Would you have an electric car if you had the money for a new car and were in the market for one?

[Mr. Dazzle]

The really big thing with EVs in this context is V2G power. Vehicle to grid.

As an example....my house typically uses 7-8kWh a day, which isn't actually that much. A fairly small solar system should on average be enough to meet my needs. My average draw is less than half a kilowatt.

Average.

Obviously a huge chunk of my demand is at night. Probably most of it. Then you have things like ovens, kettles and washing machines which exceed the peak power a realistically sized panel can provide.

So of course the solution is to have a battery. You can already buy power walls and the like, but batteries are expensive and tend to be quite small in relative terms. But if I've already got a honking great battery (10 times bigger than most powerwalls) in my car....

There are already some cars which can flow power back into your house. The ones from my bunch can do it. In this country the limitation is actually the charging infrastructure we've gone with, so the V2G aspect of our cars only works in Japan and a few other places. That's gonna change though.

With regards to the OP I've just ordered a new diesel car from my bunch. I didn't really want to, but my old car died and that's all i could get. I'm hoping to get an EV through work maybe "next time around" on the scheme, at which point I'm looking at PV.

[wheelnut]

So of course the solution is to have a battery. You can already buy power walls and the like, but batteries are expensive and tend to be quite small in relative terms. But if I've already got a honking great battery (10 times bigger than most powerwalls) in my car....

There are already some cars which can flow power back into your house. The ones from my bunch can do it. In this country the limitation is actually the charging infrastructure we've gone with, so the V2G aspect of our cars only works in Japan and a few other places. That's gonna change though.

Yep, you’re going to get people charging their cars up at work and then taking them home to power their hot tubs. That’s going to go down really well with the accountants

[Mr. Dazzle]

The idea never occurred, honest

Also just realised I said I only need a small solar system. Couple of planets should be fine

[Mr. Dazzle]

I doubt you'll ever be able to do that, they'll always want a cut.

Iirc the buy back rate is currently something like 4p/kWh.

There are/have been tariffs where the cost is significantly different to that depending on WHEN they buy it off you.

[slowsider]

The really big thing with EVs in this context is V2G power. Vehicle to grid.

As an example....my house typically uses 7-8kWh a day, which isn't actually that much. A fairly small solar system should on average be enough to meet my needs. My average draw is less than half a kilowatt.

Average.

Obviously a huge chunk of my demand is at night. Probably most of it. Then you have things like ovens, kettles and washing machines which exceed the peak power a realistically sized panel can provide.

So of course the solution is to have a battery. You can already buy power walls and the like, but batteries are expensive and tend to be quite small in relative terms. But if I've already got a honking great battery (10 times bigger than most powerwalls) in my car....

There are already some cars which can flow power back into your house. The ones from my bunch can do it. In this country the limitation is actually the charging infrastructure we've gone with, so the V2G aspect of our cars only works in Japan and a few other places. That's gonna change though.

With regards to the OP I've just ordered a new diesel car from my bunch. I didn't really want to, but my old car died and that's all i could get. I'm hoping to get an EV through work maybe "next time around" on the scheme, at which point I'm looking at PV.

Isn't there an issue with rate of charge? The solar setup will only trickle charge the EV, and that only when its plugged in. If you drive to work, your big battery is not connected to your PV until you come home, when it's mostly dark. Hence the need for a PV + battery system to store charge during the day and DC charge the EV at night. or have I missed something?

[Pirahna]

Just checked my panels, it's bright sunshine outside and the sun has been in the valley for an hour or so but is low in the sky, I'm getting 135w at the moment from a 3.6kw panel array. I won't get near to maximum until the afternoon.

This in the Alicante region of Spain.

[slowsider]

Just checked my panels, it's bright sunshine outside and the sun has been in the valley for an hour or so but is low in the sky, I'm getting 135w at the moment from a 3.6kw panel array. I won't get near to maximum until the afternoon.

This in the Alicante region of Spain.

What direction and pitch are your panels?

[Mr. Dazzle]

or have I missed something?

I only drive to work one day a week.

[Pirahna]

Just checked my panels, it's bright sunshine outside and the sun has been in the valley for an hour or so but is low in the sky, I'm getting 135w at the moment from a 3.6kw panel array. I won't get near to maximum until the afternoon.

This in the Alicante region of Spain.

What direction and pitch are your panels?

The old ones were spot on south with a 23 degree tilt. These one have been up for a week and are flat to the roof. I don't have the exact numbers but they have more of East lean which works with the way the sun rises and then drops behind the hill at the back of the house.

Just been out for a quick check with a couple of phone apps and they're approx 15 degrees of tilt to the east.

[slowsider]

or have I missed something?

I only drive to work one day a week.

That's moot with your diesel.

