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tacknosaddle t1_ixrrfbi wrote

Reply to comment by RhoOfFeh in Electric-vehicle charging stations could use as much power as a small town by 2035 — and the grid isn't ready by Sorin61

I love how the people who are the most jingoistic in their patriotism are also the ones who are most likely to be claiming that we can't switch to EVs because the grid can't handle it.

America developed an atomic weapon in about four years and put a man on the moon in about a decade, but somehow we are incapable of expanding the grid to shift from gas to electric vehicles. I usually point that out and then ask why they don't have any faith in America's abilities.

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MonsieurOctober t1_ixw4ub1 wrote

Exactly. We have a spaceship in orbit around the moon this second, but expanding the grid by about 25% in 20 years is a bridge too far.

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Canadian_Infidel t1_ixs2vsh wrote

Doubling the power grid would be much more expensive than any of those things. For every wire that exist, you will now need two.

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Zhuul t1_ixs8797 wrote

I think you have a misunderstanding of how power grids work…

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Canadian_Infidel t1_ixt6t2f wrote

I work on them for a living. You either double the current or double the voltage, if you want to double the power. Doubling current means the copper carrying the energy has to be twice as thick. And they can't step up the voltage much more at local levels, usually not at all.

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tacknosaddle t1_ixv2pq8 wrote

>they can't step up the voltage much more at local levels, usually not at all.

Car chargers for the home run on 220V. Are you really trying to say that the current grid cannot supply that voltage to houses?

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Canadian_Infidel t1_ixvah98 wrote

No, you are confused. I'm not talking about the wall outlets at your house.

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tacknosaddle t1_ixvbohr wrote

I'm not confused. Home charging for an electric car can be done with a regular 110V outlet, but it is very slow. If you hook it up to a 220V then it will charge overnight and those are common home outlets for electric stoves and dryers. Nobody is looking to put the "quick charge" stations in their homes, those are and will continue to be commercial applications.

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fwubglubbel t1_ixsfg8v wrote

So if I want to have to have twice as a many baths, I need to install another bathtub and plumbing system?

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Canadian_Infidel t1_ixt6hpe wrote

No, because you only use about 0.001% of the possible flow-time of your pipe.

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