Comments on: The World of Smart Begins to Grow Up https://www.energyvanguard.com/blog/the-world-of-smart-begins-to-grow-up/ Building science knowledge, HVAC design, & fun Sun, 03 Jan 2016 22:54:57 +0000 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.6.2 By: David Butler https://www.energyvanguard.com/blog/the-world-of-smart-begins-to-grow-up/#comment-9153 Sun, 03 Jan 2016 22:54:57 +0000 http://energyvanguard.flywheelsites.com/?blog_post=the-world-of-smart-begins-to-grow-up#comment-9153 I agree 100% with Phineas.
I agree 100% with Phineas. Owning an electric vehicle already requires some planning and adjustment due to range limitations. The last thing you want is some grid management system learning your routine (think NEST) so it can anticipate how far it can drain your EV battery. Also keep in mind that storage is most likely needed during evening drive time.

Likewise with home batteries. Tesla is pursuing utility trials centered around Powerwall. Good luck with that.

Phineas wrote: “Or, power companies will just buy Tesla PowerPacks or equivalent and store excess capacity themselves”

Indeed, that’s where the action will be. In fact it’s already happening. Old news… http://cnet.co/1JRE2E5

]]> By: PhineasJW https://www.energyvanguard.com/blog/the-world-of-smart-begins-to-grow-up/#comment-9152 Sun, 03 Jan 2016 04:54:55 +0000 http://energyvanguard.flywheelsites.com/?blog_post=the-world-of-smart-begins-to-grow-up#comment-9152 I’ll disagree on one part —
I’ll disagree on one part — namely plug-in hybrids/EVs will not be charging the grid in a coordinated way in our lifetime.

Way too many issues with such a complex solution to a theoretical problem that’s so easily solved in a number of other ways.

1. Steal battery power from folks charging their cars at work? What if I have a long ride home? What if I have a trip planned after work? What if I have an EV and not a hybrid?

2. Power companies are town specific (at least where I’m from). How am I going to give power to a company that I don’t do business with? They’re going to use my VIN to know who I am? Send me a check at the end of the month? What if I don’t want to participate? What if most people don’t want to participate?

Instead — power companies can just add another natural gas plant or add capacity to an existing one. Natural gas is clean enough to supplement clean energy sources and even-out the generation vagaries when the wind isn’t blowing or sun isn’t shining. 100% renewable is NEITHER cost effective nor cost efficient because it requires so much EXTRA capacity to account for (unpredictable) weather patterns.

Or, power companies will just buy Tesla PowerPacks or equivalent and store excess capacity themselves, for times of peak demand, without needing to create and account for a nation-wide volunteer battery charging infrastructure.

Or, the 30-years of fusion research that’s about to come to a head in the next few years will make this entire line of thinking obsolete.

What I most definitely agree with are that self-driving cars will change the world, and someday make owning a car far less important and perhaps, less common. I’ll also predict that by 2030, they’ll have been proven so much safer that they’ll be MANDATORY in some form or other.

I can imagine mandatory auto-pilot will start with highways, where speed and distracted drivers are the most dangerous and traffic is mostly accidents and human curiosity, and where auto-pilot is the easiest to get right (stay in your lane).

]]> By: David Eakin https://www.energyvanguard.com/blog/the-world-of-smart-begins-to-grow-up/#comment-9151 Fri, 01 Jan 2016 02:12:17 +0000 http://energyvanguard.flywheelsites.com/?blog_post=the-world-of-smart-begins-to-grow-up#comment-9151 “Do any hybrids even
“Do any hybrids even have external charging capability?”
Look up “plug-in hybrid vehicles”. There is one Prius version and a couple others. Problem is that you typically need a 220V source similar to totally EV vehicles (or charge times are way long).

]]> By: Allison Bailes https://www.energyvanguard.com/blog/the-world-of-smart-begins-to-grow-up/#comment-9150 Fri, 01 Jan 2016 00:50:22 +0000 http://energyvanguard.flywheelsites.com/?blog_post=the-world-of-smart-begins-to-grow-up#comment-9150 In reply to David Butler.

All good questions, David,
All good questions, David, and I don’t know the answers. I hadn’t thought of that conversation I had ten years ago until I started thinking about self-driving cars, the new Bridj service, and the duck curve. As far as I know, plug-in hybrids aren’t used this way…yet.

As far as discharging beyond the ability of the car to take its owner home, I’m sure there would be ways to know how long the typical evening drive is for a car and make sure to leave more than enough for that and some errand running. Even then, if it’s a hybrid, it’s always got the gasoline to rely on. If it’s full electric, then they’d have to leave more charge.

]]> By: David Butler https://www.energyvanguard.com/blog/the-world-of-smart-begins-to-grow-up/#comment-9149 Fri, 01 Jan 2016 00:32:57 +0000 http://energyvanguard.flywheelsites.com/?blog_post=the-world-of-smart-begins-to-grow-up#comment-9149 Allison wrote: “One
Allison wrote: “One possible source of electricity during that time is the batteries in plug-in hybrids that spend the afternoon charging in workplace parking lots.”

This raises questions in my mind. Do any hybrids even have external charging capability? I thought that was the point of a hybrid drive-train. (I drove less than 2,000 miles this year, so EV’s aren’t much on my radar). If so, I wonder what the trade-off is between the storage benefit vs. the additional gas consumed when battery is left in a discharged state when it’s time to drive home.

And finally, in the case of a full EV, presumably the discharge controller will be smart enough to leave enough juice in my battery to get me home. But what happens if I decide to run an errand after work that requires the car’s full range? Opps.

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