1 00:00:00,240 --> 00:00:05,410 Perhaps the most worrisome thing about electric cars in the eyes of drivers is charging them. 2 00:00:05,410 --> 00:00:08,750 With a conventional vehicle, you stop by a fueling station, go to the pump, swipe your 3 00:00:08,750 --> 00:00:12,169 card yada yada and you’re tank is full again in a few minutes. 4 00:00:12,169 --> 00:00:16,320 Many people think we need to have a vast charging infrastructure capable of similar feats for 5 00:00:16,320 --> 00:00:17,390 EVs to be viable. 6 00:00:17,390 --> 00:00:22,349 I’d like to present to you why for 95% of the time, that’s not really the case. 7 00:00:22,349 --> 00:00:25,340 First, let’s discuss the types of EV chargers. 8 00:00:25,340 --> 00:00:27,810 There are three so-called levels of charging. 9 00:00:27,810 --> 00:00:31,750 Level 1 charging is the slowest, using electricity from a standard household 120V outlet. 10 00:00:31,750 --> 00:00:34,180 I’m about to make an outlandish statement. 11 00:00:34,180 --> 00:00:37,670 For most people most of the time, level 1 is all you need. 12 00:00:37,670 --> 00:00:38,720 No, seriously. 13 00:00:38,720 --> 00:00:42,820 If you think I’m off my rocker just hang tight and I’ll explain in a few moments. 14 00:00:42,820 --> 00:00:44,940 Level 2 charging is the next step. 15 00:00:44,940 --> 00:00:50,120 Level 2 charging equipment supplies 240V, usually between 15 and 40 amps. 16 00:00:50,120 --> 00:00:54,380 Most public charging stations are level 2, and these are capable of recharging the exhausted 17 00:00:54,380 --> 00:00:58,460 batteries of most EV’s in 4 to 10 hours depending on the car. 18 00:00:58,460 --> 00:01:02,850 Much effort seems to be spent on getting level 2 charging stations in more places, but except 19 00:01:02,850 --> 00:01:05,549 in particular circumstances they might not be needed. 20 00:01:05,549 --> 00:01:07,340 Again, more on that later. 21 00:01:07,340 --> 00:01:10,090 Level 3 charging is the fastest current charging level. 22 00:01:10,090 --> 00:01:14,619 Rather than work with AC electricity, Level 3 equipment supplies high voltage DC right 23 00:01:14,619 --> 00:01:19,020 into the vehicle’s batteries, and they can often charge a depleted battery to 80% full 24 00:01:19,020 --> 00:01:20,659 in 30 minutes or less. 25 00:01:20,659 --> 00:01:25,119 The Tesla super chargers, CCS, and Chademo are the three most common technologies and 26 00:01:25,119 --> 00:01:27,590 they’re usually referred to as DC fast charging. 27 00:01:27,590 --> 00:01:31,869 So, you might be asking, where does this guy get off saying this thing is all I need? 28 00:01:31,869 --> 00:01:32,869 I’ll tell you. 29 00:01:32,869 --> 00:01:37,609 There’s an easier way to understand how fast the chargers are: miles per hour. 30 00:01:37,609 --> 00:01:41,640 Energy is energy, and since most cars are able to go about 4 miles per kilowatt hour 31 00:01:41,640 --> 00:01:45,649 of energy, then it’s really easy to tell how far it can go for a set period of time 32 00:01:45,649 --> 00:01:47,460 being plugged into a charger. 33 00:01:47,460 --> 00:01:49,670 Let’s take a Nissan Leaf as an example. 34 00:01:49,670 --> 00:01:54,139 When on level 2 charging at 30 amps, it adds 20 miles of range per hour it’s plugged 35 00:01:54,139 --> 00:01:55,139 in. 36 00:01:55,139 --> 00:01:58,459 It’s that simple, you can figure out depending on the size of the charger how fast range 37 00:01:58,459 --> 00:02:02,060 is added to the battery, and you can equate that to miles per hour. 38 00:02:02,060 --> 00:02:07,220 When plugged into a standard 120v outlet with a portable charger, a leaf gains 4 miles of 39 00:02:07,220 --> 00:02:09,380 range for every hour it’s plugged in. 40 00:02:09,380 --> 00:02:12,100 This probably sounds pathetic to you, but it shouldn’t. 41 00:02:12,100 --> 00:02:17,240 Consider this: The Leaf has an estimated range of 84 miles for 2014 and 2015 models. 42 00:02:17,240 --> 00:02:21,860 Let’s take a worst case scenario and assume that each day you use 100% of the range. 43 00:02:21,860 --> 00:02:25,960 Your trip to work is 42 miles (which by the way statistically is a very long commute), 44 00:02:25,960 --> 00:02:27,680 and say it takes an hour each way. 45 00:02:27,680 --> 00:02:30,580 22 hours of the day your car is sitting parked. 