Soldato
I would probably do the same. If the economics made sense in future. If electricity prices stay high then solar panels on the roof with a battery could really help.
Are EV’s really the way to go?
- Thread starter inflames
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I am in the same boat, they are to much for me at the moment. I might go with a hybrid next as a stop gap before going EV or if Hydrogen catches up. But for now I’ll stick with my dirty ICE car.
Caporegime
PV array and batteries are the next big purchase I’m making for our house, just waiting on the survey now.
I am seriously considering solar panels at the moment. It depends on how much of our budget we have left after I finish converting our house from a 2 bedroom into a 3 bedroom house. Would be ideal consider I we have a south facing roof.
Honestly I'd love an EV.
But like many I'll need to wait for the price to drop before I can actually afford one.
But like many I'll need to wait for the price to drop before I can actually afford one.
Soldato
People buying EV are doing so purely because of cost/tax benefits, buying a new car is never going to be beneficial for the environment. The argument the XC40 platform isn't EV foremost is a moot point because VWs own figures say the carbon footprint of their ID cars are higher than an equivalent ICE (I think they use the Golf IIRC).
EVs being mainstream is only going to shift the pressure from fossil fuels to another resource e.g. Lithium, water (Lithium extraction is water intensive) & cobalt. Quite simply, private car ownership and environmental friendliness aren't going to be compatible, no matter if they're an ICE or BEV power train driven.
EVs being mainstream is only going to shift the pressure from fossil fuels to another resource e.g. Lithium, water (Lithium extraction is water intensive) & cobalt. Quite simply, private car ownership and environmental friendliness aren't going to be compatible, no matter if they're an ICE or BEV power train driven.
I found the Volvo report quite interesting as whilst they were not EV first the cars were designed to support all forms of propulsion from the off and they aren't trying to hide anything, which is refreshing.
From an environmental perspective not buying any new cars is the best answer and just keep using what you've got but that's boring.
I can certainly appreciate the improvement in air quality with an EV, Covid showed that to me when people stopped driving to the office.
Synthetic/alternate fuels or powering electric motors via a fuel cell is probably the best answer but until investment is put into these alternate methods they won't happen, hydrogen is a good shout if we can pull our finger out, its one area where China doesn't hold all the keys to the supply chain and could be done in the UK.
For CO improvments though car ownership is not the issue, it is commercial waste that needs to be targeted, cars are just an easy target.
I like the idea of a PV array but a PV array when you get an EV doesn't make much sense, you'd need a massive array to charge a car, you might be able to charge a PHEV on a good day with a typical install. you do solar and battery for house loads an EV is too much unless you never drive anywhere and have such low power usage requirements then you can do top ups from solar, but then what would the point of an expensive EV, the environmental impact to make one of those versus using an existing ICE vehicle for such low usage would be far greater.
The future is most likely cars as a service, no ownership, all self driven, but it is some way off.
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The infrastructure just isn't there right now to support EVs. Recharging points are few and far between and recharging takes far too long. Recharging needs to take 5-10 minutes.
This. BEV's are here to save the car industry. While there are some local environment improvements to electrical vehicle ownership, they aren't the be all and end all of saving the planet and there will always be better options for the environment then any privately owned vehicle.
Caporegime
Does it though? Most people’s driving can be handled by top-up charging at home, overnight. The amount of times I’ve used a rapid public charger so far is 1, and during that time (19-70%~) I didn’t once think “this is taking too long”.
I disagree. Are you not forgetting those people who like me live in flats? Are you not forgetting those people who park their cars in the street overnight?
Soldato
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It's actually not far off 5-10mins these days. I planned a route on ABRP just this morning.
The bigger problem is people hogging the chargers doing 0-100%, and the general reliability (usually non tesla chargers).
How many chargers are there in northern Scotland?
yes EVs are the way to go, anyone who disagrees is living in the past and also renewable electricity is the way to go, anyone who disagrees is living in the past
Soldato
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Zap Map is a good place to go. Ideally only look for the purple (rapid chargers) icons.
I think Tesla are opening up their network to all EVs, as they have by far the superior network. Unlike most who offer 2 chargers, Tesla usually have bays of 8 or 16.
There's a fair amount of 50kw chargers all around Scotland, but not many over 100....still a few though.
Its a bit like phone coverage, in the early days it was based around population and charging is pretty much the same at the moment although you can always use a 3 pin plug. It is getting better all the time though.
North Scotland, North Wales are not good for rapid charging but people do drive EV's around the north of Scotland and 300 miles of range gets you a long way between charges and back to a three pin plug.
If you (i'm speaking generally here, not you personally Quartz) don't like or want an EV then don't buy one, you can have an ICE for many more years yet. Personally I have one and really enjoy it for all that it offers, range is never an issue for me at 70 miles a day but I have done long runs and used Tesla SuC's which charge at mental speeds getting you back on the way in no longer than it takes to visit the loo and grab a coffee. My wife has a Zoe and she loves it, 200 miles of range is plenty for her and we reckon she will own it for many years.
I was unaware that chargers had spread so much up here. That's great news.
Yes, but you're dependent on either having a charger at home - as I noted above many people live in flats or park on the street so cannot avail themselves of this - or there not being queues at the charging stations. And the charging stations working. Waiting 10 minutes at a petrol station is tolerable but imagine waiting an hour or more for an EV charger to become free. And then there are all the different charging networks. The Youtuber Ashley Neal found big problems here, with them all requiring their own app: why can't you just present your credit or debit card?
Personally I'm considering giving up my car. I normally do a very low mileage and the numbers are only just on the side of having a car. Of course there's the convenience to factor in, and what really swings it for me is the cost of hiring a decent car for a week or two if I go travelling.
Soldato
Is this the Volvo report that only focuses on CO2?
im more interesting in the wider range of pollutants, in a town centre frankly I don’t care what reports exist. My nose works.
im more interesting in the wider range of pollutants, in a town centre frankly I don’t care what reports exist. My nose works.
They will be much better in terms of air pollution though which kills many thousands a year.
Whenever I've had a passing interest in getting an EV and done a bit of checking more than half the chargers around here are non-functional or impacted in some way, or the information on Google/Zap is wrong according to user comments, or just plain don't exist where they supposedly are.