QUESTIONS ABOUT EV LIFE

Electric Cars: What if There’s a Blackout?
Kate Galbraith, February 23, 2009 (NY Times)

[Kate Galbraith, NY Times]: “…I attended a panel discussion on the future of the electric cars…I emerged with some questions…about how exactly driving around in a plug-in vehicle that has a range of only 100 or so miles would work…Better Place aims to create networks of electric cars, which can be recharged at home or at work over the course of several hours. Much like cellphone subscription plans, drivers will be able to choose when and how much to recharge. When the battery is nearly drained and drivers have no time to wait for a recharge, they will be able to stop at a “battery exchange” station and, in a five-minute procedure, swap out the battery…what if I need to go to the hospital in the middle of the night and my car battery is nearly drained?”

[Sven Thesen, Better Place]: “…your batteries won’t ever be drained down to zero…People…will always have a certain amount of range…in their batteries…a mid-sized city [will provide] two to two-and-a-half charge spots per vehicle…Obviously one at home or in the parking garage when you park your car…A city would also contain a couple of hundred battery exchange stations…exchange stations will be sited perhaps every 20 miles or so along the major highways…”

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[Kate Galbraith, NY Times]: “…[W]hat if my car battery is low and I get stuck in a big traffic jam, inching along and using a disproportionate amount of energy?”

[Sven Thesen, Better Place]: “You don’t actually use a disproportionate amount of energy at low speeds…The electric car network seems potentially well-suited to commuters, who travel short, predictable distances each day. For driving long distances…battery exchange stations… provide an opportunity to get out of the car and stretch the legs.”

[Kate Galbraith, NY Times]: ‘[What about the hassle of stopping every few hours to swap out the battery while driving from, say, New York City to Nashville[?]”

[Sven Thesen, Better Place]: “Given that it’s such a huge distance, you might rent a car. But for 99 percent of your driving, a battery exchange station is fine.”

Better Place. From twenny12 via YouTube.

[Kate Galbraith, NY Times]: “[W]hat if there is a blackout?”

[Sven Thesen, Better Place]: “What happens if we had a major earthquake and all the pumps and the gasoline stations stopped working? …[D]isasters can affect oil as well as the electricity system…A long blackout is unlikely.”

[Kate Galbraith, NY Times]: “…[W]hat’s to stop people from turning in a faulty battery to the battery-exchange station?”

[Sven Thesen, Better Place]: “We’re the ones that own the battery, so we’re going to do our best to ensure its longevity…If anything happens to the battery…Better Place will know…”

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[Kate Galbraith, NY Times]: “…[W]hat about thieves?”

[Sven Thesen, Better Place]: “[A battery is] 400 pounds…We’re going to have communication with it in the form of LoJack.”