EV in a hurricane evacuation

[Kamuelaflyer]

The weather channel just did a piece …

Unless Jim Cantore shows up in your neighborhood broadcasting live, you’re probably OK.

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[New2EV]

Wishing all of you west coast of Fl guys and your families the best of luck. This hurricane looks like it's going to be a monster. I'm East coast side and even over here supplies are selling out, windows being covered, people are in their normal state of hurricane panic. Stay safe and be careful.

 

[ReelSweet]

hurricane you say ...hmmmmm

 

[Ghost Ryder]

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.

 

[MW1515]

IMO, unless you are trying to get 3 states away quickly before a natural disaster hits, I would rather have an EV than an ICE. No lines to fill up before the disaster, can last much longer when sitting still (like in a garage or stuck in traffic), can be turned on with the garage door still closed if needed for heat etc., can be charged (albeit inefficiently) via gas generator if necessary. If you have solar panels plus a home battery you are much better prepared to drive during or right after the disaster.

 

[mjs020294]

IMO, unless you are trying to get 3 states away quickly before a natural disaster hits, I would rather have an EV than an ICE. No lines to fill up before the disaster, can last much longer when sitting still (like in a garage or stuck in traffic), can be turned on with the garage door still closed if needed for heat etc., can be charged (albeit inefficiently) via gas generator if necessary. If you have solar panels plus a home battery you are much better prepared to drive during or right after the disaster.

There are few holes in your logic. If you're evacuating a Cat3 or larger there is a very good chance your solar will be in another county after the storm. Putting any surplus gas in an ICE would probably get you twice as far than running a generator to charge an EV.

Evacuating north from central Florida puts the average EV in a relatively poor charging area after depleting the initial charge. Plus its not one EVs but many EVs all looking for a charge in the same charging dead zone. ICEs the other hand will be much further north and more dispersed when they need a fill up.

 

[Mrn]

My pre EV car was a Prius. It's now my standby car when it's needed. The old girl gets out and about regularly to keep her in good shape ?.

 

[dbsb3233]

I believe it was TFL and Out of Spec that mentioned that aero has a larger impact on range than weight.

At high speed.

If you're creeping out of town at 10 MPH with 5000 other cars on the road, not so much.

 

[Jimrpa]

I used to have a vacation home near Datona beach and I had two evacuation plans.
1. Drive inland to Orlando (I’m lifetime titanium at Marriott - I’ll find a property).
2. Fly home and wait until they reopen the peninsula (they call the barrier island a peninsula because - Florida).
Remember kids, it’s not the big scary hurricane that ruins your day, it’s that annoying storm surge AFTER the big scary hurricane that totally ruins your day (and makes you happy you have both windstorm and flood insurance).

 

[dbsb3233]

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.

With no power, gas stations were inoperable too, right?

 

[ChasingCoral]

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.

The good news is DC Fast Chargers are on major corridors in retail developments that get their power turned on the soonest after emergency services. They’re usually near gas stations too.

 

[Kamuelaflyer]

IMO, unless you are trying to get 3 states away quickly before a natural disaster hits, I would rather have an EV than an ICE. No lines to fill up before the disaster, can last much longer when sitting still (like in a garage or stuck in traffic), can be turned on with the garage door still closed if needed for heat etc., can be charged (albeit inefficiently) via gas generator if necessary. If you have solar panels plus a home battery you are much better prepared to drive during or right after the disaster.

Homes here have hurricane standards in the building code. In addition we designed our house with a hurricane resistant roof design which also is a typically Hawaiian look. Our solar panels also have hurricane clips. Those are good up to 120 mph. With the two batteries snd 3 inverters we can hold out for a long time with careful use of power. There are a lot of things people can do as long as they’re not in a flood inundation area.

 

[Ghost Ryder]

The good news is DC Fast Chargers are on major corridors in retail developments that get their power turned on the soonest after emergency services. They’re usually near gas stations too.

The wait for gas was over 4 hours after the hurricane from what I remembered. The lines were blocks long, and you were limited to only a few gallons. There's not a lot of DCFC as is, I can't imagine what the wait time for those will be.

 

[Ghost Ryder]

With no power, gas stations were inoperable too, right?

Gas stations had generators, so they were up and running, but the refineries were down, so gas was limited.

 

[mjs020294]

50% of all the gas sold in Florida comes through the port of Tampa, which will be closed for 24-48 hours, plus the ships will be out at sea at least 200 miles away from the storm. With most gas stations out of gas it usually takes 7-14 days to get back to normalcy.

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