electric cars if we just stop refining oil"

[@DougJessee]

But reduce the grid load for refining all the fossil fuels and the fuels needed to transport the fuels around…

[@pacificostudios]

It's hard to believe there will be a day when I will intentionally park my car in the sun instead of trying to hide it under a roof or tree.

[@grahamstevenson1740]

Very few cars are likely to have solar panels. It's a very poor use of the silicon, absolutely WASTEFUL in fact since only some of them can be in direct sunlight and being used effectively. Far better to have them on rooftops. Also, parking in the sun is still going to make your car BAKE !

[@pacificostudios]

@@grahamstevenson1740 - I have to wonder, speaking as an engineer -- that since silicon cell production relies on a mineral that is much more plentiful than lithium, and much less impactful on the environment to produce, PV-equipped cars might be a great idea. Silicon cell technology is also advancing faster than storage battery tech. Given that the most cars are parked most of their life, putting the silicon cells in the roof might be more efficient than running the electricity from a roof-mounted panel to an electric car through both a stationary battery and the car's storage battery than just taking the electricity direct from a solar panel or its internal battery. Where I live -- southern California -- parking the car and letting the car charge itself with free electricity sounds quite appealing. Furthermore, a car on the freeway is using so little energy, it just might run without ever needed to discharge the internal battery.

[@grahamstevenson1740]

@@pacificostudios NO. PV solar cells are NOT advancing in great strides AT ALL. This is a foolish misconception. The efficiency of solar has fundamental limits set by quantum theory. Sticking them all over cars is a total waste of solar cells. When WILL this utter stupidity STOP ! At best you'll make a few kWh a day that costs next to nothing from a power socket ! It might take you 10 miles a day at best. Most of the world also doesn't live in Southern California.

[@pacificostudios]

@@grahamstevenson1740 - PV-powered cars have existed, in the research stage, for nearly 70 years. Remember, if we already knew the answer, it wouldn't be "research." Also, a lot of electricity is lost if the process of charging and discharging a battery, not to mention generating it and transporting the electricity hundreds of miles away, through many transformers and switches. Roughly 10% of all the electricity generated in the USA is lost through the transmission system. There is no free lunch.

[@grahamstevenson1740]

@@pacificostudios Apparently you don't understand WHY they stayed in the RESEARCH stage. It's because solar power is WEAK. No amount of MAGIC will make solar cells produce more electricity. When I first studied then, solar ells were around 17% efficient at converting light to electricity. NOW they're on average 21% efficient after much RESEARCH ! That's about as good as they can get ! Study some damn PHYSICS and you'll understand WHY !

[@TickerSymbolYOU]

What an awesome topic. Two Bit taking Fully Charged to the next level.

[@jameslewis2635]

If building regulations were changed to mandate that new houses needed built with solar panels, a decent amount of insulation and a battery pack then the electricity grids (not just in the US but worldwide) would be under a whole lot less stressed. Add to that the fact that our homes would be much more energy efficient because most of our electric usage would be covered by what is generated ourselves just from these solar panels. If governments were to then further schemes with grants or loans to allow existing households to upgrade to these measures then the whole energy pricing issues (minus petrol and diesel) would be a thing of the past since (for the most part) electricity would not need to be generated in gas and oil power stations.

[@dfza4866]

I've been saying this for 20 yrs since architecture school. To me it proves it's all about money and not about saving the environment.

[@tims8603]

This is why I have high hopes for Aptera. It can charge itself, for up to 40 miles, and will charge up to 150 miles from 120v overnight. If solar becomes cheaper and more efficient, many more people will be getting their power from that.

[@mburkevidz]

Really interesting and really nice presenter - cheers Ricky

[@lsh3rd]

I work in the power industry and can see no evidence of all these self-proclaimed experts sending us resumes. Fully Charged Show picked up a GREAT presenter with Ricky... I've been a subscriber to his content since nearly the beginning and it is of great quality. The one thing to add to this video would be mention of mass adoption of air conditioning, which is technically a MUCH more difficult problem to solve since the demand of A/C *creates* the peaks.

[@aussie2uGA]

Yes, I really wish the rumor of Tesla getting into HVAC with their efficient heat pumps would become reality.

[@downwind_david]

Although a large proportion of A/C is used when we have long sunny days... solar panels can mitigate a lot of the power required. It's the heating in winter side of the equation that I believe we're struggling with as we demand more energy when we have less sunshine. From personal experience living in Western Australia, I have a 5kw inverter system and pay about AUD$25 for a bi-monthly bill in summer time. This becomes a AUD$300 bill in winter!

[@موسى_7]

The solution is efficient homes with high ceilings. High ceilings means the heat rises up, because that's what hot air does. Spending more time downstairs than upstairs is good for this reason. Insulation or passive cooling, correctly sized house, shutting curtains, white paint to reflect the heat.

