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We had a major power outage back about 2006 that lasted 5 days for us, a week for some, in the Seattle area. Since then many gas stations have installed backup generators. When we had the last windstorm last winter and power was out for 8 hours, most gas stations were still open. We have two generators, a 6,500 watt big noisy one, and a 2,000 watt quiet inverter generator. Our power outages are about 1-2 times a year from tree branches in wind storms, and most last only a few hours, but we like to be prepared. Power outages are the least of the reasons to avoid electric vehicles for me. It's lack of range for long road trips, battery fires, and lack of the sounds and smells of the gas engines.
In 04 a string of EF1 came thru NW PA and wiped out a couple thousand square miles of grid. The same ones that knocked over the Kinzua bridge. I myself was caught in one going down 322 to knox when it rolled a huge elm in front of me like a tumbleweed but I digress.
I was without POCO power for 8 days. (its very rural up there) But I still had cable and hence internet!
so I worked from home for 8 days on a 5Kw each day. To get gas I drove 25 mins into brookville to fill up 4/5 5 gallon cans every few days.
I could run everything in the house - including water pump for the well, except for the dryer, but that is why god invented clotheslines. The ranges I had to drive to get services are about representative of just about every place in the US, every storm save few examples such as downtown NO with katrina or Homestead FL with andrew. Just add 10 more miles.
If I had todays EV there then, I would be in deep doo doo, especially if I used it to power the house like the new ford can. Even today, at times the best solution for a problem, is the solution designed for the problem. <--that was sarcasm
Looking back, it was like living in the early 1800's up there. Darkness and isolation no one there ever saw before or since. I used my ATV to go most places to check on people. No troopers were in care mode at the time.
Was anyone really put out? well, they are country folk and a little more (a lot) ground based than urban/suburban so they got by. The only real common denominator was a lot of people lost freezer contents. for the first day or two it was steak for every meal so to speak. And I got a lot of work from people wiring their house up for the next time. mind you tho, the outages we faced were not nearly the fault of the storm, but zero right of way mgmt by the POCO. they spend so much time taking land from people to run lines, then let it sit for 50 years...2 years ago first energy spent a number of millions for reclaiming the right of way, setting the stage for the next event: crowning fires, by not clearing the slashings out. hence each weekend I spend time snaking away downed fuel to make my home a fire-free oasis for what is inevitable.
This country is not ready for massive amounts of EV because of the power grid.
In this you're right, BUT, since massive numbers of EVs cannot physically happen overnight due to manufacturing realities, we won't SEE "massive" amounts of EVs on the roads for decades. And in THAT time, the grid can and WILL be upgraded (and is as we speak).
Why do people insist on non-realistic and impossible scenarios to denigrate EVs? Hmmm?
I’ll have to look it up. Some people say it sets a fault with their EVSE.
Sure, post the links to it. Is it specific to certain generators or certain vehicles? It would seem weird that there's no way to around this or that it's all that prevalent, so it'd be great to see what you're referencing.
In 04 a string of EF1 came thru NW PA and wiped out a couple thousand square miles of grid. The same ones that knocked over the Kinzua bridge. I myself was caught in one going down 322 to knox when it rolled a huge elm in front of me like a tumbleweed but I digress.
I was without POCO power for 8 days. (its very rural up there) But I still had cable and hence internet!
so I worked from home for 8 days on a 5Kw each day. To get gas I drove 25 mins into brookville to fill up 4/5 5 gallon cans every few days.
I could run everything in the house - including water pump for the well, except for the dryer, but that is why god invented clotheslines. The ranges I had to drive to get services are about representative of just about every place in the US, every storm save few examples such as downtown NO with katrina or Homestead FL with andrew. Just add 10 more miles.
If I had todays EV there then, I would be in deep doo doo, especially if I used it to power the house like the new ford can. Even today, at times the best solution for a problem, is the solution designed for the problem. <--that was sarcasm
Looking back, it was like living in the early 1800's up there. Darkness and isolation no one there ever saw before or since. I used my ATV to go most places to check on people. No troopers were in care mode at the time.
Was anyone really put out? well, they are country folk and a little more (a lot) ground based than urban/suburban so they got by. The only real common denominator was a lot of people lost freezer contents. for the first day or two it was steak for every meal so to speak. And I got a lot of work from people wiring their house up for the next time. mind you tho, the outages we faced were not nearly the fault of the storm, but zero right of way mgmt by the POCO. they spend so much time taking land from people to run lines, then let it sit for 50 years...2 years ago first energy spent a number of millions for reclaiming the right of way, setting the stage for the next event: crowning fires, by not clearing the slashings out. hence each weekend I spend time snaking away downed fuel to make my home a fire-free oasis for what is inevitable.
Do you have no fast chargers Tesla or CCS within driving distance? At 5 kW of usage a day, 50 miles roundtrips out at let's say 3 miles per kWh, a larger capacity EV should be fine. The issue would be if you actually have no fast chargers near you. If the grid going down is really a big issue, then have you considered solar+storage or a natural gas generator if you have gas hookup.
Saw on the news: some of the areas just hit by the recent hurricane and flooding are going to have the power grid down for at least a month,.
Is this going to cause a problem for the electric cars?
Sure, post the links to it. Is it specific to certain generators or certain vehicles? It would seem weird that there's no way to around this or that it's all that prevalent, so it'd be great to see what you're referencing.
Posts #10 and #21 are what I was referring to. I couldn't remember exactly what the issue was.
Looking back, it was like living in the early 1800's up there. Darkness and isolation ...........................
.... The only real common denominator was a lot of people lost freezer contents. for the first day or two it was steak for every meal so to speak......
For the first bold, it's like that anyway.
For the second, I remember those days. Power used to go out whenever the wind blew, forget about storms.
For the second, I remember those days. Power used to go out whenever the wind blew, forget about storms.
I take it we were once neighbors up there?
but to the first...not so much. even deep somewhere, there is always a bit of light scatter or a lone light on somewhere. this was the big zero. like when Cyrus Blood wrote of his night time travel to what would be Marionville (today Marienville).
Now with Forest county SCI off in the distance, on a hazy or low cloudy night, the orange glow is seen for 30+ miles. The summer we hosted Kelletville each night we would walk up to the bridge and you would always see a nightlight or something from one of the camps or the glow of the lights at cougar bobs...never PURE dark with stars only.
Here's from an acquaintance with a Bolt and dealing with the hurricanes:
Quote:
Have been through hurricanes with the Bolt. No power for 2 weeks. It was great to be able to go to a local charger and carry power back to the house to recharge laptops, cellphones, etc. so I could communicate with the outside world and keep working. The car's cellular modem could also reach towers that were out of reach by our cell phones because of the better antenna in the car. We were able to use the Internet, and was able to share the connection with the neighbors. It was the perfect hurricane vehicle.
and from another with solar on their house:
Quote:
We evacuated to Houston, then returned on Wednesday night to see a light in the window, letting us know that our solar was working fine. On our trip west the shoulder was littered with cars that had run out of gas. On the drive home we got to cruise right past all the gas lines stretching down the side of the highway. I’m charging the car on the EVSE. I’m delighted that I don’t have to go spend all day in a gas line.
And you think that waiting 20-30 minutes while your car charges is problematic? How about waiting for an hour or more to get gas at the only station in 5-10 miles that has power AND gas left? Most gas stations do not have emergency power. There will be long lines at the few that do.
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