An EV and a Slurpee

[Passport1]

Go to a 7/11 and grab a Slurpee while you wait to recharge your EV;

The huge convenience store chain is going electric. Might not be so convenient from now on with six parking spots reserved for EVs. And yes free WI-FI while they wait for the charge. I was going to post an article critical of this idea, especially describing where the funding for this massive project will come from but it wouldn't pass muster here. So look it up for yourselves if it you are curious.

 

[Kawiguy454]

Why the need to make it look like a gas pump? Actually it is a static electricity collector powered from the wind blowing made by the gas powered cars whooshing by. And the little grid thing on front leaches power from nearby devices that are automatically opted in by the Amazon sidewalk sharing update.

 

[buster]

Yeah most Wawas have them now too.

 

[PandaBear]

Why the need to make it look like a gas pump? Actually it is a static electricity collector powered from the wind blowing made by the gas powered cars whooshing by. And the little grid thing on front leaches power from nearby devices that are automatically opted in by the Amazon sidewalk sharing update.

It's to look like a billboard to attract traffic.

 

[JohnnyG]

OHHH! This is going to work REALLY well! People don't have the courtesy to leave a gas pump to get their junk food. I can only imagine how often these will be blocked.

 

[PimTac]

OHHH! This is going to work REALLY well! People don't have the courtesy to leave a gas pump to get their junk food. I can only imagine how often these will be blocked.

Don’t worry. You will have plenty of time to enjoy a full meal, drink a large Slurpee and walk around the block four times before the car is charged up.

 

[supton]

Not sure I see the problem here. Convenience stores work this way—lure you in to pay for gas, and then pay for over-priced trinkets. It’s a model.

Kinda makes sense to me. Long road trip, need a pit stop so... stop at a place that has bathrooms, ability to fill up, maybe get a bite to eat, and free WiFi.

 

[JTK]

I'm slow on the draw with E-car knowledge, but a quick google suggests that even at 440VAC, most electric vehicles take well over an hour to charge. The time gets exponentially longer at 240v and 120v. How would these electric 'gas pumps' even work with those lengths of time?

 

[Kiwi_ME]

...I was going to post an article critical of this idea, especially describing where the funding for this massive project will come from ...

It might be green washing but it could also be a smart move. Either way their funding is their decision rather than your's.
Here's the missing link to the press release.

I'm slow on the draw with E-car knowledge, but a quick google suggests that even at 440VAC, most electric vehicles take well over an hour to charge. The time gets exponentially longer at 240v and 120v. How would these electric 'gas pumps' even work with those lengths of time?

Fortunately EVs owners will be smart enough to charge at home and for most that will cover their day's driving. If more is needed, most EVs will charge more than half way with about 30 minutes on a high-powered charger.

 

[Passport1]

It might be green washing but it could also be a smart move. Either way their funding is their decision rather than your's.
Here's the missing link to the press release.

Since we are antipodes I'll cut you a mountain of slack here but what you gleaned from a corporate PR release is lacking in a crucial detail. Where will the funding for the five hundred 7/11 chargers come from? Not from 7/11 corporation or their patrons. From the 2% of EV owners or from the 98% of US owners of ICE vehicles? I don't want to run afoul of the rules here so I'll not post the source of rest of this statement but you can look it up yourself. An excerpt;

'Charging stations for electric vehicles will be part of a $2 trillion infrastructure bill being pushed by the Biden administration'.

 

[Ursatdx]

Am I wrong in my assumption that a large % (not all) of the electric needed to charge EVs comes from fossil fuels?
Perhaps another look at nuclear powered electric generation is in order. Careful though. History shows us that we have yet to
perfect and protect against the perilous outcomes of flirting with radiation.

 

[supton]

Am I wrong in my assumption that a large % (not all) of the electric needed to charge EVs comes from fossil fuels?

Depends on where the electricity comes from. My understanding is that Norway has very high renewable electricity generation, the US not nearly as much. So for the time being, yes a good portion of EV charging is with non-renewable fuels in this country. Unless, as you mention, we ramp up nukes.

Part of the analysis is CO2/mile generation. Gasoline is something like 8,788grams per gallon, so, very straight forward as to how much CO2 is generated per mile. You’d have to know your local electricity mix in order to determine its makeup and then what the resultant CO2 per mile is. I think on pure coal you only had to get above 40mpg to do better than coal fired plants? 50 for natural gas? But here’s the thing, with a blend of renewables you have to get very high mpg in order to get less CO2 per mile.

While everyone is probably going to plug in every evening, it is likely rare that everyone is going to do a full charge cycle every evening. After all, it’s not common for people to fill up their gas tank every day.