[@BMWHP2]

Like the Aptera, the Xbus is using solar panels to ride up to 200km per day, with up to 6 m2 panels.

[@djmattc1978]

This is my new go-to video for when someone tells me the grid can't cope!

[@samspencer7765]

Wherever possible you should try to save up to purchase your own solar + battery power. Energy companies are absolute vultures, we should give them as little money as possible.

[@jacobcorry3914]

Most residential transformers in my area are 50KVA (Ontario Canada). The max amperage at 240v is 208A. Even when operating at 150%, each transformer may only be able to handle 4-5 chargers. What happens when all 10+ houses, all fed from the same transformer want chargers? Literally millions of transformers will have to be upgraded to 100KVA+. Maybe the electrical grid can handle it with time, but transformers can’t.

[@MLampner]

Well done, the only thing you didn't mention which has been around for decades are hydro storage plants. As you pointed out the grid has surplus capacity much of the time but currently lacks the capacity to store its product the way water and gas company's can. Water storage systems can hold large amounts of current with limited environmental impact. With EV's as storage banks and perhaps a neighborhood water towers where the pump that fills it use power when the grid has surplus and then when the water falls generates power is in use in places and even larger scale plants are on line. So as you said profit will shift the dollars. Final thought even if tomorrow production of internal combustion powered vehicles stopped it would easily take a decade to retire most of the current gas powered fleet so its not like we have to find that power tomorrow.

[@redbaron6805]

They are already using abandoned coal mines and other mine sites as hydro storage. There are dozens of solutions being tested for this, everything from molten salt to elevated train car generators to creating hydrogen for storage.

[@frankcoffey]

The folks complaining about having enough power for EVs have never once complained that we were building too many houses, gas stations, businesses, hospitals, schools, factories, etc. In the Dallas / Fort Worth area of Texas there has been constant building since 1982 and not even "one" person ever said "..are we going to have enough electricity for all this?". Not even one. With growth of all kinds we need more electricity and cars are just one more thing. I remember when McMansions become all the range with 2 or even 3 AC units and no one ever said, will that kill the grid?

[@edwinstar100]

The end result is we are consuming way to many resources insisting on single occupant vehicles, think European or Canadian style public transit, frequent, fast, clean, safe. I think It needs to be part of this discussion.

[@wolfgangpreier9160]

Yes 👍

[@andrewmcgowan2798]

Yes indeed! Consider a future where personal transport (cars) are not needed because properly developed public transport is so much better - cheaper per mile, no congestion (fewer vehicles on motorways and in towns), fewer accidents/ collisions/ fatalities, journey times much quicker, no hassle with MOTs, servicing, washing your car etc. minibus services to take passengers from main routes/ train stations to their homes/ final destinations. I know many would resist this because they see their cars as an expression of the personality (whatever that means) but it makes much more sense than the current private ownership of cars.

[@abrahamghannam2137]

My neighbor and a friend bought the F150 lightning went up north Michigan 200 mile range pulling a trailer brought it down to 160 mile range. Every time they have to charge I had to undo the trailer park the trailer wait for everybody to finish then connect the trailer back and do it again three times on the way there and three times on the way back. They told me we’re done with this nothing but a headache fun to drive around if you’re going to the store close by the house, but not going distance with the trailer and F150 eight cylinder will get you 620 miles to the tank full. They drove 350 miles and had to charge three times roughly.

[@ScrapKing73]

“Remember, your utility is a middleman…” Depends on where you live. In most of Canada your electric utility is likely also the organization that generates the power, for example.

[@jamesdubben3687]

Excellent work Ricky, perfect Fully Charged info. Our power company in Florida eliminated Time Of Use billing on 1 January 2022. They also penalize anyone who doesn't buy a minimum amount of electricity, a real head-slap to low income solar homes.

[@redbaron6805]

Thanks to FPL who actively bribed our crooked right wing legislature to try to block solar installations, and then funded ghost candidates to prevent the PSC from regulating their rates. Corruption at its finest...

[@Ashish_Sharma239]

Once the all car become electric our grid network also changed, so no need to worry😥 about.

[@glanciaeltro1271]

Is there any comparison between how much curtailment energy is thrown away due to the lack of storage per year VS the amount of energy needed for the electrification of transport?

[@4literv6]

Would you consider doing a complete video about finding, drilling or fracking for oil, transporting it to refineries. Refining it using water electricity and cobalt. Transporting it again etc? I would be very curious to see what kind of informative interesting facts you would share. 👍🏻

[@TwoBitDaVinci]

I’ll ask the team!

