BreatheEV’s Post

What will happen to your electricity bill as waves of Canadians purchase electric cars?   In case you haven't heard, the federal government has banned the sale of new gas-powered vehicles by 2035 and are pushing electric cars as the solution.   To be clear, I think it's good that companies are working on electric cars.   More competition and choice in the transportation sector is good for consumers.   But we can't forget that electric cars require a lot of electricity. Energy Minute calculated that electric cars boost a typical home's electricity usage by 25-35%. If your house needs two cars, you're looking at a 50% increase.   So where will the power come from?   We're going to need more sources of electricity.   And more sources of electricity likely means more transmission power lines (the big ones that transmit large amounts of power over longer distances).   Plus, we need to upgrade distribution systems – in plain English, the power lines on your street and the local transformers they connect to. One study from Regina found that a street with 22 homes can only accommodate 11 electric cars.   Finally, many homes across Canada need to have upgrades to their home's electric panel in order to bring in more electricity.   So, what will all of these changes mean for your electricity bill?   We asked governments across Canada and no one knows. Will these changes be more or less than potential savings from using electricity instead of gasoline? Shouldn’t this be figured out ahead of time? Our new report discusses this issue further – see below.

Curious about the cost differences between EV charging and gasoline? Our analysis reveals that charging an EV is significantly more cost-effective. Dive into the details and find out the smarter financial choice: https://hubs.ly/Q02Lw3C60

Are you using your electric vehicle to power your home, or even help stabilize the grid? Bidirectional charging has enormous potential. This article explains how it works and what is already possible today. https://sie.ag/3xLgvX2

The costs comparison between EVs and gas vehicles are not just purchasing price differences or electricity vs gas, because EVs have other higher costs than gas vehicles, such as maintenance costs, costs to repair, costs to replace batteries, high insurance premium.... If people setup charging facility at home, that's also an extra cost. These are just costs, not mentioning fire hazard from battery, battery performance issue ...

If you are interested in learning about EVs, Bob Kenney is the guide you should be following!

Jim Walker, P.E. is a veteran in the energy industry. Late last year he wrote a post exploring six ways the EV charging companies can put an end to range anxiety: 1. Build out a unified national network every 50 miles 2. Mandate charging performance 3. Create and test technology standards 4. Standardize the charging plugs 5. Legislate state actions to improve charging. 6. Manufacture faster-charging cars and chargers Jim wrote about each one of these points in November 2023. How far along are we in implementing any of them? Which ones still make sense eight months later? https://lnkd.in/gnAfYGVe

🔌 The UK may be on track to reach 300,000 EV charging points by 2030, but will that be enough? More cars means a need for more infrastructure with greater demands on investors and the grid. Tom Young explores more here ⏩ https://lnkd.in/eV6Y8265

For those of you not in California and with the patience to sit through a 6 1/2 minute video, here's a walkthrough of a utility bill for my local utility now CCA. Are your utility bills this complicated and messy? https://lnkd.in/gxHAXYNg

California’s goal to build a million electric vehicle (EV) chargers by 2030 presents a daunting challenge due to the immense scale and pace of investment required. Without substantial improvements in funding, permitting processes, and grid upgrades, California risks falling short of its EV infrastructure targets. Ted Lamm, CLEE's associate director, states that "the magnitude of building what California needs in coming years likely dwarfs the public funding available," adding that state and federal programs will “only fund a fraction,” and the state needs to spend that money on lower-income communities. Read the full article here: https://lnkd.in/gah4q7t4

When comparing EV’s it can be useful to compare fast charging rates, which vary widely by manufacturer