 

[JeffKeryk]

I'm slow on the draw with E-car knowledge, but a quick google suggests that even at 440VAC, most electric vehicles take well over an hour to charge. The time gets exponentially longer at 240v and 120v. How would these electric 'gas pumps' even work with those lengths of time?

Yeah, if you are low and wanna full charge. A Tesla will route you based on supercharger location, open chargers, your state of charge, etc. You don't have to charge to full; you charge to destination. Are these cars as good for long range driving? Not as good as a Honda Civic for sure.

If I were driving to from home (Silicon Valley) to LA or San Diego, I would leave home fully charged and stop at the Kettleman 24H Tesla Customer Lounge, where there are 40 Superchargers, restaurants, bathrooms, etc. Charge up and then finish the trip.
I think there are 25,000 Supercharger Locations and growing every day.
Kettleman Supercharger.

 

[PandaBear]

Am I wrong in my assumption that a large % (not all) of the electric needed to charge EVs comes from fossil fuels?
Perhaps another look at nuclear powered electric generation is in order. Careful though. History shows us that we have yet to
perfect and protect against the perilous outcomes of flirting with radiation.

It really depends on the time of the day too. During mid day when solar is strong and late night early morning when everyone is asleep there are plenty of surplus electricity that prices are very low or even negative, the grid and power plants have to pay people to take it or else they have to do something even more expensive.

My bet is most charger got that (prices and where the electricity come from) figured out.

 

[DwightFrye]

It is one of Tesla's goals to have their vehicles capable of going from a 20% charge to an 80% charge in 15 minutes.
I'll wager that is possible very soon, maybe even this year. That will satisfy a very large percentage of Tesla drivers who are on the road and need a charge.
They can do a full charge when they get home, and if Elon's vision is accomplished, will be doing it with electricity stored for free from their Tesla solar panels that are also running most of the home's electrical requirements including the Tesla HVAC system.
You will also be writing a check for Tesla auto insurance every quarter that is less tnan you were paying with your previous carrier.
Crazy (wack ?) like a fox that Musk character is.

 

[JTK]

It really depends on the time of the day too. During mid day when solar is strong and late night early morning when everyone is asleep there are plenty of surplus electricity that prices are very low or even negative, the grid and power plants have to pay people to take it or else they have to do something even more expensive.

My bet is most charger got that (prices and where the electricity come from) figured out.

Thing is, who gets to take advantage when the price drops? Where I live the residential mill rate is locked in. Same with work where we can pull as much as 46 mega watts fully loaded.

 

[UncleDave]

I'm slow on the draw with E-car knowledge, but a quick google suggests that even at 440VAC, most electric vehicles take well over an hour to charge. The time gets exponentially longer at 240v and 120v. How would these electric 'gas pumps' even work with those lengths of time?

Yes and no.

If you are charging past 80% sure, but thats not how to get somewhere in an EV

The fastest way to travel in an EV is to charge from 10% or so to 80%, which takes 20-30 min in a variety of EV's.

A 20-30 min stop gets everyone a bathroom break a snack/drink and a few min to catch up on emails.

 

[UncleDave]

Am I wrong in my assumption that a large % (not all) of the electric needed to charge EVs comes from fossil fuels?
Perhaps another look at nuclear powered electric generation is in order. Careful though. History shows us that we have yet to
perfect and protect against the perilous outcomes of flirting with radiation.

Pretty easy to look up each states power contribution.

In New Jersey the majority would be supplied by Natural Gas, then Nukes.

For better or worse (separate discussion) the states have been shifting over time to renewables, so this 2019 chart likely has more solar now.

 

[PandaBear]

Thing is, who gets to take advantage when the price drops? Where I live the residential mill rate is locked in. Same with work where we can pull as much as 46 mega watts fully loaded.

The market, always.

 

[PandaBear]

It is one of Tesla's goals to have their vehicles capable of going from a 20% charge to an 80% charge in 15 minutes.
I'll wager that is possible very soon, maybe even this year. That will satisfy a very large percentage of Tesla drivers who are on the road and need a charge.
They can do a full charge when they get home, and if Elon's vision is accomplished, will be doing it with electricity stored for free from their Tesla solar panels that are also running most of the home's electrical requirements including the Tesla HVAC system.
You will also be writing a check for Tesla auto insurance every quarter that is less tnan you were paying with your previous carrier.
Crazy (wack ?) like a fox that Musk character is.

Unless you are off grid, this is usually NOT the most efficient way to go. The most optimal way to go for battery + solar roof top is actually to use your battery during the peak rate (3pm-9pm), charge your battery during the late morning / noon, and then use a blend of grid + solar in between the rest of the day / night. EV charging should be done from 12am-7am at the lowest prices from the grid.

Going from battery to battery is really a wasteful activity, energy and battery wear.