[@4literv6]

@@TwoBitDaVinci great, and thank you to all involved for this well done mature video about the grid and evs. A small suggestion for the future grid specific content? See if you can get an actual power company to talk about evs and charging. I've had multiple in person fascinating conversations with the Georgia power team bosses since 2019 that build out some of the hwy charging stations here in Georgia. Plus the boss of my own emc who owns a model s raven and has enacted multiple ev friendly programs plus installed solar&battery storage at the hq. He's getting them to walk to walk and not just talk it. None of them are in the least bit worried about evs and the grid coping with any charging demands. They instead seem excited about overcoming any challenges and providing reliable renewable and more sustainable power generation options. And I'm proud my local emc last year sourced over 50% of it's power from nuclear and renewables combined. On track for 80% or more from those by 2028 if not sooner. They also informed me all off peak power comes from nuclear hydro or wind. Zero overnight power from fossil sources. And with the new vogtle reactors coming online late this year into spring. Even more power will come from none polluting options. 😎

[@rogerstarkey5390]

@@TwoBitDaVinci I think Robert already has?

[@patreekotime4578]

@@rogerstarkey5390 Yes I think there are some older videos that touch on this. But with the changing energy mix and especially with the changing concerns over battery materials mining, it would be good to see an update.

[@clintkeepin]

I believe Robert did one or two back in the day, should still be on the channel.

[@RobinTorrekensTravelVlog]

How can I give double like? 😊 Very well explained enjoyable video, thx!

[@ThatUnfunGuy]

As someone who works for a utility company, I don't really think this video hits on the big problems we face during the electrification of transport. It hits on most of the big points, that are interesting to discuss, so it makes sense as a KZbin video. The central question is flawed, the grid isn't a stationary thing, it changes and it will need to change A LOT to accommodate EVs. But luckily we're already working on it and the more EVs people buy, the more money there will be to put in to building out the grid. Flexibility, what we call modifying charging behaviour or utilising EV batteries as "virtual power plants" is a laughing stock amongst a lot of my colleagues. I'm on the fence about it myself, but I'm pretty sure it won't be the saving grace people pretend it is.

[@GreatCreative]

Fantastic presentation! Even a person terrified of, or confused by change would be convinced once they begin to understand the numbers. If that's you, watch this 3 or 4 more times. Businesses will always seize the opportunity for profit, and EVs bring a whole new profit centre to the global economy.

[@readtherealanthonyfaucibyr6444]

This "change" is not natural. The US automakers committed to halting production of petrol cars have done so based on political pressure and greased palms.

[@readtherealanthonyfaucibyr6444]

This "change" is a result of forceful nudging from those who hold elected office

[@jimgraham6722]

Numbers are very important but it helps if you can add up. Sadly many cant.

[@1964mcqueen]

The argument is always that if everyone switched to EVs tomorrow, the grid would crash. Of course, that isn't going to happen, so it isn't worth addressing. We do have challenges ahead, but these are more than manageable. Off peak charging, V2G, home solar and upgrades to our generation and distribution networks will not only allow the transition to happen, but will present opportunities for innovation, jobs and a more stable grid overall.

[@aet350z]

Second that, can we have an episode for the Uk as well?

[@fredbloggs5902]

If every car in the U.K. was an EV it would add 8% load on the grid. This is easily handled given that most people charge at night.

[@sunkistlbc]

I fell asleep during this commercial that last 12:22 minutes long

[@the_jarmel]

GREAT VIDEO.. HAVE A BEAUTIFUL DAY EVERYONE

[@Teste-gp7bm]

This is many ways away from an unbiased view. What a waste of time.

[@Andy-uc5ju]

You started the video with a lot of questions I'd like to hear you address. Then proceeded to talk about something less important to address.

[@TwoBitDaVinci]

Sounds like you want future episodes!

[@Andy-uc5ju]

@@TwoBitDaVinci hahaha. I suppose

[@eastmanresearch3143]

Do you honestly think off-peak charging rates won't double in the next 5 years? Peak hour rates in California are .53 per KWH, up from .42 per KWH. Not only will the grid be crippled w/ blackouts at some point without further investment in capacity, blackouts will be reality too. We already are on the verge of blackouts in CA this summer, TX already needs way more capacity with the population growth and demand. I'm a model s owner here and this is highly concerning for the long term.

[@StephGV2]

If EVs are standardized with two way charging/storage, EVs would essentially be charging other EVs during peak demand through mass distributed grid storage. We really haven't even begun tapping wind energy. And *every* residential and commercial building should have a "solar roof" as part of zoning. Making electric cars *part* of the grid means that energy is available regardless of when it is produced.

[@crackedemerald4930]

Also, better insulation and land usage in the US.

[@jimiverson3085]

Agree with the concept but it will require a reduction in the broad stupidity quotient. I often despair about that happening.

