The Future of EV charging is… Walmart

[RickLightning]

Electricity is going to keep going up everywhere with these massive data centers. There will be little we can do beside pay.

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[Piquette]

When preparing for a charging stop during a road trip what I look for is 1) restrooms, and 2) something to eat, then I look at who is supplying the charging. Walmarts usually meet the first two criteria, and some have had Electrify America chargers in their lots for several years now. I have used them in the past, and probably will again in the future.

One of our favorites is a Wegman’s on Peach St just off I-90 in Erie, PA. There are Tesla Supercharges in the parking lot. In addition to having clean restrooms, they also have a large dining area for food purchased there. The quality of the food is quite good.

 

[potato]

Electricity is going to keep going up everywhere with these massive data centers. There will be little we can do beside pay.

Or add solar, if you're in a house. You can make a lot of your own electricity at home. That's kind of the ace in the hole for driving electric.

 

[RickLightning]

Or add solar, if you're in a house. You can make a lot of your own electricity at home. That's kind of the ace in the hole for driving electric.

We don't drive enough locally to demand a lot of power. Also have natural gas - stovetop, water heater, dryer, 2 furnaces. Payoff in going to solar way too far out there.

 

[Jseis]

Electricity is going to keep going up everywhere with these massive data centers. There will be little we can do beside pay.

So true. I was talking with our former PUD manager about 6 years ago. He said the most important position in the District was the gal buying power futures. A consultant relayed that natural gas was becoming a power system player and that was resulting in major gas line extensions and because of federal permits-legal oversight, new rights of way were being planned & laid out. Crazy era.

 

[oldman_74]

Its great news as long at they don't price gouge per KW.. last EA we used was .64C a KW, And hopefully not like the now Walmart/Vizo TV line that asks for your Walmart credentials incessantly and won't allow you to move past that screen, Sorry off topic. I hope it is a huge success across the country, we always stop at the Walmart in Pooler Parkway, Ga on 95 for a charge and a bathroom break..

 

[Lightning Rod]

Or add solar, if you're in a house. You can make a lot of your own electricity at home. That's kind of the ace in the hole for driving electric.

We've had solar at our home for 4.5 months and we've had $0.00 electric bills ever since. That's running the whole house, AC, dryer, 2 refrigerators.... oh and 2 EVs! I'm sure these free months will end sometime soon but we have almost 500 credit KWHs for future bills.

I should have went solar years ago. We contemplated going solar for almost a decade, but when trump said that he was getting rid of the green energy incentives, that's what finally made me pull the trigger.

Thanks trump!

 

[WhipSticks]

There is a good chance that the next EV you buy will have a charge time of less than 10 mins. Even now, anode tech changes (with Silicone-Carbon for example), offer significant gains in terms of battery charge and discharge rates and available power per kilogram. These anodes are not yet in production EV vehicles (but I believe Porsche might have one soon). Additionally, most of the industry R&D is on the cathode side, and there is good stuff happening there also.

When charge time drops to under 10 min, the existing model for gas stations will work for EVs also. Problem solved.

 

[RickLightning]

There is a good chance that the next EV you buy will have a charge time of less than 10 mins. Even now, anode tech changes (with Silicone-Carbon for example), offer significant gains in terms of battery charge and discharge rates and available power per kilogram. These anodes are not yet in production EV vehicles (but I believe Porsche might have one soon). Additionally, most of the industry R&D is on the cathode side, and there is good stuff happening there also.

When charge time drops to under 10 min, the existing model for gas stations will work for EVs also. Problem solved.

Next EV? Unlikely to see this before end of decade or later.

 

[mylightningbeetle]

I’m wondering if the “unstable” fuel prices and the soon to appear $30,000 BEVs may have something to do with this?. That plus proven battery long term health and lower maintenance? Insurance still sucks as do repair costs.

I switched from progressive to Allstate and saved myself about $1,300 every 6 months. My '23 lightning now costs $60 more per year than my Forester. Progressive had bumped me up quite a bit when I added the truck. Check them out. I have four drivers and three vehicles.

 

[Jseis]

There is a good chance that the next EV you buy will have a charge time of less than 10 mins. Even now, anode tech changes (with Silicone-Carbon for example), offer significant gains in terms of battery charge and discharge rates and available power per kilogram. These anodes are not yet in production EV vehicles (but I believe Porsche might have one soon). Additionally, most of the industry R&D is on the cathode side, and there is good stuff happening there also.

When charge time drops to under 10 min, the existing model for gas stations will work for EVs also. Problem solved.

Chargers are likely scaled to fit the needed demand… not max speed as a big box retailer wants the customer to shop, thus calling for power demand for 40% of say a 60-80 kwh battery in 45 minutes is way cheaper to scale as opposed dumping that wattage in 5 minutes.

$30,000 BEVs match with Walmarts customer base and I could see chargers up front with competitive charge rates. The concept of putting chargers where people work, shop, eat-entertain, etc. makes so much sense.

One of the odd stats from the 70’s gas crisis was that there was more than enough gas to serve the cars, just that tanks were always full and the “reserve” was driving around as opposed to availability at gas stations. Hoarding mentality.

 

[DavidS]

I switched from progressive to Allstate and saved myself about $1,300 every 6 months. My '23 lightning now costs $60 more per year than my Forester. Progressive had bumped me up quite a bit when I added the truck. Check them out. I have four drivers and three vehicles.

I’m paying just over $800/yr to insure my Lightning with State Farm. I did notice they significantly reduced my rate during the first year.

 

[jackdeaoux]

Been to a Walmart twice. If we had 1 close with chargers it might get me to shop there. More charging infrastructure is a good thing imo

 

[WhipSticks]

Chargers are likely scaled to fit the needed demand… not max speed as a big box retailer wants the customer to shop, thus calling for power demand for 40% of say a 60-80 kwh battery in 45 minutes is way cheaper to scale as opposed dumping that wattage in 5 minutes.

$30,000 BEVs match with Walmarts customer base and I could see chargers up front with competitive charge rates. The concept of putting chargers where people work, shop, eat-entertain, etc. makes so much sense.

One of the odd stats from the 70’s gas crisis was that there was more than enough gas to serve the cars, just that tanks were always full and the “reserve” was driving around as opposed to availability at gas stations. Hoarding mentality.

That makes sense for around town/urban situations, but the thing holding back adoption from folks I know is that it takes me 10 hours to make an 8 hour trip out-of-state. Highway charging will be a blocker to the green transport transition until and unless the 45 min charging stop is cut to 5 mins.

 

[electricpig]

FWIW a steady 400.kwh charge is is.more than fast enough. The problem is current batteries (outside of certain Chinese batteries) can't maintain that rate. If our ER batteries could maintain 400 kwh for 80% or 105 kwh (dead to 80%), then that would work out to 15 minutes 45 seconds. Rare.was.a gas station stop on a road trip that took less time than that

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