46 00:02:30,580 --> 00:02:34,100 If it were always able to be plugged in when parked (so, if you could plug in at work), 47 00:02:34,100 --> 00:02:38,320 then it would add 88 miles of range each day (which is 4 more than its total range). 48 00:02:38,320 --> 00:02:42,380 Even with level one “trickle” charging, as some people call it, the Leaf would always 49 00:02:42,380 --> 00:02:44,950 end up with a fully charged battery at the start of the next day. 50 00:02:44,950 --> 00:02:46,600 So here’s what I’m getting at. 51 00:02:46,600 --> 00:02:51,550 So long as you drive less than 80 miles in a day (which is most people most of the time), 52 00:02:51,550 --> 00:02:53,240 level 1 charging is sufficient. 53 00:02:53,240 --> 00:02:56,250 The catch is that this is so long as you could also charge at work. 54 00:02:56,250 --> 00:03:01,020 In fact, if your trip to work is 32 miles or less (which is most of you), then with 55 00:03:01,020 --> 00:03:05,760 a standard 120V outlet your car would be fully charged when it was time to go home. 56 00:03:05,760 --> 00:03:07,750 And that’s what I think we should be focusing on. 57 00:03:07,750 --> 00:03:11,401 We need to get more chargers available for people to use at their workplace, and level 58 00:03:11,401 --> 00:03:13,370 1 is a great option. 59 00:03:13,370 --> 00:03:15,980 Installing level 1 charging equipment costs less than level 2. 60 00:03:15,980 --> 00:03:17,790 A lot of this has to do with wiring. 61 00:03:17,790 --> 00:03:22,290 See, a standard 200 amp electrical panel like you have in your house could charge 26 EV’s 62 00:03:22,290 --> 00:03:26,710 at 15 amp level 1, compared to just 6 with 30 amp level 2. 63 00:03:26,710 --> 00:03:30,430 And in a commercial building there’s way more than 200 amps at its disposal. 64 00:03:30,430 --> 00:03:34,860 Just think of a building like a hotel--each room with its own electric heater has a 20 65 00:03:34,860 --> 00:03:39,260 amp 240 volt circuit (which is equivalent to 2 20 amp 120 volt circuits). 66 00:03:39,260 --> 00:03:42,240 So with the wiring for each hotel room, you could charge 2 cars. 67 00:03:42,240 --> 00:03:45,620 A 100 room hotel, therefore, has the wiring to support 200 EVs. 68 00:03:45,620 --> 00:03:49,490 Now of course, you can’t charge an EV and run the heater at the same time, but I want 69 00:03:49,490 --> 00:03:53,260 to illustrate how many vehicles could be charged with what is already typical electrical supply 70 00:03:53,260 --> 00:03:55,010 for a commercial building. 71 00:03:55,010 --> 00:03:56,810 And 200 is just with the circuits for the heaters. 72 00:03:56,810 --> 00:03:58,940 And trust me, there are a lot more circuits in a hotel. 73 00:03:58,940 --> 00:04:01,150 Here’s another thing to consider. 74 00:04:01,150 --> 00:04:05,360 Adding 4 miles of range in an hour is with 12 amp charging, which is what portable charging 75 00:04:05,360 --> 00:04:07,060 equipment supplies. 76 00:04:07,060 --> 00:04:11,890 Level one charging equipment wired to a dedicated 20 amp circuit like in a hotel room could 77 00:04:11,890 --> 00:04:17,079 potentially add 5.5 miles of range per hour, meaning that with 22 hours of parked time, 78 00:04:17,079 --> 00:04:20,099 the car could add 121 miles of range. 79 00:04:20,099 --> 00:04:23,169 Very few people exceed 121 miles of daily driving. 80 00:04:23,169 --> 00:04:27,110 And even if you had to go farther one day, you could make up for it later. 81 00:04:27,110 --> 00:04:28,909 Say your commute is a 50 mile round trip. 82 00:04:28,909 --> 00:04:32,030 Still a good bit longer than average, but a good number for theory. 83 00:04:32,030 --> 00:04:37,210 If your electric car had a 200 mile range, then your car would never dip below 75% charged 84 00:04:37,210 --> 00:04:38,990 if all you did was commute. 