[@rogerstarkey5390]

2 big projects coming on line in 2025/26. Hinkley C 20 years from "consult to completion" £23bn and counting. 3.2GW . Dogger Bank Wind Project. 13 year "consult to complete" £8.7 billion. 3.6 GW. ...... They'll say "BUT STORAGE! 😱😱😱" . Well, you could build 3 Dogger Banks. Or Build 2 and spend £4+ Billion on storage. Or any combination. Oh, the Dogger Bank "strike price" (wholesale consumer) £39/ MWh. Hinkley C ? £92/MWh. (That's a "wtf!!!??" Moment?)

[@JPTech933]

I guess we are lucky, here in Montreal we pay 8 cents per KW/h within the first 40 KW/h consumed per day. So owning an full EV for someone who drives everyday and charges at home is very interesting. Our gas prices have been $1.70 to $2.10L in recent months. I even saw this summer, Diesel as high as $2.25L ! (1 liter is 0.264 gallon, about 4L = 1G) Since California has so much sun, why don't most businesses and homes have solar panels on their roof.

[@LLPOF]

I have talked at length with a friend of mine who is high up in the electric industry in my region. Our grid is in very dire straits, regardless of EV adoption. It's actually kind of scary. Years of mismanagement and politics have put us in a potentially dire situation.

[@marvintpandroid2213]

If done right EVs could help stabilise the grid

[@scrow9]

To all the EV Naysayers - what exactly do you propose then to address climate change? Here's what's in our future if we do nothing and continue burning fossil fuels like idiots: Coastal city's and island nations will be drowned under rising water levels, storms will become both stronger and occur more frequently killing God knows how many, temperatures rise of course, we can expect "climate refugees" fleeing their former lands, even more frequent huge wild fires etc etc...sounds lovely doesn't it? EV's are PART of the solution, they are not the one-stop fix for climate change but it's a strong step in the right direction and any issues can be addressed bottom line. I'm proud that my state California is taking a bold step today saying that by 2035 all new cars sold in our state will have to be electric. Hopefully the car manufacturers will get the hint and start producing practical and affordable EV cars for everyone and not these luxury cars they seem fixated on.

[@steveurbach3093]

The grid operators are waiting for the Government to pay for the upgrade so they can keep the current profits for bonuses

[@aljudy01]

Nice video Ricky. We all get this discussion about where is all the electricity going to come from all the time, so thanks for helping to debunk it. Two points. You show the duck curve which shows production outstripping demand at midday, then go on to describe how EVs can be charged at night. Second, Telsa does not support V2G. I think this deserves a mention, especially since you use lots of little Teslas in you animations. Elon Musk is specifically against it as he thinks people should buy a Powerwall. I think he needs to be called out for this.

[@justice4g]

Australia's grid is already crippled with practically 0 EV's on the road.

[@BlackhawkPilot]

Yes you can easily keep your electricity costs down with an EV. I have changed all my lights to LEDs, appliances and computers to Energy Star, and HVAC to high SEER. Result is that adding an EV has not increased my monthly electric bill. Have a Tesla solar roof on order and expect electricity use from the grid to be zero once the the solar roof is installed.

[@jonathanterranova448]

Here's the crazy part? I want a 100/200-kilowatt battery chilling at my house/business, to use at night to charge my EV and run my home/business. p.s. Bi-directional charging is cool. It'll become standard in the future.

[@fwqkaw]

100/200-kWh battery?

[@MickH60]

@@fwqkaw That's massive...!

[@duckqueak]

This video misrepresents this issue hard and I fear will hurt peoples perception of EVs as a result. First off a 25% increase is a HUGE increase in energy consumption its not 'just' a trillion kwhs thats a lot of energy. The video throws out ideas like reduced oil refinery energy consumption and using EVs as grid battery storage but it fails to address where the rest of that 25% comes from. That being said people being incentivised to charge off peak will be a big help. The reality is that the grid will need serious investment to accomdate electric cars and charge them at the speeds people desire. This does not mean electric cars are not useful or an inferior technology, after all oil requires a seperate hugely expensive energy network to provide you will reliable gas(and only is cheap due to gas subsidies). Unlike gas powered cars EVs don't need an energy distribution system built from the ground up, they can use an energy distribution system that already exists, it will simply need upgrades. The amount of electricity EVs demand is no small fraction of what your home consumes so your neighborhood with already at capacity lines may need their power transfer capacity increased by more than just 25%. After all that 25% is the average, not maximum, energy consumption increase evenly spread over a year so on average people will demand 25% more electricity. What if everyone tries charging their car at the same time? Anything more than average will require more than a 25% increase in capacity. That is a lot of transformers, substations, power lines, etc that need to be built. Now don't get me wrong this is very solveable problem but a problem all the same. Serious investment will need to be made and measures will need to be put in place so we don't blow transformers left and right like we did when AC came around. EV owners could have smart chargers that monitor grid capacity and only charge when the grid has energy to provide, in exchange the consumer pays a lower price similiar to the charging at night idea but this would be at all periods. This could become a regulatory standard for all EVs while the grid catches up. EV owners could notify the state utility commision of their purchase so they could better track and project EV growth and predict capacity issues in their neighborhood. These are just some ideas, all in all EVs will demand a lot of energy, enough to cause a disturbance but that will be temporary growing pains. The same way we have to deal with the construction of bigger highways as more people move in or buy cars we will need more electric infrastructure and like those roads it wont be cheap. My greatest fear is that people will see electic cars as the enemy and cities will start banning them to save power rather than spending money on upgrades. Its important that people have explained to them that yes this is going to cost hundreds of billions if not trillions but that this is an investment in the economy. The cost of transportation will all EVs will halve with current effciency and america will have total control over the energy needed to run its economy, the benefits are huge enough to justify the spending. Sorry for the rant but I feel this video missed some key points that very much need to be addressed. I know people don't want to kill the hype but pouncing unexpected costs on people is not going to help the push to EVs. - A Utility Engineer.

