A Revolting Choice

 

Ever driven by a bank of Tesla charging stations where nobody is hooked up? If you have an electric vehicle (EV) or plug-in electric (that’s not a Tesla), have you ever pulled into a charging station only to find that the charging cable won’t fit into your car’s charging port? It only works for Tesla or some other EV? If we are truly going to shift the automotive world into ubiquitous access to car chargers, we must have unform charging stations or, much more expensively, multiple plugs at every charging station. Reality: “All EV chargers are not the same. EV chargers are different in terms of output power, input voltages, output voltages, charging connection standard, weight, physical appearance, and their installation procedure also varies from charger to charger. Furthermore, not all EV chargers are compatible with all EVs.” Pluginworld.com. 

We can start with the reality that there are three levels of charging, Level 1 (110 volts with very long charging times), Level 2 (240 volts with moderate but not super-rapid charging times), and Level 3 (with fast chargers at 600 volts and superfast chargers at 900 volts). Level 1 is alternating current; the other levels are direct current. Those fast and superfast chargers also have serious heat buildup issues and will not work on EVs that are not specifically equipped to handle that jolt. See also my December 22nd Biden’s New Charge Account blog. Above are some, but not all, of the most common charging plugs. 

While most EV and plug-in hybrid owners charge the EVs in their residences and offices, that truly depends on the availability of those chargers in apartment rentals (not common at all), as provided by employers (not remotely enough… and who has “offices” anyway?) and by charging stations: in parking lots, designated charging stations and a few “filling stations” and truck stops. In short, not remotely enough, heavily skewed towards wealthier car owners and wildly complex with incompatibility. Payment is easy. Mobile app or credit card. 

More progressive jurisdictions are beginning to require charging stations in newly built residential units, but even in those venues, retrofitting on older units is seldom required. Many assume that as gas prices continue to escalate and then stabilize at new high levels, renters and home buyers will insist on available car chargers as a basic requirement. Boy, will that strategy take way, way too much time! “[In 2020], the International Code Council (ICC) approved changes to building standards that preview a world in which every home has at least one electric car. The building standards organization, which sets voluntary guidelines for new homes, voted to approve a new provision that, functionally, will make all new homes built in the US ‘EV-ready.’

“That’s a big change. Homes in the US are typically built with wiring for only a few 240-volt outlets in the garage, typically enough to handle a washer and dryer. But the ICC cites research (pdf) indicating the US will need 9.6 million new electric vehicle charging ports by 2030. Almost 80% of those will be in single and multi-family residential buildings.” Michael J Coren, climate and emerging industries editor or Quartz, 1/9/20, updated on QZ.com, July 9, 2021. 

Some states even offer incentives to install residential charging units. One thing is for sure: EVs cost less to operate and “fuel” than traditional gas-powered vehicles, even as batteries are not cheap (and do not last forever). According to Statista.com, “In January 2022, the U.S. had almost 113,600 charging outlets for plug-in electric vehicles (EVs). A considerable sum of these chargers is found in California, with almost 41,300 public and private power outlets.” That means that outside California, there are only 72,300 charging stations for the entire country. However, generating electrical power is significantly less polluting than using the diesel or gasoline alternative. 

There are stopgap measures. You can carry an adaptor (under $200) that at least increases the number of alternatives (I use a Tesla to J1772 Adapter for my plug-in hybrid), but as part of the new and next infrastructure legislation, compatibility and standardization are necessary if our tax dollars are going to be used efficiently. It’s time to “make it so.”

I’m Peter Dekom, and it is going to take a concerted effort from all segments of consumer and business quadrants to make our infrastructure investments meaningful and efficient.