Electric vehicles during a disaster

[NoTrespassing]

I just read and didn't realize solar panels become less efficient in hot weather by as much as 25%.

 

[ponytug]

It is a real effect, and why panels are routinely mounted several inches or more above rooftops. It is also why for most people in the US, May tends to be the highest production month for power; good sunshine and cooler panels compared to June and July, when the panels are hotter.

We are 20F hotter than a week ago, and our solar power production is down by 16%.

All the best,

Peter

 

[cqaigy2]

They need to calculate max power for cold temps, so as not to overload the charge controllers.

 

[Gee Ray]

I don’t know if this is true. On the radio today they said that to make enough power with solar panels for California 100% of the state would need to be covered with the panels.

So it would be impossible to power the state with green energy alone. California has already shut down all but one nuke plant. So they aren’t headed that way either.

So with 600,000 EVs out of the 38 million vehicles in California the power grid is already over loaded. What a mess they are making out of that state.

 

[ning]

I don’t know if this is true. On the radio today they said that to make enough power with solar panels for California 100% of the state would need to be covered with the panels.

So it would be impossible to power the state with green energy alone. California has already shut down all but one nuke plant. So they aren’t headed that way either.

So with 600,000 EVs out of the 38 million vehicles in California the power grid is already over loaded. What a mess they are making out of that state.

Well let's see. You can get 425 watt panels that are 80"x40". Paving CA (163,696 sq mi) with these would result in 205,361,215,488 panels, which is good for 87 terawatts. Assuming you get an average of 6 solid hours per day of that through the year, that's 190,530 terawatt hours.

The entire USA used 3,930 terawatt hours last year; paving California with panels would not only be enough to power California, but it would power all of the USA 48 times over. This, of course, is why lots of people say "just turn Nevada into a solar generator" because... same thing, only even clearer skies, probably... and fewer people, less farmland to cover.

OBVIOUSLY you can't cover the whole state in solar panels, but the stated claim (which suggested it in the first place) is utterly wrong.

 

[Hay Dude]

This is all we will have to do if electric vehicles get stranded during emergencies.

Should only take a few hours and you can escape the hurricane or forrest fire.

Just plan ahead!

 

[ultrarunner]

Peak vs off-peak electric rates. That must be a feature in larger urban areas. Here - it's the same 24/7/365.

Do you have Smart Meters?

 

[NoTrespassing]

I don't know if our meters are smart, I know they read them wirelessly. Our rates do not change by the time of day. We have a one year contract at about 4 cents. Delivery costs are rising though along with taxes.

 

[ultrarunner]

I would not be exaggerating saying at times we pay 10x that with fees and taxes

 

[NoTrespassing]

August power bill was $90, slightly less than August 2021. We don't have much, 950 sq ft with 2 small window ac's. Our total monthly bills are about 1/3 of our income. Maybe we should buy an EV.

 

[scootr]

CA in one breath = We forbid you to buy more ICE vehicles.
The next breath = we forbid you to recharge your electric car today. Oh yeah and don't water your lawn either.
Are they serious. Obviously these people have lost their minds.

 

[Fuddyduddy1952]

Well let's see. You can get 425 watt panels that are 80"x40". Paving CA (163,696 sq mi) with these would result in 205,361,215,488 panels, which is good for 87 terawatts. Assuming you get an average of 6 solid hours per day of that through the year, that's 190,530 terawatt hours.

The entire USA used 3,930 terawatt hours last year; paving California with panels would not only be enough to power California, but it would power all of the USA 48 times over. This, of course, is why lots of people say "just turn Nevada into a solar generator" because... same thing, only even clearer skies, probably... and fewer people, less farmland to cover.

OBVIOUSLY you can't cover the whole state in solar panels, but the stated claim (which suggested it in the first place) is utterly wrong.

Then again one would have to factor in all the electric vehicles mandated in California, so what would their electricity demand be if all cars, trucks, tractor trailers, tractors, mowers, etc. were electric? Add to that the fact that California right now the grid is overwhelmed. You wouldn't have to cover the entire state with panels but "only" tens of thousands of acres.
Then the green idea of lowering Earth's temperature...panels output DC with is converted to AC. How much heat would be generated by all the inverters required?
Inverter, charging station, transmission transformers, etc. The heat output would be tremendous. Tremendous!

 

[ning]

Then again one would have to factor in all the electric vehicles mandated in California, so what would their electricity demand be if all cars, trucks, tractor trailers, tractors, mowers, etc. were electric? Add to that the fact that California right now the grid is overwhelmed. You wouldn't have to cover the entire state with panels but "only" tens of thousands of acres.
Then the green idea of lowering Earth's temperature...panels output DC with is converted to AC. How much heat would be generated by all the inverters required?
Inverter, charging station, transmission transformers, etc. The heat output would be tremendous. Tremendous!

