The Energy Disruption Triangle by David C. Fessler

Author:David C. Fessler
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781119347132
Publisher: Wiley
Published: 2019-01-30T00:00:00+00:00

EV CHARGING: A CLASSIC CHICKEN-AND-EGG PROBLEM

Electric vehicle (EV) sales are starting to reach significant numbers. In 2017, worldwide EV sales hit 1,227,117 units. The forecast for 2018 is expected to increase 64 percent over 2017. EVs were still only 0.4 percent (one in 250) of all vehicles sold last year.33 But get this: The sales growth rate of EVs is 20 times faster than that of the overall vehicle market.34

One of the obstacles to the rapid adoption of EVs has been the lack of available charging stations. But that's changing much faster than most folks realize. Consumers aren't going to rush out and buy them if they don't have plenty of recharging stations available. The fear of being stuck somewhere is a real issue with lower-capacity batteries like Nissan's original LEAF battery, which was 24-kWh. That limited earlier models to a range of about 75 miles.35 (Its current offering is a 30-kWh battery capable of a 107-mile range.36) On the flipside, who's going to spend lots of money to build EV chargers when few cars are going to use them? It's the classic chicken-and-egg problem.

One of the easiest ways to solve the charging anxiety problem is to make charging stations available at the workplace. Britain's National Grid plc does just that. National Grid is a gas and electric utility company focused on distribution and transmission of both gas and electricity in the UK and the United States. It installed six charging stations at its headquarters in the UK. Since their installation, the number of plug-in hybrid EVs has jumped from 177 to 375. National Grid fully supports EV adoption and it was both amazed and excited by the response.37 Like many urban dwellers here in the United States, UK city folk may not have off-street parking.

So charging at work is the perfect alternative. If it's free, that's a nice workplace benefit. But even if EV owners have to pay a small fee, it's still a good deal. Unlike their ICE counterparts, EVs are very tech-savvy. Through a tablet or phone app, they report their charging status to their owners. This makes it easy to see when charging is complete. It's especially important to Tesla owners when on the road. When charging is complete at a Tesla Supercharger, car owners have a minute or two to unplug their car. Otherwise, Tesla will bill them $0.40 per minute for every minute their car remains connected to the charger. Another great benefit of a workplace charger is being able to preheat or cool your vehicle right before you leave to drive home. Using charger electricity to heat or cool the car saves on battery life. I'm sure National Grid (or their employees) have put together a charging coordination calendar or app to manage charging schedules. But company parking lots aren't the only places EV charging stations are popping up.

The European Union (EU) recently approved a new regulation regarding EV chargers. All new and renovated homes in EU member countries must have an EV charger installed by 2019.

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