85 00:04:38,990 --> 00:04:42,669 But if one day you did have to drive 100 miles doing errands, then you’d get home with 86 00:04:42,669 --> 00:04:44,189 your battery half full. 87 00:04:44,189 --> 00:04:47,129 But with 8 hours of being plugged in before you went to work the next day, you’d have 88 00:04:47,129 --> 00:04:49,730 132 miles of range when you started your day. 89 00:04:49,730 --> 00:04:54,450 After 24 hours, you’d start the next day with 162 miles, and by the third day you’d 90 00:04:54,450 --> 00:04:55,450 be nearly full again. 91 00:04:55,450 --> 00:05:00,379 See, each day you used 50 miles of range, but added 80 miles so you’ve netted 30 miles 92 00:05:00,379 --> 00:05:01,460 of range. 93 00:05:01,460 --> 00:05:05,669 All this is not to say that there’s no point in installing level 2 or level 3 charging. 94 00:05:05,669 --> 00:05:08,889 What I hope to explain here is that the need for those charging levels is atypical. 95 00:05:08,889 --> 00:05:14,629 Sure, a workplace might need a few level 2 chargers for those that have very long commutes, 96 00:05:14,629 --> 00:05:17,830 but for most people just having level 1 would be fine. 97 00:05:17,830 --> 00:05:21,570 Level 2 chargers would be most handy in places like shopping malls, so that someone whose 98 00:05:21,570 --> 00:05:26,169 commute pushes past 60 miles or so could get their battery full quickly for a day of shopping 99 00:05:26,169 --> 00:05:28,060 or roundabout chores. 100 00:05:28,060 --> 00:05:32,200 Level 3 charging is needed exclusively for road trips; or when total travel for the day 101 00:05:32,200 --> 00:05:34,689 will greatly exceed the car’s range. 102 00:05:34,689 --> 00:05:39,029 I think that if we want to make it easier to drive electric, we need to change our focus. 103 00:05:39,029 --> 00:05:41,810 We need level 1 chargers in more places. 104 00:05:41,810 --> 00:05:45,819 If everyone is able to charge their car at work, even if it’s only level 1, their daily 105 00:05:45,819 --> 00:05:48,469 driving needs would pretty much be taken care of. 106 00:05:48,469 --> 00:05:53,100 My trip to work is about 16 miles, and with my Volt that leaves me with about 60% of the 107 00:05:53,100 --> 00:05:55,900 battery left, or about 23 miles of range. 108 00:05:55,900 --> 00:05:59,569 If I could plug in at work to just a standard outlet, my Volt would have a full battery 109 00:05:59,569 --> 00:06:02,879 in about 4 hours, well before the time I ended my 8 hour day. 110 00:06:02,879 --> 00:06:07,240 Then when I got home, I’d again have 23 miles left for shopping and chores, meaning 111 00:06:07,240 --> 00:06:11,379 I would almost never have to rely on the Volt’s gasoline backup generator. 112 00:06:11,379 --> 00:06:15,610 And since the first gen Volt takes 10 hours to charge fully with a 120V outlet, even if 113 00:06:15,610 --> 00:06:19,400 I used up all those 23 miles after work, I’d have a full battery in the morning (assuming 114 00:06:19,400 --> 00:06:21,650 I got home 2 hours before I went to bed). 115 00:06:21,650 --> 00:06:25,360 If you don’t believe me that level 1 charging is enough, just try this. 116 00:06:25,360 --> 00:06:29,400 Every day for the next month, reset the trip meter on your dash before you head out for 117 00:06:29,400 --> 00:06:30,400 the day. 118 00:06:30,400 --> 00:06:31,979 Write down how many miles you drove in a log. 119 00:06:31,979 --> 00:06:35,659 I’ll bet that for many of you, you never exceeded 80 miles in a day. 120 00:06:35,659 --> 00:06:39,699 And for those that did on a few of those days, the gains you make from your other days would 121 00:06:39,699 --> 00:06:41,729 more than make up for the loss. 122 00:06:41,729 --> 00:06:43,000 Still think this claim is dubious? 123 00:06:43,000 --> 00:06:44,460 Let’s make it even simpler. 124 00:06:44,460 --> 00:06:51,300 80 miles a day is equivalent to driving 2,400 miles in a month, or 29,200 miles a year. 125 00:06:51,300 --> 00:06:55,339 So with just a standard electrical outlet, your electric car could travel more than double 126 00:06:55,339 --> 00:06:58,400 the average annual distance traveled by car today. 127 00:06:58,400 --> 00:07:00,759 In short, the problem isn’t so much infrastructure. 128 00:07:00,759 --> 00:07:02,319 It’s access. 129 00:07:02,319 --> 00:07:06,659 Most buildings today are loaded with wiring, already enough to support most drivers. 