Comments on: Think Plug-in Cars Will Charge Up at Home? Think Again

By: Get Ready for Trial and Error in the Electric Vehicle Network Buildout

Get Ready for Trial and Error in the Electric Vehicle Network Buildout — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 19:32:19 +0000

[...] charge points will be installed for electric vehicles by 2015. And IBM’s Allan Schurr told us in an interview last spring that he expects the “first wave of problems” for electric vehicles and grid operators to arise [...]

By: Bob Smarzinski

Bob Smarzinski — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 14:06:00 +0000

I have been reading articles for the last 4 years about how all of these cars of the future are going to spare us from the future high oil prices. Whether we are talking about "air cars", better battries using esstor's techology or the all electric vehicles with over nite charging, there never seems to be anybody actually mass producing any of these vehicles for the public to buy at a reasonable price. At this point in time, before I start believing all of the hype coming out of the car manufactures, I think we need an actual vehicle that people can put their hands on in order to make this fantasy believable. Deadline after deadine seems to pass with no cars of the future. Frankly, I am exhausted from all of the clever hype.

By: Mitsubishi Launches Smart Chargers for Apartments

Mitsubishi Launches Smart Chargers for Apartments — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 18:02:44 +0000

[...] fruit for all-electric vehicles. And as IBM Vice President for Energy & Utilities Allan Schurr explained earlier this year at an event in San Francisco, “I don’t know any automaker that is going to throw away [a sizable share] of the [...]

By: 10 Electric Car Smart Charging Players to Watch

10 Electric Car Smart Charging Players to Watch — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 19:23:18 +0000

[...] IBM aims to help manage coordination of players in the charging ecosystem including utilities, billing system developers, cities, hardware companies and automakers. In Denmark, for example it’s developing tech to synchronize EV charging with the availability of wind on the grid. [...]

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 00:31:25 +0000

While it might not be 80 percent, a good fraction of people do live in apartments and condos. While some may cobble a solution (cord out the window) most can't. So, the Volt's gas mileage is 250mpg for homeowners and probably 50 for apartment dwellers, about that of the Prius. A big improvement yes, but it defeats the purpose. Also, if you use the A/C or heater at the battery-only portion of your mission, you prematurely cause the gas engine to start. So, make that 250mpg for homeowners with space suit! Car companies ALWAYS inflate gas mileage figures!

By: Plug-In

Plug-In — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 19:18:42 +0000

The strain put on utilities that cover areas with high plug-in adoption can be managed with tiered pricing systems as well.

Companies, such as Pacific Gas & Electric, have already implemented plans where they charge electric car owners up to 6 times less (5 cents/kH) between midnight and 7 a.m. This is also a convenient time for most car-owners to charge, and can be done with a timer built into the car itself.

Then, just to throw in a new angle, there are businesses (Better Place, Zipcar ) who are questioning the need to even own cars, let alone garages.

http://www.plug-in.com/the-new-model-swap-n-go/

By: China to Lead Electric Car Charging Boom by 2015

China to Lead Electric Car Charging Boom by 2015 — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 19:01:33 +0000

[...] Energy & Utilities Allan Schurr’s comment at the Grid-Connected Mobility Conference that overnight charging at home “in fact is likely to be the rarity rather than the most common” for plug-in vehicles. [...]

By: Public Charging Stations. Now a Drop. Next a Trickle. Then …. ? « SmallCapWorld

Mon, 15 Jun 2009 13:17:42 +0000

[...] Posted by AllenCaron on June 15, 2009 Public charging stations are vital for mass adoption of plug-in hybrids because most people do not have access to a garage to do overnight charging. IBM’s Vice President for Energy & Utilities reminded attendees at a recent grid- to- vehicle conference that only a fraction of vehicle owners park their car in a garage that they own overnight – especially urban dwellers whose short commuting distances are a perfect fit for plug-ins. http://earth2tech.com/2009/05/28/think-plug-in-cars-will-charge-up-at-home-think-again/. [...]

By: Public Charging Stations. Now a drop. Soon a trickle. Then….? « SmallCapWorld

Fri, 12 Jun 2009 21:20:37 +0000

[...] – especially urban dwellers whose short commuting distances are a perfect fit for plug-ins. http://earth2tech.com/2009/05/28/think-plug-in-cars-will-charge-up-at-home-think-again/. Not to mention that Americans want to drive where they want, when they want and will not accept [...]

By: Dwane Anderson

Dwane Anderson — Sat, 30 May 2009 08:14:12 +0000

The title of this article does not match the info in it. The article says that 80% of cars are not parked in garages, but that doesn't mean they couldn't still be charged at home. They simply need a plug where the car is parked. In many cases, an extension cord could suffice. I live in an apartment. If I get an electric car, you can bet I will work out a way to charge my car at home.

I would have no problem with getting a monthly bill for my electric car charging. What's wrong with that?

By: Gonçalo Afonso

Gonçalo Afonso — Fri, 29 May 2009 08:56:42 +0000

Adding to what Brett and Rickfish said, you must also consider the portable batteries. I really believe that people are going to carry a portable battery (like the one you replace at the stations) upstairs to the apartment and charge it over night.

By: Technical blogs with pictures and videos » What to read on the GigaOM network

Fri, 29 May 2009 01:03:28 +0000

[...] at web apps (OStatic) Review: Quick Voice Pro, voice-to-text email for the iPhone (TheAppleBlog) Think plug-in cars will charge up at home? Think again! (Earth2Tech) Susan Boyle 90% as viral as last time (NewTeeVee) Will you wait for the Verizon Palm [...]

By: What to read on the GigaOM network

What to read on the GigaOM network — Thu, 28 May 2009 21:11:26 +0000

By: Rockfish

Rockfish — Thu, 28 May 2009 20:46:20 +0000

I don’t know – a few things don’t add up here:
“The bulk of the market is made up of people who don’t own garages — apartment dwellers and many urban homeowners”
REALLY?
I’d like to see the stat that says 80% of the vehicles in the US are sold to urban (whatever that means) homeowners and apartment dwellers. I look at this country and see millions of square miles of endless suburb, all of it equipped with driveways (you don’t actually need a garage) and many with 2, 3 or 4 cars per household. If any “clustering” is going to happen it’s in suburbs that are an easy battery-only commute from an employment center – say 10-15 miles each way – that has no public transit option.
In addition, there will be almost NO plug-in only vehicles on the road by 2011. Keep in mind there are a few hundred pure plug-ins on the road right now and no major manufacturer plans to offer one for sale in the US at any specified date. At best, there will be a few thousand plug-in HYBRIDS, and those vehicles do not need constant access to a plug for long drives.
It is really annoying to hear everyone while about the coming crisis in grid-crashing plug-ins that die mid-trip leaving helpless drivers wandering the interstates all over America. It will be DECADES before the plug in hybrid (which runs mainly on gas) is even the majority of vehicles in the US, and longer than that until pure, dedicated, electric-only plug-ins are any proportion at all.
Please more critical of the sensationalist nonsense you report.

By: Brett

Brett — Thu, 28 May 2009 20:27:58 +0000

Not really a problems for anyone who lives in Canada or some Northern U.S. states, as even most apartment dwellings have a 110 volt outlet available at their parking space for keeping the block heater going, bring the EV's to Canada!