Re: electric car grid overloads

strollivarious@xxxxxxxxx wrote:
On Sep 2, 11:45 am, Doug Houseman <d...@xxxxxxxx> wrote:
In article
<14b674c2-49c1-4294-890a-89d42732d...@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>,

"misterf...@xxxxxxxxx" <misterf...@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
glad to hear that plugging-in millions of electric cars into the
grid during the day and night won't contribute to grid overloads
and power outages!

I have heard a number of people speak and none of the people I
respect in the Utility industry have made this kind of a sweeping
statement. Some have said that the Generation available can handle
cars at night. None have promised that the grid is ready for
millions - rather they have all said the gradual introduction of
PHEV and Electric vehicles should not have an impact on the grid at
night. One emerging issue is that oil filled (no PCB's) transformers
on hot days heat up almost to their limit when they are heavily
loaded and use the lower loads overnight to cool off again. As they
get hotter - losses increase and failure of the transformer is more
likely. With heavy concentrations of PHEV - there may be an increase
in transformer failures - and outages - since transformers may not
be able to cool off at night - if the load increases significantly.

A second issue that no one is talking about is some of the proposed
chargers for PHEV may mean that new wiring has to be run in the home
to the garage to deal with the load the charger will place on the
system. For older homes (e.g. homes built before electric service
moved to 100 or 200 AMPS) may require new services to be run from
the transformer to the house, and upgraded breaker panels to be
installed in the home. This could run to a few hundred dollars for
some people.

Neither issue is a show stopper, but they both point to the need to
think about your personal situation before you go shopping for a PHEV
and potentially to check with your electric utility.



glad to hear that there is an endless supply of cheap coal and
natural gas for the power companies!

Coal is less cheap than it was 2 years ago (eia.doe.gov) and natural
gas is too expensive to use to generate much power - most natural
gas plants are no longer used as base load and are out of service a
much as the ability to buy power from cheaper sources will allow.
Baseload fuels are now considered to be coal and nuclear - both
types of plants are run as many hours as possible.



glad to hear that electric rates will always stay about the same as
they are now!

Electric rates will rise, with or without PHEV - the cost of people,
fuel, and materials are all rising and even non-profit co-ops are
having to raise their rates. The projections from eia.doe.gov show a
20% or higher increase in power prices.



With all that in mind, I guess buying your own PV system to charge
your car's batteries is a waste of money.

In most of the US - a PV system to charge cars only is a waste of
money, unless you work a night shift - most days you have your car
away from home when the sun is shining - if you work a normal job.
(-:

Of course, if you have a removable batterypack (with, say, a wheeled
dolly) and an extra battery pack- you could charge one pack at home
with pvs while you're out driving the car. When you return home, you
exchange packs.

And anyone with a clue avoids doubling the cost of the batterys and
the cost of the pvs by charging it from the grid overnight instead.


.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: electric car grid overloads
    ... None have promised that the grid is ready for millions - rather they ... with the electricity supplier when to charge. ... PHEV - there may be an increase in transformer failures - and outages - ... A PHEV would draw the same power as a kettle. ...
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  • Re: electric car grid overloads
    ... grid during the day and night won't contribute to grid overloads ... PHEV and Electric vehicles should not have an impact on the grid at ... with the electricity supplier when to charge. ... A PHEV would draw the same power as a kettle. ...
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  • Re: electric car grid overloads
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  • Re: electric car grid overloads
    ... during the day and night won't contribute to grid overloads and power ... PHEV - there may be an increase in transformer failures - and outages - ... In most of the US - a PV system to charge cars only is a waste of money, ...
    (sci.energy)