[Horse]

or have I missed something?

I only drive to work one day a week.

That's moot with your diesel.

Only if Dazzle's employer will require (or he wants to) a return to majority office-based working.

Otherwise, his travel model now is what he is likely to be doing when he gets an EV.

[slowsider]

I only drive to work one day a week.

That's moot with your diesel.

Only if Dazzle's employer will require (or he wants to) a return to majority office-based working.

Otherwise, his travel model now is what he is likely to be doing when he gets an EV.

Obvs in Dazzles individual case, if nothing changes, etc. But in general, on a larger basis, most people aren't gonna buy an EV and only drive it one day a week. So does the concept still apply?

[Mr. Dazzle]

That's moot with your diesel.

Only if Dazzle's employer will require (or he wants to) a return to majority office-based working.

Otherwise, his travel model now is what he is likely to be doing when he gets an EV.

Obvs in Dazzles individual case, if nothing changes, etc. But in general, on a larger basis, most people aren't gonna buy an EV and only drive it one day a week. So does the concept still apply?

Yes and No.

It still applies in that grid storage of renewables via EVs is probably gonna be a big thing. What's different is that you personally might not benefit from it so much. Obviously if your car ain't at home you ain't charging it from your own panels. You'd get less of a benefit 'cause in the day your panels would be going into the grind instead, at whatever feed in rate you can get.

However, as Harry alluded to, there's every chance that the power companies will want to incentivise taking power off you at peak times. I.e. they'll reduce your rate, or maybe even pay you (hah!) to use power at certain times, which will be much more possible if you've got a big battery available.

Put it this way. IMO grid storage is The Next Big Thing™ in power distribution, at least in western Europe. If you've got a bunch of people (i.e. me and you) willing to buy big expensive batteries and plug them into the grid (we have EVs) someone is gonna find a way to take advantage of that.

[Horse]

That's moot with your diesel.

Only if Dazzle's employer will require (or he wants to) a return to majority office-based working.

Otherwise, his travel model now is what he is likely to be doing when he gets an EV.

Obvs in Dazzles individual case, if nothing changes, etc. But in general, on a larger basis, most people aren't gonna buy an EV and only drive it one day a week. So does the concept still apply?

I was responding to your use of 'your diesel'.

FWIW we, here, have two cars. I WfH, Filly travels with home as base and office for roughly half the day.

I don't know what 'most' people do. But if even half of the UK's car fleet were available for power storage that would, in technical terms, be quite a lot.

[slowsider]

Only if Dazzle's employer will require (or he wants to) a return to majority office-based working.

Otherwise, his travel model now is what he is likely to be doing when he gets an EV.

Obvs in Dazzles individual case, if nothing changes, etc. But in general, on a larger basis, most people aren't gonna buy an EV and only drive it one day a week. So does the concept still apply?

I was responding to your use of 'your diesel'.

FWIW we, here, have two cars. I WfH, Filly travels with home as base and office for roughly half the day.

I don't know what 'most' people do. But if even half of the UK's car fleet were available for power storage that would, in technical terms, be quite a lot.

Yebbut, it's not a viable model for solving power generation issues to suggest that each household in the UK will have an EV idle on the drive to draw from.
How many homes don't have parking adjacent that could serve their own vehicle?

It's more likely that if someone (not in the motor industry !) only drives one day a week, that they will employ other means for that commute, and downsize by one car.

[Mr. Dazzle]

It is, as politicians like to say, part of a package of solutions.

There'll be millions of kWh of capacity plugged into the grid within the next decade or so, that'll certainly make a difference!

Put it another way; The average UK driver covers ~7k miles a year. If you assume an average speed of 20mph that means the car is not in use 96% of the time. So I would argue it's not unrealistic to assume there will be millions of EVs plugged in at any given moment, especially if the use of your EV as a grid storage battery is financially incentivised.

I don't know how the exact details will work, but I do think the numbers are so apparent that someone will figure out how to take advantage of it.

[Ant]

The tax evasion will come to an end, with the news of pay per mile tax for EVs and it'll soon cost more to charge a car than to fill with regular pumped fuel.

[Noggin]

Just saw this - looks kinda cute, but very dinky!!!

[Horse]

The tax evasion will come to an end, with the news of pay per mile tax for EVs and it'll soon cost more to charge a car than to fill with regular pumped fuel.

Only if pump fuel doesn't get equally more expensive.

Plus, as numbers of EVs increase (or hydrogen), there will be fewer pumps.

[Count Steer]

Just saw this - looks kinda cute, but very dinky!!!

La Deuche? Good job they didn't misspell it.

That's so cute it looks Japanese! If they ever make them (and they still look like the prototype) they'll set like hot cakes. You'll need a blue cap with a bell on to drive one though.