EV in a hurricane evacuation

[ChasingCoral]

Yeah, I tried to show each prospective.

Stupid vs. intelligent?

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[dbsb3233]

Installed cost will come down first - the market will only pay so much per kW. If electrons are at parity with hydrocarbons demand for electrons and EVs to put them in will drop rather quickly. The capital cost up front has to come down for chargers to be profitable on their own.

Yep, that's why the price of DCFC is artificially low right now (sometimes even free), as a government subsidy to try and get consumers to buy them. The actual cost would be significantly more than gas otherwise.

The electricity itself is relatively minor in the equation. It's the high cost of equipment, maintenance, and getting so much power to often remote places that creates the high cost. Just the opposite of L2 at home (which is another reason L2 should be pushed instead of DCFC whenever possible).

 

[Moomin]

/Also, feel free to stay in Florida. The thing I dislike most about Florida is that it's filled with Floridians. And with people from New Jersey (my second biggest dislike!) ;-)

Snowbirds

 

[WinterSky]

I charged last night to 100%. No line. Spent all day battening down the hatches on the boat and clearing the porches and first floor just in case. We’re a block off the bay in evac zone A. Heading 260 miles to sister-in-law’s in Fort Lauderdale. Should make it no problem without charging but will probably try an EA or two for cushion. Not worried about running out of charge in traffic. More worried about wind and surge at the marina.

I’ll be Lauderdale Mike for a few days.

Yep I did the same thing. I charged to 100% at home. No hassles, no lines, no fights , no drama

 

[superdave80]

I was in Houston when Hurricane Ike hit. We lost power for 3 weeks. I'm not sure what people with only EVs are suppose to do in that situation.

Well, if the power is out everywhere, where are you even going to drive to?

 

[Kamuelaflyer]

Ok My Evacuation Plan;
1. My F-150 with extendrd range tank always stays full, range 700 miles.
2. Attach trailer and load fully charged Mach E on same
3. Load extra gas cans and generator
4. Load dog and supplies
5. Hit the road
Yep, that about covers it. ?

I was impressed until I realized step 4 was “load dog and supplies,” and not “Load Hot Dogs and supplies.”

 

[dbsb3233]

They don't lose money on an operating basis. Yes, they need to pay off their initial capital costs (like any other capital-intensive project, like building a retail store or a gas station), but they price their kWh's at close to twice what it costs to charge at home. That is a huge margin! They are not losing money on every charge.

Yes, most of it is very high capital and install cost, that needs to be recovered over time through charging revenues. That doesn't mean it doesn't count. It's like building a toll road. Costs are relatively small after it's built but are huge to build it, and take years of tolls to even come close.

DCFC also frequently pays a demand charge premium for having such high peak power demand available. It's very different than residential.

 

[mkhuffman]

I've only once had to wait for a charger at a DCFC station. When and where are you running into charger congestion? Or have you just "heard" it's a real problem on a normal day?

I think Tim answered well, but from my experience it is getting close to the breaking point but has not quite reached it.

1) I am seeing a lot of new BEVs at DCFC stations that are new products in 2022, and a lot of them have "free" charging.
2) I did have to skip a charge once because all the chargers were either broken or being used.
3) On one critical stop all the chargers were either broken or full, except one. One! I really had to have that charge and it took an hour to get it done. That really sucked because my wife was with me and didn't appreciate how long we needed to sit at that Starbucks.

 

[nvabill]

Stupid vs. intelligent?

Yeah, lol, guess that is the case.

 

[acosmichippo]

I was in Houston when Hurricane Ike hit. We lost power for 3 weeks. I'm not sure what people with only EVs are suppose to do in that situation.

well the Texas power grid is kind of a special case since you're isolated from the rest of the country.

 

[mjs020294]

gas pumps don't work in a power outage either.

Which is why gas station on evacuation routes in Florida have been required to have automatic transfer switches and standby generators since 2005/6.

 

[Tampamike]

Well, the wife wanted to leave last week(!). I convinced her I was too tired and that we’d go today. She woke up at 5 rarin’ to evacuate. We hit the road at about 6:20 with a full charge. Traffic was light all the way. Charged at an FPL station at Fort Pierce on the turnpike. I was the only one with 2 or 3 Teslas on their bank. Food court was deserted. Arrived safely in Lauderdale around 11. No drama. No hassle. Lots of rain down here though. We’ll see what it’s like on the mass return on Friday. (EA is still free and still lacking in maintenance - 3 out of 4 down in Coral Springs.)

 

[Maquis]

Ok My Evacuation Plan;
1. My F-150 with extendrd range tank always stays full, range 700 miles.
2. Attach trailer and load fully charged Mach E on same
3. Load extra gas cans and generator
4. Load dog and supplies
5. Hit the road
Yep, that about covers it. ?

My F150 ER tank gets about 720 miles normally. Towing a trailer with 5000 pounds on it will drop it to something like 500-550.

 

[RockwallRick]

Well, the wife wanted to leave last week(!). I convinced her I was too tired and that we’d go today. She woke up at 5 rarin’ to evacuate. We hit the road at about 6:20 with a full charge. Traffic was light all the way. Charged at an FPL station at Fort Pierce on the turnpike. I was the only one with 2 or 3 Teslas on their bank. Food court was deserted. Arrived safely in Lauderdale around 11. No drama. No hassle. Lots of rain down here though. We’ll see what it’s like on the mass return on Friday. (EA is still free and still lacking in maintenance - 3 out of 4 down in Coral Springs.)

The heavy rain is still south of us but expected to get a lot more overnight. Rain bands with imbedded tornadoes are passing through Broward county now!

 

[Logal727]

The heavy rain is still south of us but expected to get a lot more overnight. Rain bands with imbedded tornadoes are passing through Broward county now!

Looks like Tampa is lucking out again

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