130 00:07:06,659 --> 00:07:09,969 The problem is none of that wiring goes to the parking lot or parking garage. 131 00:07:09,969 --> 00:07:13,300 And we don’t need expensive equipment to get people charged. 132 00:07:13,300 --> 00:07:16,280 A level 1 charger costs about 400 dollars. 133 00:07:16,280 --> 00:07:21,069 Compare that to the national cost per space of a new parking garage, which is over 18,000 134 00:07:21,069 --> 00:07:25,499 dollars, and you discover it’d increase the cost of a parking garage only 2.2 percent 135 00:07:25,499 --> 00:07:28,199 for every spot to be capable of charging. 136 00:07:28,199 --> 00:07:32,599 Maybe double that for wiring and labor, and you’re still at less than a 5% increase. 137 00:07:32,599 --> 00:07:34,729 You might ask, who should pay for this? 138 00:07:34,729 --> 00:07:37,479 If companies were smart, they’d do it themselves. 139 00:07:37,479 --> 00:07:41,370 Providing vehicle charging as a benefit to employees doesn’t cost much at all. 140 00:07:41,370 --> 00:07:45,449 The electricity costs about a dollar a day with national electric costs and 8 hours of 141 00:07:45,449 --> 00:07:46,919 charging. 142 00:07:46,919 --> 00:07:50,630 Considering that the minimum wage is more than 7 times that amount per hour, and the 143 00:07:50,630 --> 00:07:53,599 average wage many times more, that’s pennies. 144 00:07:53,599 --> 00:07:56,059 And the cost of installation isn’t that high either. 145 00:07:56,059 --> 00:08:00,199 At perhaps 1,000 dollars per charger, you’re talking a week’s pay for someone making 146 00:08:00,199 --> 00:08:01,400 $52,000 a year. 147 00:08:01,400 --> 00:08:04,710 New construction should just be done with EV charging in mind. 148 00:08:04,710 --> 00:08:09,479 If you want to hire top talent, having free EV charging will certainly be a welcome perk. 149 00:08:09,479 --> 00:08:13,620 For fast charging, I’d like to see roadside restaurants install level 3 charging. 150 00:08:13,620 --> 00:08:17,099 You’re on a road trip, your battery’s depleted, and what better place to stop for 151 00:08:17,099 --> 00:08:18,849 a half hour than a restaurant. 152 00:08:18,849 --> 00:08:23,330 Smart restaurant will subsidize the cost of installation with added revenue from hungry 153 00:08:23,330 --> 00:08:28,059 EV drivers, with chains like McDonalds, Wendy’s, Sonic, or countless others having the opportunity 154 00:08:28,059 --> 00:08:31,719 to become the first nationwide public EV charging network. 155 00:08:31,719 --> 00:08:34,029 If I were them, I’d seize that opportunity. 156 00:08:34,029 --> 00:08:38,760 We’re so close to having all we need to support mass adoption of electric cars. 157 00:08:38,760 --> 00:08:42,130 200 mile affordable EVs are just around the corner. 158 00:08:42,130 --> 00:08:48,690 Now all we need is for people to start doing something. 159 00:08:48,690 --> 00:08:52,870 I can tell you’re formulating comments to tell me about the things I am glazing over. 160 00:08:52,870 --> 00:08:56,500 I’m going to try and address some of those now and save you some effort. 161 00:08:56,500 --> 00:08:59,750 First, yes, EV range does go down in the winter time. 162 00:08:59,750 --> 00:09:02,089 Sometimes as much as 30% or so. 163 00:09:02,089 --> 00:09:05,350 Which would mean that the number of miles level one charging could support could potentially 164 00:09:05,350 --> 00:09:07,330 drop to as little as 50 in a day. 165 00:09:07,330 --> 00:09:12,410 But 80 miles would still be maintained if 20 amp charging became more widespread. 166 00:09:12,410 --> 00:09:15,399 There are certainly places where level 2 charging is good. 167 00:09:15,399 --> 00:09:18,600 Shopping malls, movie theaters, theme parks, basically places that you’d go out of your 168 00:09:18,600 --> 00:09:19,889 way to get to. 169 00:09:19,889 --> 00:09:23,560 These places would certainly benefit from having level 2 charging so you could get a 170 00:09:23,560 --> 00:09:25,360 quick recharge to go home. 171 00:09:25,360 --> 00:09:29,010 But, I think you’ll find that even on the days you go shopping, you’ll still be driving 172 00:09:29,010 --> 00:09:30,579 less than 80 miles. 