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flannelmaster9 t1_iu14vvm wrote

There are a lot of big wires in there. Can the grid support one of these in every driveway?

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Dragonfly_Select t1_iu17jm4 wrote

These are big wires because this is DC fast charging. IDK about this particular charger but they can go up to 350kw draw at peak. (A microwave is ~1.5kw).

Most people at home will use AC charging that plugs at ~5-50kw and those typically use similar wiring to electric stoves. EVs let you set charge schedules and it won’t be surprising if most electric companies offer discounts for charging after midnight.

But yes the grid will have to grow significantly as we electrify cars, heating, and industry. To the tune of double or tripling it’s current capacity. Expanding the grid will be a lot of work but it’s an extremely solvable problem and one that is being taken seriously and being worked on in earnest in the US and other places.

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flannelmaster9 t1_iu18rg2 wrote

I doubt electric heating will ever take off in my area. I've never seen electric heating, not even auxillary. I've never seen or heard of electric boilers either. Maybe one day I'll have the pleasure of installing one

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Dragonfly_Select t1_iu1ck2j wrote

The form that electric heating is going to take is likely to be different than what most people expect. Straight electric heating isn’t going to play a big role. Most of it will be air or geothermal heat pumps.

An air heat pump is just a slightly modified central air system. In an air heat pump the AC unit can run “backwards” as well as forwards. In the backward configuration, the “hot side” is placed inside and the “cold side” outside. This turns out to be really cheap and effective down to about -20F (-28C). That covers most of the population.

For colder climates the trick is to conceptually bury the cold side of the heat pump below the frost line. In practice this is done by burying a recirculating water line beneath the back yard. The cost here is on par with installing or replacing a septic system.

The nice thing is both of these solutions are very efficient and cost comparatively little to operate. Swapping a house in NY from oil and a normal central AC to geothermal cuts annual heating and cooling costs in half. Throw in the tax incentives going into effect in the US next year and the whole thing pays for itself in just a few years.

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flannelmaster9 t1_iu1dqf7 wrote

That's all done with a reversing valve for mini splits. I know geothermal exists but have only seen it in rural areas. I don't have enough space in my yard to trench up for the loops. I also live in a region that can be sub zero for a few weeks. -20 is probably the coldest I've seen minus windchill. I've only seen one oil burner in the wild and it threw me off being in the middle of a metro area I've serviced for years.

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Dragonfly_Select t1_iu1xuel wrote

Yeah, cold urban areas are going to be a bigger challenge. Someone in my old neighbor did drilled geothermal. It doesn’t take much space but you need a ground scan to make sure there isn’t anything problematic in the way.

For cities there is talk of effectively reviving steam heat loop systems except this time built around heat pumps. Basically using the existing natural gas right of ways to provide room temperature recirculating water from a centralized source. Denmark is experimenting doing this with waste heat from data centers and other industrial processes.

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flannelmaster9 t1_iu1yhlc wrote

Detroit steam works still heats numerous buildings downtown, I doubt it's effective as Denmark.

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Mungologist t1_iu200kz wrote

It's done via reversing valve for all heat pumps.

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Mungologist t1_iu1zykg wrote

You arent running a heat pump below 35 degrees Fahrenheit reliably dude lmao. You're going to be cooling your house via defrost for 70% of its operation. If you're using the heat pump as the auxiliary to a gas furnace maybe, but that's useless in 90% of climates.

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warman12363 t1_iu18qeg wrote

This is a 150kw station, that I’ve seen up to 163kw at

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rcmaehl OP t1_iu15dxq wrote

These are the "Level 3" chargers which charge up to 100x (but usually only 10-20x because heat) faster than home chargers.

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flannelmaster9 t1_iu15nfm wrote

How many amps is that puppy pulling? 200? 3 phase?

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rcmaehl OP t1_iu15uon wrote

Up to 500, although most are limited to 350, and yes I believe it's all 3 phase.

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flannelmaster9 t1_iu16ek6 wrote

I got 100amp panel in my house. Lol so of me and both my neighbors and guy across the street all pooled our electric we could have a fast charger. Maybe lol

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WhiskeyTangoFoxy t1_iu2q1wd wrote

At home you don’t need to super charge in 20-30 minutes. Average at home service is 50 amps. I have 200amp service run to my house.

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flannelmaster9 t1_iu5altm wrote

Who has 50 amp service? That sounds terrible. Doesn't a typical 2 Ton ac need 30amps?

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WhiskeyTangoFoxy t1_iu5bmwb wrote

Meant the average EV charger service is 50amps. Not household service. Code in out area you need to provide 200amps of service to a house.

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flannelmaster9 t1_iu5bt3b wrote

My house was built in 55. I just got 100 amps. I thought I was fancy putting in a 50 amp sub panel on my garage in the spring

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