Wireless charging of moving electric vehicles overcomes major hurdle

Re:Wireless charging of moving electric vehicles overcomes m... by Shivetya on Thursday June 29, 2017 @01:06PM (#14664919)

because one person with enough personality can create a market if the product is compelling enough. I think a range extender with sufficient battery for average daily use is key; granted I am bias as I own such a car,the Volt.

Longer range battery powered cars suffer from high weight for range and long charging time. Even the charging times of a Tesla are not truly viable in long trips; its 45+ minutes to get full. A thousand pounds, long charge, and very high capacity loss in cold weather are not the big negatives. Add in even hilly terrain hurts them too.

I think after the honey moon is over those who select an EV as their only car; a lot of those buying into the 35k-50k cars may only have one vehicle; will soon find its limitations irritating. I would not mind a Bolt,but only as a second car. 200 to 300 miles is not enough and the charge time, again even in Tesla, is not acceptable

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Wireless charging of moving electric vehicles overcomes m... by Robotbeat on Thursday June 29, 2017 @03:40PM (#14666245)

Don't need to be full. 100 miles in 15 minutes.

I also own a Chevy Volt. It's my only car. The biggest improvement is the fact that I almost NEVER have to go to the gas station, and every trip I've taken has had each leg within a Model S's top range.

Going to the gas station constantly is an inconvenience that most people simply don't notice until they get an electric car.

So would I rather take a 15-40 minute lunch break on a road trip every 3 hours on the maybe one road trip beyond 200 miles I'd go on every year or have to travel to the gas station 50 times a year? Obviously the latter involves a lot more wasted time.

Oh, and charging speed is improving. No reason, fundamentally, you couldn't engineer a battery that charges, say, 100 miles in 5 minutes or 200 miles in 10 minutes. Tesla AND others (VW, etc) are planning/testing 350kW charging, which would help enable that speed.

As far as cold weather: balooney. I've lived in cold weather states for most of my life. Conventional vehicles have a huge disadvantage in that they don't even start AT ALL in some conditions whereas electrics have zero problem. And since they're already plugged in, you can pre-heat them before you leave (without burning gas, mind you).

Hilly terrain is actually much better with electrics since you have PLENTY of torque and regenerative braking means you're not going to overheat your brakes like you would in a conventional vehicle.

[ Parent | on HN ]