Feel free to move the goalposts. I was merely countering the initial statement as it stands.

This topic (electric vehicles in times of disaster) has actually been gone over before on TBN. On that previous thread, it was noted that electric cars sitting in stopped traffic use almost zero energy, unlike the typical ICE vehicle that most people don't bother to turn off while waiting. If you've got a bad road stoppage, you're more likely to have out-of-gas cars in the middle of it than electrics. Of course, this presupposes that your electric has enough charge to go anywhere, but then there's a lot of people whose cars are at 1/4 tank right now, and good luck refilling that car when the cat 5 hurricane is already hitting the city. Did the gas car fill up magically overnight? The electric probably did, at least until the power cut... so in the morning, who's more likely to have a "full tank"?

The real answer: it doesn't really matter, they're both screwed. get out before it's an absolute emergency so you can go in an more orderly fashion. But then again, that doesn't make a good TBN thread, does it - how can we get upset and point fingers?

 

[Fuddyduddy1952]

You make up stories when I present facts.
Most people have a 5 gallon can of gasoline, people with mowers. A hurricane if my car had 1/4 tank I'd carry with me. 35 mpg would give 175 extra mile range.
As I've repeatedly said...choices...if you love electric get one, I don't and won't.

 

[ning]

You make up stories when I present facts.
Most people have a 5 gallon can of gasoline, people with mowers. A hurricane if my car had 1/4 tank I'd carry with me. 35 mpg would give 175 extra mile range.
As I've repeatedly said...choices...if you love electric get one, I don't and won't.

What stories did I make up?

 

[Doofy]

You make up stories when I present facts.
Most people have a 5 gallon can of gasoline, people with mowers. A hurricane if my car had 1/4 tank I'd carry with me. 35 mpg would give 175 extra mile range.
As I've repeatedly said...choices...if you love electric get one, I don't and won't.

Amen, pass the biscuits please!

 

[4570Man]

You make up stories when I present facts.
Most people have a 5 gallon can of gasoline, people with mowers. A hurricane if my car had 1/4 tank I'd carry with me. 35 mpg would give 175 extra mile range.
As I've repeatedly said...choices...if you love electric get one, I don't and won't.

I’m anti electric cars but you’re really stretching the truth to say most people have an extra 5 gallons of gas sitting around. What percent of people do you think keep their vehicle under 1/4 tank of gas as well? The answer is a lot. And it only takes a few unprepared idiots running out of fuel to make a big problem for everyone else.

 

[Doofy]

Being prepared is a way of life, at least it is here. We have at least a years food supply. The freezers are kept full as is the pantry. We have a small inverter generator that will keep the food frozen and run the heaters if the wood stove isn't going. Everything that uses gasoline is topped off in the Fall and all my gas cans are full. It is amazing how much gas three snowmobiles hold!

There are times when we may not even leave the ol' homestead for weeks or even months at a time.

City Dwellers must listen to a different drummer...

 

[ning]

Being prepared is a way of life, at least it is here. We have at least a years food supply. The freezers are kept full as is the pantry. We have a small inverter generator that will keep the food frozen and run the heaters if the wood stove isn't going. Everything that uses gasoline is topped off in the Fall and all my gas cans are full. It is amazing how much gas three snowmobiles hold!

There are times when we may not even leave the ol' homestead for weeks or even months at a time.

City Dwellers must listen to a different drummer...

I've got a thousand miles of diesel ready (assuming I don't siphon whatever's in the tractor) and tons of food too (and more if I decide the chickens are coming too in some form or other), but yeah, I'm not in a city. It's really inconvenient for me to do major shopping, so I buy enough for a couple months and have a very different behavior pattern from what it would be if I lived next door to a grocery store.

Most city folk literally don't have room for any of this; I don't know how they can sleep at night (one of the things that keeps me from travelling tbh) and they're the most likely to be stuck on that road.

 

[cqaigy2]

Being prepared is a way of life, at least it is here. We have at least a years food supply. The freezers are kept full as is the pantry. We have a small inverter generator that will keep the food frozen and run the heaters if the wood stove isn't going. Everything that uses gasoline is topped off in the Fall and all my gas cans are full. It is amazing how much gas three snowmobiles hold!

There are times when we may not even leave the ol' homestead for weeks or even months at a time.

City Dwellers must listen to a different drummer...

Maybe you could move to Houston, in time for the next hurricane.