[@QALibrary]

9:22 just to let you know at least one US state (more are looking at it) already outlawed the public from energy trading via cars or grid storage devices - you can sell the electricity but only at the price, you brought at.

[@MarcoNierop]

So you cant sell the energy you generated for free on your roof back into the grid and get compensated for that? That is plain stupidity, wont last long, Tesla will take care of it this gets banned sooner or later.

[@scrow9]

That's because of the political influence of the oil and gas industry and other powerful lobbies - over time, the power will shift to those supporting green priorities

[@chrisheath2637]

To clarify this - I believe that utility companies will SELL you electricity at the retail price, but BUY it from you at the wholesale price (AFAIK )...

[@bentp4891]

In UK we only get about 20% of the retail price of electricity when we sell it back to the grid.

[@michaeljames5936]

@@bentp4891 Are there still any tariffs paid to the producer for every KWh generated, regardless of whether you used it, or sold it to the grid? The subsidy was so great at the start, that sharks took over the entire scheme.

[@davidalgarme1960]

The issue isn’t with he Grid. Grid Operators are experts at estimating power needs and meeting the demand. They have been doing it for decades. The real issue is at the power distribution level. (That is where I spent my career working). The transformers that feed the houses on your street and the secondaries that they supply are sized based on the load they serve. If to many people on your street buy their own Tesla and charge them at the same time there will be problems. You speak frequently speak about issues on the Macro level and not on the Micro level. The Micro level can add up to a huge problem. The next time you see an Aptera driving by let me know. One hasn’t been sold yet. I have been following them for at least 10 years and they have appeared and disappeared before. Finally compare the Electric rates in San Diego to the rest of the state (apples to apples). They aren’t exactly the shing example of thrift. You should not present a complicated story from only 1 point of view. If you don’t have a power wall in your home you could suffer the consequences.

[@Jaw0lf]

We also need to have a UK version to stop the nay sayers on this side of the pond!

[@MG_Steve]

To be fair, the same applies to the UK. Decentralised power generation is a massive future 'thing' and when more EVs can support Vehicle to Grid (V2G), it'll become more and more viable. Its a pet peeve of mine at the moment that if you sell excess energy back to the grid (i.e. from a Solar setup) you get paid 5.5p/kWh for something that they resell for anything from 22 to 50p, depending on who its sold to. They're making massive profits on it and if they really wanted to increase solar adoption, they'd increase the feed in tariff rate. Anyway, an excellent video, well done FC.

[@fredbloggs5902]

If every car in the U.K. became an EV overnight it would add 8% load on the grid. This is easily handled given that most people charge at night.

[@Jaw0lf]

@@MG_Steve I own a Tesla Powerwall and that has enebled me to join the Tesla Powerplan from Octopus Energy. I joined a few months back and got a 12.6pence per kWh and this is in or out from my Solar panels or battery. It has a day use limit of 9,500kWh per year but to get these rates Tesla have taken over my battery filling it at night or from solar during the day. It has in effect given me a larger battery. Recently the cost per kWh has changed to near enough double, but that means the same in or out and is great if solar output is high. I love the idea of V2G as it is an extension of the Powerwall and using 15-20% of the EV 's battery during the day or evening could provide power to the home, whilst leaving plenty for the car journies. It could also fill up over night ready to provide more power the next day. I totally agree with your peeve, and outgoing electricity should be a fair price and linked closer to the cost , rather than set as a fixed value.

