Was talking to a relative who’s in CA. He mentioned there are peak demand issues in summer. How’s the infrastructure set up there? Is this a real consideration to potential ev ownership?
The grid as is can handle it due to the majority of charging being done overnight when electricity is cheap and demand is low. If most vehicles had two way charging it could actually make the grid better due to cars being able to offset increased usage during peak hours.
The grid issues do exist but are over sensationalized by the media. You’ll get a rolling blackout maybe once a year, if that, but there’s usually only a week or two where we’re explicitly told to conserve power due to a heat wave. In which case you get a text on your phone that says, “set your AC to 76 or 78”, and enough people do so that the power almost always stays on. The one time I’ve gotten that text and then the power went out it was only out for 5 minutes. I think enough people got the hint though because it didn’t go out again.
When I lived in the central valley our power went out more due to cars hitting telephone poles than grid issues. Never lost power since moving to the bay area even through this last brutal AF summer.
And grids can relatively easily be set up to allow non-urgent loads to be turned off in case it’s needed. You can have a smart charger that only charges when there’s less demand, or when your own solar panels are providing surplus. If you can spread the charge time over a whole night, you don’t necessarily have to be charging immediately after you get home at peak time.
Yup! We actually have this with smart thermostats here. You sign up for a rebate when you get your smart thermostat in exchange for them being able to set it to 78 when needed.
I don’t personally have AC, and a bunch of people who didn’t read anything about the rebate were salty, but I personally think it’s a perfect example of everyone working together for a greater good.
Was talking to a relative who’s in CA. He mentioned there are peak demand issues in summer. How’s the infrastructure set up there? Is this a real consideration to potential ev ownership?
The grid as is can handle it due to the majority of charging being done overnight when electricity is cheap and demand is low. If most vehicles had two way charging it could actually make the grid better due to cars being able to offset increased usage during peak hours.
The grid issues do exist but are over sensationalized by the media. You’ll get a rolling blackout maybe once a year, if that, but there’s usually only a week or two where we’re explicitly told to conserve power due to a heat wave. In which case you get a text on your phone that says, “set your AC to 76 or 78”, and enough people do so that the power almost always stays on. The one time I’ve gotten that text and then the power went out it was only out for 5 minutes. I think enough people got the hint though because it didn’t go out again.
When I lived in the central valley our power went out more due to cars hitting telephone poles than grid issues. Never lost power since moving to the bay area even through this last brutal AF summer.
Thanks for a great answer!
And grids can relatively easily be set up to allow non-urgent loads to be turned off in case it’s needed. You can have a smart charger that only charges when there’s less demand, or when your own solar panels are providing surplus. If you can spread the charge time over a whole night, you don’t necessarily have to be charging immediately after you get home at peak time.
Yup! We actually have this with smart thermostats here. You sign up for a rebate when you get your smart thermostat in exchange for them being able to set it to 78 when needed.
I don’t personally have AC, and a bunch of people who didn’t read anything about the rebate were salty, but I personally think it’s a perfect example of everyone working together for a greater good.