The EV Hate Thread

xschop · January 23

But they have wifi in the outhouse.

ChrisD06 · January 23

mhardy6647 wrote: »

Y'all don't have 200A service in 2024?! That's remarkable (i.e., from a US perspective).

It's remarkable up here too. Was talking with another coworker and he was SHOCKED that we had 125A for a 2008 home. He's like "When I built my house in, probably '89 or so, I put a 200A service in".

I'm going to assume it was because it was cheaper for the contractors who built our home. They did a terrible job. The only thing competent was the electrical, it's done really well considering the limitations.

The baseboard trim doesn't even have caulking. Huge gaps everywhere. Paint was done with the outlet box covers on and it got on them causing them to stick to the wall. It's also on the ceiling and basebord trim. Drywall has a lot of visible seams. There's like 6 studs with massive chunks taken out of them from where the plumber ran a pipe. Did I mention these studs are 2x6s? Yeah, it's a load bearing wall.

invalid · January 23

pitdogg2 wrote: »

They'd need to change the single transformer that powers all 4 homes on our private lane because it's only 50kVA, which means that it just barely handles all of 4 homes on a 125A service each. Then they'd need to change the lines and that would cost a TON.

The transformer outside my house is 125kva ( our subdivision lines are all underground). It can only accommodate 6 residences that go solar and put energy back to the grid, each one handles 8-10 houses

The power companies can run those distribution transformers way over what they are rated for, and they do it all the time.

pitdogg2 · January 23

invalid wrote: »

pitdogg2 wrote: »

They'd need to change the single transformer that powers all 4 homes on our private lane because it's only 50kVA, which means that it just barely handles all of 4 homes on a 125A service each. Then they'd need to change the lines and that would cost a TON.

The transformer outside my house is 125kva ( our subdivision lines are all underground). It can only accommodate 6 residences that go solar and put energy back to the grid, each one handles 8-10 houses

The power companies can run those distribution transformers way over what they are rated for, and they do it all the time.

All I know is what the Electric Company (Amren) told me when they came out with the solar company to verify my residence. I do know down the street they (Amren) turned down 3 residences that wanted to go solar because there was too many on that transformer that wanted to go solar. They allowed the 6 and turned down 3 until they upgrade that transformer to accommodate the other 3.

Jazzhead · January 23

msg wrote: »

Jazzhead wrote: »

^^^^

Dude, hate to have to tell you this, but I think you might have a glitch in your Matrix.

Apologies for the off topic, but those two were shelter rescues, brothers, twins, 20 lbs each (40 lbs of trouble). They were hilarious in their twins behavior, and had monstrous playful personalities, huge appetites, and almost doglike tendencies. If they both decided to get on you for a nap you were totally dominated ("you will be assimilated!...").

audioluvr · January 23

I was going to go solar here but the utility company says I need a special meter that's about $2,500, then everything purchased has to be pre- approved, inspected prior to installation, inspected during installation, then inspected after installation and test run off grid to make sure compatibility. I was quoted $20-25k for this. Then they only pay incoming power at wholesale and charge outgoing at retail. The new top secret meter keeps a tally of every second of incoming and outgoing power.

I basically told them to pound sand.

nooshinjohn · January 23

Same here. The scammers call me all the time offering me free solar with a power wall. When asked what they mean by “free”, they tell me that over time, it will be free based upon the saving from the power company, but it will be 35k up front.

At 350 bucks every two months to the power company, I will have replaced the entire system twice out of my own pocket before I recoup the money from the initial investment…. EFF THAT!!!

mhardy6647 · January 23

Happy with our investment with about 6 kW of photovoltaics here (installed in two tranches; half when the house was built, the other half several years later).

Indeed, after our daughter & son-in-law added a tracker to their solar array a couple of towns east of us, I have been getting the urge to install one here, too. I realized we have a reasonably good place to put one downhill from the house in the wasteland field on the west side of the property.

Much higher efficiency compared to the fixed angle of ours, which are roof-mounted. 'spensive, though.
We'd have enough capacity to keep a pure-play EV fully charged most of the year, on ol' Sol.

charley96 · January 23

A solar salesman knocked on my door last week and I told him I'm an Eco-Terrorist. After telling him all the things I like to do to harm the environment, he didn't want to hang around anymore.

bcwsrt · January 23

Well, there wasn't any global warming going on around here last week!

Did you show him where you dump your used motor oil?!

invalid · January 23

bcwsrt wrote: »

Well, there wasn't any global warming going on around here last week!

Did you show him where you dump your used motor oil?!