[@MG_Steve]

​@@Jaw0lf Yeah, I did look at a PW when I was specing my Solar system earlier in the year, but cost vs capacity and availability were why I went with an LG Prime 16kWh instead. The Tesla powerplan did also interest me, but tbh, I was put off by the fact that Tesla control when the power is stored & pumped back into the grid (which I appreciate is sort of the point!), but I wanted a battery to last the day & then recharge over night on cheap rates to use the next day, assuming the solar didn't keep the battery topped up. i.e. any electricity we did take from the grid should just be overnight to recharge the battery. Its been a very interesting process though, I intend to do a few videos on the whole decision process, install & commissioning of the system :)

[@Jaw0lf]

@@MG_Steve I was running my PW2 the same as you on a cheap overnight tariff and managed an 89% night rate use for past couple of years. After installing the ASHP, the electric costs were going up and now I did not know how much the ASHP would use in the day. So moving to the Tesla Power Plan has allowed access to a 12.6p per kWh cost all day. A lot better than a 42p daytime use i saw earlier with a 7.5p night use. Once i know how my heat pupm will work over winter and what daytime extra cost it adds, i will review and may take control of my Powerwall or even add a second, if I am able to do so! I will be interested to watch your vids!

[@christill]

The issue isn’t whether the grid could handle it. Of course it can. The issue is that emissions haven’t come down, and they aren’t likely to because our consumption is far too high. And that’s before you get into climate feedback loops, which, for the purposes of this comment, let’s temporarily ignore. It’s never going to be enough of a reduction if we all own EVs and live in medium to large houses with solar panels. We have to live smaller and more local with less stuff. That means small apartments and other dwellings. It means cycling and micromobility. It means not travelling as much and doing so on the ground unless flying is absolutely necessary. It means not owning as much clothes and other things we don’t need. Only the stuff that really matters to us. And of course eating plant based. I don’t think people are ready to hear it still; but every day we waste now, the bigger the cuts will need to be.

[@toddyoung277]

I feel that this topic doesn’t address the shortfall we are witnessing of public charging infrastructure. It’s not about the energy source, but rather how it’s delivered. Out of Spec just did a video about this fast-growing problem, as so many stations at public networks like EA are inoperable. Unacceptable for those who don’t drive Teslas or who want to drive something else besides a Tesla. More and more EVs are being sold every day, and I’m willing to bet the next 12 - 24 months are going to be ugly for those who want to go on a road trip.

[@patreekotime4578]

So there are two possible solutions to this: Market pressures may force these companies to change their maintenence practices, especially once Tesla's supercharger network opens up and becomes competition. Or some level of oversight will come in and require regular inspections of charging locations to inforce some level of safety/operability. One of the problems is that Electrify America (the biggest non-Tesla network) is essentially a court-mandated entity. It exists as punishment for VW's Diesel Gate scandal. So in a way it is beyond market pressures because VW has to operate it regardless of if it is profitable or not. So regulatory pressure may be the only thing that would force them to improve maintenence, because data collected by inspectors could prove that VW was failing to meet its court requirements. Without such inspections, Electrify America is a toothless punishment. As long as they are building them, they are meeting the bare minimum requirement. Even if they dont even work with VW products!

[@aussie2uGA]

Tesla built Superchargers to be 100% robust for years. Volkswagen built the EA chargers due to a court order penalty for dieselgate. It shouldn't make anyone wonder why they can't stay up and running.

[@TheGamingCarousel]

one problem u guys left out what the cost of providing infrastructure to the homes to charge the cars. as a saying goes : the last mile to the consumer is the biggest challenge of centralised infrastructure of any kind. u didnt even think about what it would mean to put a 20 kw charging station in every home ..... most homes just have electrical infrastructure for a max of 10 kw ..... so u would need to replace them with bigger and better cables, cutting up roads or existing infrastructure in cities in the process. in a place like Vienna, Austria, where the existing infrastructure is old and packed tightly beneath narrow roads,of which some are even protected by law because of their age, its basically impossible with existing technology to get enough power to the homes in a economically viable fashion. and im talkikng about single family homes in the suburbs of the city. with scyscrapers the problem is even bigger cuz more people with cars all would want to charge them at the same time in the night resulting in ridiculously large peak energy usage in the middle of the night for those kinds of buildings. with a little bit of math u can see fast why that would be a problem, that even a fully decentralised grid with solar everywhere couldnt handle ...... all in all this video just focused on basically one aspect of the topic which is pure energy usage but if u would factor in building all that infrastructure, it paints a much darker picture about pure ev vehicles

[@LastWish90]

Been at a supercharger near rom last month and they were packed with solar Panels around 2300 with 235 wPeak so around theoretical 540 KW and 8 v3 superchargers I think, so perfect fit.

[@Grant.G.Simpson]

i really want one of those Aptera's. so far i'm 8 months into my 1st E.V (hyundai kona) never thought i would go down this route, now i cant see myself ever going back to I.C.Engines

[@Simon-dm8zv]

nice!

