Quote:
Originally Posted by Frank Lee
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Probably does need its own thread - but here are some additional points to ponder about EVs and electricity use.
Since about 1980, even though the number of electric gadgets in a typical US household has increased dramatically, consumption has actually remained flat.
http://www.energy.ca.gov/2007publica...0-2007-018.PDF (see page 3, or the attached picture)
This is because over time, most items using electricity have become more efficient.
With the shift to electric vehicles, there will be some -reductions- on the grid that will have some balancing effect to the power drawn by EVs for charging.
• Refineries consume a significant amount of electricity in the production of gasoline. About 20% of the energy content in oil is consumed during the refining process. In other words, a refinery uses about 9 gallons' worth of oil energy per barrel - the energy equivalent of 329 Kilowatt hours (kWh) electricity - to produce 44 gallons of fuels and other products. 329 kWh of electricity equates to roughly 1,300 miles of driving in an average electric vehicle at 250 watt-hours per mile.
Interestingly enough, if a better-than-average IC car (30 mpg) were to use the rest of the barrel of oil (44 - 9 = 35 gallons of gasoline), it would only be able to drive about 1,050 miles.
<soap box>
In other words – If we did NOT drill, extract, protect, fight over, transport, refine, sell, spill, or burn ANY oil - simply left it in the ground - and recharged electric cars using the electricity that would otherwise be consumed to extract and refine crude oil into fuel - an electric car could drive 1,300 miles - 250 miles farther than the fossil fueled car.
</soap box>
• Many EV owners have solar electric systems installed on their houses. Buying an EV is oftentimes the tipping point for a homeowner to also install solar. This reduces the overall grid load.
• Because an EV doesn't use gasoline, it won't need to use a gas station. Gas stations use electricity to pump gas out of the ground. The reduction is small (perhaps 200 watt-hours when the in-ground gasoline lift pump is on) but nonetheless a measurable reduction. Putting about 2,000 electric vehicles on the road should eliminate the need for one gas station, which would further reduce electricity demand - no 24/7 lighting, pumps, soda refrigerators, coffee machines, etc.