On the logs to start the campfire 🔥

ChrisD06 · January 23

Solar here is actually a phenomenal investment. We'd pay the system off in 10 years with our savings and it turns out NS Power no longer charges for a meter or transfer switch according to their website. Everything else would still cost a ton of money.

As much as I personally think that here in NS, it will end up a disaster for our grid infrastructure due to no meter charges, it is genuinely awesome and if I was building a home or a homeowner who had the spare cash, I'd install a solar system that covers my roof and probably a couple backup batteries.

Main problem is the poor future planning from legislators and their lack of knowledge. If a meter charge was in effect then there'd be nothing to worry about.

Everything's got it's ups and downs.

charley96 · January 23

bcwsrt wrote: »

Well, there wasn't any global warming going on around here last week!

Did you show him where you dump your used motor oil?!

Dang, I should have.

msg · January 23

I saw a house in the neighborhood the other week that had new solar, edge to edge... Installed over shingles that look ready to be replaced. I'm pretty sure whoever that solar salesman was told them they'd be fine.

Wonder what it costs to remove and reinstall solar.

GlennDog · January 23

ChrisD06 wrote: »

With our government banning home heating oil and internal combustion engine vehicles, what in God's name are people supposed to do when something like this happens? Seriously, if our grid can't even handle the current electrical demand during a storm, what happens when people are charging their cars and using electric heat?

just before you freeze (or starve) to death, you'll be thinking "I shoulda voted for the other guy"

GlennDog · January 23

audioluvr wrote: »

The new top secret meter keeps a tally of every second of incoming and outgoing power.

I basically told them to pound sand.

that's so they can CONTROL your usage

good on you for flip'n 'em off

Jazzhead · January 23

msg wrote: »

I saw a house in the neighborhood the other week that had new solar, edge to edge... Installed over shingles that look ready to be replaced. I'm pretty sure whoever that solar salesman was told them they'd be fine.

Wonder what it costs to remove and reinstall solar.

This is pie in the sky right now, but it's too bad we don't have an affordable, durable, 50-year solar roofing material. Imagine if most people's roofs were cranking out power (the wires are already there) to supplement what's centrally generated. Everyone involved would have to chip in to support/modernize/strengthen grid infrastructure. If a limb came down on your supply (yes, those lines should all be buried), and you have batteries (we need better batteries) you could invert into a few circuits to keep the lights/freezer on etc. The big power companies don't want decentralized power generation and are creating disincentives. One could make the argument that it's in the national security interest of this country to decentralize power generation. Look at Ukraine.

msg · January 23

Earthships, I say.
But with power for us to run high current audio systems.

nooshinjohn · January 23

Jazzhead wrote: »

msg wrote: »

I saw a house in the neighborhood the other week that had new solar, edge to edge... Installed over shingles that look ready to be replaced. I'm pretty sure whoever that solar salesman was told them they'd be fine.

Wonder what it costs to remove and reinstall solar.

This is pie in the sky right now, but it's too bad we don't have an affordable, durable, 50-year solar roofing material. Imagine if most people's roofs were cranking out power (the wires are already there) to supplement what's centrally generated. Everyone involved would have to chip in to support/modernize/strengthen grid infrastructure. If a limb came down on your supply (yes, those lines should all be buried), and you have batteries (we need better batteries) you could invert into a few circuits to keep the lights/freezer on etc. The big power companies don't want decentralized power generation and are creating disincentives. One could make the argument that it's in the national security interest of this country to decentralize power generation. Look at Ukraine.

It would be cheaper long term to simply build more power plants and protect the grid from threats like EMP. It would also be better for the environment as mining these materials and disposal of them later is incredibly destructive to our world.

halen · January 23

dot dot dot

halen · January 23

@ChrisD06
"No doubt about it. I mean sure one could argue against it and yeah it has flaws, but in the dead of winter? Go out in your backyard, cut down a tree, and it'll heat your home forever."

How insanely large is this tree? Has the magnificently large tree died for a long time and well seasoned? Forever? A true cord of firewood barely last a single short winter here in Texas.

I am not a go green, global warming fearing person. I love my petro powered autos, home appliances and camping gear.

I do enjoy EV cars and battery operated alternatives. Not for the save the planet doomsday BS. EV cars are fun to drive.

Yeah I said it.

halen

treitz3 · January 24

You are such a rebel, Halen. 😀

Tom

tonyb · January 24

The only reason most hate EV's, is because they are being shoved down our throats. America is suppose to be the land of choices right. When you start taking away choices, or purposely making one more expensive than another to drive those choices in a direction someone deems acceptable, then the hate comes out.