[@PiefacePete46]

I have been a motorsport loving "Revhead" all my life... like you, I am a surprised convert to EV's. Not so sure about the Aptera; love the concept, love the design, but picking up visiting family from the airport, or materials for a home reno project is a non-starter. For me, it would have to be an additional vehicle, which rather destroys the perceived benefit. ☹

[@SchnoogansMcDuff]

What happens when we run out of the materials needed to make batteries? It's interesting to me that we are trying to jump from one non-renewable resource to another to solve this problem.

[@iskabin]

they will never talk about it. All these "clean energy" channels are blatantly lying to us. Never trust them

[@clintkeepin]

We won't. Newer battery tech is on the way that uses very common materials, also, as it's been said many times, the batteries of today, their minerals are reusable / recyclable. Once a battery hits its lifecycle, those materials you speak of will be reused. Tesla already has a battery recycle program, and one of the original founders of Tesla has gone off and started his own massive battery recycling company.

[@iskabin]

@@clintkeepin Yeah, the tech of tomorrow that's been talked about for years now and never comes.

[@clintkeepin]

@@iskabin except it has come and is here. Open your 👀.

[@iskabin]

@@clintkeepin Please, show me. What should I search for?

[@jonnoMoto]

Unsubscribing. This channel is so dettached from the reality of what the average people's incomes actually are.

[@lyokofans]

Technically the title of this video could be disputed. If every ICE vehicle was magically switched to an EV overnight the grid would probably collapse or explode. 🤣

[@dshock85]

if we put solar over all those sunny parking lots and mandated every city, especially in the west, must produce its own electricy from solar....then no.......Every roof in the US should have had solar panels on it by now

[@mattchristie1810]

With electricity prices having tripled (and expected to go higher) here in the UK, and I'm sure most of Europe, I'm on the verge of selling my EV. The insane situation we're facing, and not just for the short-term, is that petrol is now on a par cost-wise with electricity per mile, and if you consider the continued premium prices of EVs, they're simply going to become the property of the elite. Sometimes we make a moral choice in choosing a green car, but if financially it can't be sustained, then we have to make a practical choice. So the current EV and electricity prices may help stave off any concerns about overloading the grid!

[@gerardhaus8150]

Have you done the math in detail? Hard to imagine ICE is cheaper to run than EV unless you never charge at home. Many good videos on this topic, some Welsh guy with his channel called “Electric Vehicle Man”/EVM does the job quite well…

[@Jaw0lf]

Get an electricity contract that offers cheapovernight EV charging. A quick check on Octopus offers 7.5p per kWh between midnight and 6am for and EV owner. Then charge EV's run washing machines, dishwashers and anything else that uses a lot of electricity at those cheaper times. I added a Tesla Powerwall to take advantage of this several years ago and maintained a 90% night time use, so paying 7.5p for most use and equivalent for now 42p for day use. Massive savings are available!

[@rogerstarkey5390]

@Matt Christie So you're "thinking of selling your EV"? That's odd. 6 months ago you were posting that "You drive a hybrid and can't afford an EV" . 🤔😂 . IF you're going to troll, at least keep your "story" consistent. . BUSTED!

[@mattchristie1810]

@@rogerstarkey5390 I’m so pleased how you’ve been so intimately involved with my fortunes over the last 6 months. How a company bonus and my partner’s new job meant that we could get her a little second hand nissan leaf, because we were trying to do the right thing. Honestly, don’t make wild assumptions that 2 comments 6 months apart means you know everything about someone. A bit rude to say the least. For anyone who’s actually interested in the real topic, in March we were stung with an electricity renewal price of 42p per kwh. It was the best available at the time. We’ve equated that to about £50 per 400 miles of driving.

[@oldrrocr]

when trump is found guilty, and his assets seized under RICO - can we convert Mar a Lago to a windmill farm...please.😁😁😁

[@bocadelcieloplaya3852]

I thought i clicked on a different channel when i saw Two Bit Davinci. A surprise to be sure, butt a WELCOME one.

[@JustWasted3HoursHere]

Another big point to remember is that the change to electric is happening SLOWLY, which gives the grid time to be upgraded and expanded. If everyone switched overnight then, yeah, there might be an issue.

[@redbaron6805]

Good point which is frequently lost. We are not getting hundreds of millions of electric cars connected tomorrow...

[@JustWasted3HoursHere]

@@redbaron6805 Same thing happened with gas cars (which the host briefly touches on): There were no gas stations at all for the first few years. Gas would generally be purchased at pharmacies (believe it or not) or General stores, etc until more and more of the gas cars started driving on roads and gave incentive for the support system to blossom. In the first few years of the 20th century there were really only perhaps a few hundred gas cars in existence, so gas stations were not called for. But within 15 years, when Henry Ford came up with the assembly line, production exploded and prices came WAY down enough that the average person could actually afford to buy one. This is very similar to the situation electric cars are in right now.