173 00:09:30,579 --> 00:09:34,810 You might ask, if we’re adding wiring to install level 1 chargers, why not beef up 174 00:09:34,810 --> 00:09:36,769 the wiring for level 2? 175 00:09:36,769 --> 00:09:40,449 I think I already answered that with the number of cars that can be supported per electrical 176 00:09:40,449 --> 00:09:41,449 panel. 177 00:09:41,449 --> 00:09:45,410 A finite amount of energy can be pulled through a given transformer and a given electrical 178 00:09:45,410 --> 00:09:49,310 panel, so I think that it would make more sense to have more level 1 chargers than fewer 179 00:09:49,310 --> 00:09:50,630 level 2. 180 00:09:50,630 --> 00:09:53,950 With 6.6 KW level 2 charging you could charge 1 car. 181 00:09:53,950 --> 00:09:57,500 But the same 6.6 KW could charge 5 cars at level 1. 182 00:09:57,500 --> 00:10:01,060 It’s the same number of miles per hour, but by spreading it out amongst more people 183 00:10:01,060 --> 00:10:04,930 you can have a greater impact, particularly at a workplace, and it helps alleviate the 184 00:10:04,930 --> 00:10:07,329 problem of who should get the charger when. 185 00:10:07,329 --> 00:10:11,529 I would argue it’s better for 5 people to get 32 miles of range added each over their 186 00:10:11,529 --> 00:10:15,320 8 hour day, than for 1 charger to provide 20 miles of range per hour. 187 00:10:15,320 --> 00:10:19,069 You’d have to keep switching cars around on that charger, and that’s a waste of time 188 00:10:19,069 --> 00:10:20,500 and effort. 189 00:10:20,500 --> 00:10:24,069 Installing a level 2 charger at home is not without merit, particularly when you can take 190 00:10:24,069 --> 00:10:28,240 advantage of lower electricity rates at night, if your utility company offers them. 191 00:10:28,240 --> 00:10:32,209 Then with a long-range EV, you can completely charge it overnight when it’s cheaper to 192 00:10:32,209 --> 00:10:33,209 do so. 193 00:10:33,209 --> 00:10:37,019 In fact, I would suggest that new construction homes be wired with a couple of dryer outlets 194 00:10:37,019 --> 00:10:40,550 in the garage so level 2 charging would just be plug-and-play. 195 00:10:40,550 --> 00:10:44,040 But one thing that is often overlooked about EVs is that the amount of time it takes to 196 00:10:44,040 --> 00:10:47,160 get a full charge depends on how charged your battery is when you plug in. 197 00:10:47,160 --> 00:10:49,940 It’s not like it always takes the same amount of time. 198 00:10:49,940 --> 00:10:54,060 It doesn’t always take 10 hours to charge my Volt, it only takes 10 hours if the battery 199 00:10:54,060 --> 00:10:55,350 is depleted. 200 00:10:55,350 --> 00:10:59,260 Oftentimes I get home with 10 miles of range left, and then it only takes 7 hours to charge. 201 00:10:59,260 --> 00:11:03,420 It’s really like I said earlier, the charger provides x miles per hour, so it requires 202 00:11:03,420 --> 00:11:06,670 a different mindset than filling up when necessary. 203 00:11:06,670 --> 00:11:10,570 If your battery is only down 40 miles, then just like my Volt it will take 10 hours to 204 00:11:10,570 --> 00:11:14,670 charge fully with a household outlet, regardless of how big the battery is in your electric 205 00:11:14,670 --> 00:11:15,670 car. 206 00:11:15,670 --> 00:11:20,280 EV enthusiasts may know that level 1 charging is about 2% less efficient than level 2, so 207 00:11:20,280 --> 00:11:24,330 you will waste just a bit of electricity by charging consistently with level 1. 208 00:11:24,330 --> 00:11:28,940 But, access to level 1 charging at home is plentiful, and I think sacrificing a little 209 00:11:28,940 --> 00:11:32,430 bit of efficiency is worth having more access elsewhere. 210 00:11:32,430 --> 00:11:37,250 And lastly, I know there are plenty of people who don’t commute, and that there are plenty 211 00:11:37,250 --> 00:11:39,420 of reasons to drive besides commuting. 212 00:11:39,420 --> 00:11:41,410 But it all boils down to access. 213 00:11:41,410 --> 00:11:45,880 If you could plug in whenever you’re not driving--which in a car’s lifetime is the 214 00:11:45,880 --> 00:11:50,050 vast majority of the time--then level 1 charging could very well do more than what you need.