Nobody gives 2 sheets if you drive an EV or not, just don't tell people that will be their only choice down the road. Certain behaviors by force doesn't sit well in a supposedly free market society.

xschop · January 24

tonyb wrote: »

The only reason most hate EV's, is because they are being shoved down our throats. America is suppose to be the land of choices right. When you start taking away choices, or purposely making one more expensive than another to drive those choices in a direction someone deems acceptable, then the hate comes out.

Nobody gives 2 sheets if you drive an EV or not, just don't tell people that will be their only choice down the road. Certain behaviors by force doesn't sit well in a supposedly free market society.

Sounds very familiar,,,,Due to the impending gasoline pandemic, we have an experimental EV mandate.

mhardy6647 · January 24

tonyb wrote: »

The only reason most hate EV's, is because they are being shoved down our throats. America is suppose to be the land of choices right. When you start taking away choices, or purposely making one more expensive than another to drive those choices in a direction someone deems acceptable, then the hate comes out.

Nobody gives 2 sheets if you drive an EV or not, just don't tell people that will be their only choice down the road. Certain behaviors by force doesn't sit well in a supposedly free market society.

Nobody gave me a choice when NTSC analog TV went away. We went from receiving well over a dozen stations OTA (with a big Yagi and rotator) in our deep-fringe suburban locale NW of Boston to receiving 2 or 3 digital stations, literally overnight.

The driver wasn't progress (at least in terms of television) or better video quality or more choice. It was to free up bandwidth on the broadcast frequency spectrum (the old "low VHF" frequencies allocated to analog TV channels 2 to 6) for the FCC to auction off for other services.
So, yeah, that 'American choice' ship sailed a while ago.

Jazzhead · January 24

Also, in regards to centralized power generation, if you want to control and manipulate masses of people, pack them into cities, then turn off their gas, water, and electricity.

invalid · January 24

Jazzhead wrote: »

Also, in regards to centralized power generation, if you want to control and manipulate masses of people, pack them into cities, then turn off their gas, water, and electricity.

They wouldn't do it that way, they will just make it unaffordable when they want to.

ChrisD06 · January 24

tonyb wrote: »

The only reason most hate EV's, is because they are being shoved down our throats. America is suppose to be the land of choices right. When you start taking away choices, or purposely making one more expensive than another to drive those choices in a direction someone deems acceptable, then the hate comes out.

Nobody gives 2 sheets if you drive an EV or not, just don't tell people that will be their only choice down the road. Certain behaviors by force doesn't sit well in a supposedly free market society.

I kinda dislike EVs because my family owns a hybrid. It's a 2013 Acura ILX Hybrid with the Technology Package. Not a full EV but it's half electric so it counts.

Great car, I refuse to drive the RAV4, only the Acura. It's probably the nicest car I've ever driven and furthermore ever been in. It's a super smooth and enjoyable ride.

The hybrid computer decided to get a broken solder joint. My Dad started panicking because this would mean a new hybrid system including the battery. About $8,000. Fortunately I found that they had a recall for it and told my Dad, so it was done for free.

Anyways, that's as far as my experience with any sort of 'electric' vehicle would go. The car is super gas efficient and quiet, it's amazing. Has great acceleration too and then when it switches back to gas the CVT takes over and hauls some serious donkey.

So: I don't like 'electric' vehicles because the problems can suddenly arise (like a broken solder joint) and cost more than an entire engine replacement or even a used Corolla. I like electric vehicles because Holy smokes are they nice to ride.

If EVs became cheaper to buy and repair and Tesla stopped being the Apple of the EV market, I'd probably be all over them. Solid state batteries are 100% going to cause the EV market to skyrocket.

Kex · January 25

Point of order: Tesla are not the Apple of the EV market.

They just like to think they are. 😜

Kex · January 25

As for EV’s, I drove one as a rental once. It was just the lowly BMW i3, the funky one with the carbon fibre body. With a 0-60 of about 7s, it felt much faster than that. Truly fast. The instant torque at any speed is addictive. It also felt much larger on the inside than it looks on the outside.

I’m not in the market because my ICE’s are just too reliable and too cheap to maintain, even though they are 18 and 17 y/o with one of them close to 160,000 miles (bought new).

If I ever do get a new car, though, it will be fully electric, not hybrid. I have no desire to drive long distance rather than fly to my destination and rent when I get there, so anything that can mange 200 miles is more than enough. I would always charge at home, and never use public charging.

Not only would a hybrid be superfluous for my needs, but the gasoline engine would require exactly the same maintenance as a regular ICE, so there’d be no economy on maintenance.

My preferred choice right now would be a BMW i4 or a Porsche Taycan.

The EV Hate Thread

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