[@afonsocarneiro]

Did the governments prohibited the use horses ? All is great and green but the thirany is not. If the future is green (I hope so) then the markets will eventually arrive to that conclusion, no need to force any ideology.

[@raghurthepro]

I normally don't comment about the presenter: But man, you're excellent! Super job in your communication styles. :)

[@seeranos]

As a fellow San Diegan, I love how much your channel uses aerial shots of San Diego

[@heribertosarmiento1265]

The grid needs to modernize regardless if or not EV’s become mainstream if not ask Texas if their grid is better than East,North and West of the US.

[@jasongooden917]

It takes electricity to run the pump at the gas station

[@TwoBitDaVinci]

Yeah, and the whole gas station. And a circular loop for all the gasoline needed to transport it to gas stations… lots of mess can could be cleaned up

[@betterunderstandingstudios8746]

More content like this. We need consumers empowered with info like this who live in IOU Utility stares, like Utah. PacifiCorp consistently prioritizes shareholder interest over consumer. This leads to them big money on investment they can rate base leaving distributed resources untapped.

[@wobby1516]

It’s about time that large supermarkets installed solar on their roofs to run the the power hungry refrigerator in their shops, they might also take a leaf from Aldi & Lidl and fit glass doors to the refrigerators that in its self would save a pile of money.

[@ewadge]

Excellent presentation by Ricky - this type of show is really where Ricky shines.

[@TwoBitDaVinci]

thank you Eric! cheers!

[@stephenbrickwood1602]

Thank God you are looking at this Ricky. I have been pushing this idea for the past 6 months on every nuclear and EV youtube. Are you quoting me ?? Hahaha, I love it. I have grandchildren and I will be dead soon enough, so this is for the near future world. It is a little complicated until properly explained. The new can be done progressively, ezi pezi. What got me galvanised was my old friend from university days. We are Civil Engineers with construction careers and he is now a Nuclear Engineer. He loves it. My point is: If Nuclear is the saviour for a NO CO2 WORLD then all USA enemies have to stop fossil fuel use and build their own nuclear industries. The danger is not the reactors, it is the industry stupid. 150,000 SMR reactors around the world, unbelievably stupid. Strong words but there are many followers of the nuclear fantasy. Also massive duplicate building of new power grids from new central power plants, aging and new government subsidised nuclear power plants for the massive demand increases in an electric world. Big debt, big government, big business, 60years to 100years all alternative energy sources blocked because of investment debt. Existing electricit power infrastructure was a $TRILLIONS and $TRILLIONS and decades and decades project. And now it has to be 5fold bigger, unbelievably stupid waste. 40% of the grid will be UNLOADED as it is now, with EV and home rooftop solar. Even in the colder latitudes 85% of the year free solar everyday from home. If you can afford a car, with a free giant battery, you can afford a cheap roof top solar, from the money you save from petroleum. Petroleum can be a strategic military reserve asset for war fighting and emergencies.

[@ProfSimonHolland]

excellent points..

[@skinnyhol]

Remember its that 27% that got you started. If you want to lose that 27% keep saying trunk and hood

[@maxplanck9055]

Solar panels are always nearby electric vehicle chargers, this show makes no sense ✌️❤️🇬🇧

[@stephenbrickwood1602]

Shopping centres making money from the car parks, trading power with EV batteries.

[@bakeredwards]

I'm not from the USA but a few minutes in I see this isn't a balanced view, it's for fan boys.

[@RPRosen-ki2fk]

Fully Charged, not all your presenters are good. Ricky is, don't lose him.

[@PetCactusA_HarmlessLittlePrick]

If the owners of electric vehicles buy a gasoline generator to charge the battery it won't be a problem.

[@fullychargedshow]

Ahha ha ha ha ha. Such a brilliant, original and witty critique of the hopeless fools who think electric cars are better. I mean it's so obvious that a machine with multiple contained explosions made from igniting toxic finite fuel which creates rotation through a complex series of cranks, which then has to go though a heavy clutch assembly and an incredibly complex gearbox, a machine with well over 1,000 moving parts is SO much better.

[@Dat_Sun]

@@fullychargedshow The man himself, you are a shill.

[@kevatut23]

No doubt our grid is sick and needs upgrades, rebuilding and redesign. But what seems to get lost in the debate, is the conversion of gas to EV balance. As EVs proliferate, gas demand goes down. As pointed out here, the gas production life cycle is energy intensive. But that reality is inconvenient for the talking points of anti electric proponents.

[@toby9999]

Maybe not inconvenient, just not know? I didn't have a clue until I heard it here.

[@abrahamghannam2137]

I would not drive around in a pile of shit like that I’d rather go back to horse and buggy

[@COSolar6419]

It wasn’t just gas stations that were in short supply in the early years of automobiles. Roads suitable for automobiles hardly existed outside of cities. It took decades of massive public investment to build the highway system in the US.