Is it? Hydrogen requires either a fossil fuel feed stock or an electricity source to crack hydrogen from water, so it may not be the easiest thing to make in a remote place.
Since hydrogen is a gas, it needs larger fuel tanks, and the fuel system needs to be better at stopping leaks than for liquid fuel.
We have no air conditioning. But we closed the blinds/curtains during the day, and I had an exhaust fan vent the hot air outside from our top story. With a few fans, we were fine, even in triple digits during the day.
Toyota Mirai? I saw one in Sonoma pre-pandemic and wanted one because it was so pretty! 
My socks were blown off when I learned it was a $60k concept hydrogen car AND there were places in CA to fuel it!
I don’t have air conditioning at all, and it did get to over 100F.
I do know that it the temperature rise inside on a 100F day is about 10F, so if I did have air conditioning and wanted the inside temperature to be at most 85F, I would pre-cool to 75F before peak hours.
So you would rather blame EVs that are largely charged during off-peak hours, rather than the primary reason that the grid may get overloaded during peak hours?
No. I’m more worried about safety. I edited my post above.
Just because some people are medically vulnerable to heat does not mean that no one who has air conditioning can shift at least some air conditioning use out of peak hours.
I’m talking about the blanket messaging.
Well then here’s another article I read this week that ties into the others.
This uses a wind or solar power source to drive a small unit for personal consumption.
The device is estimated to produce up to 93 litres of hydrogen a square metre an hour. “If you have 10 sq metres of this unit, you can power a whole house … to replace your consumption of natural gas at home for [cooking and heating],” Li said.
That’s a large installation that they are still prototyping, but between the bottling in Japan and the Australians building wind and solar H2 plants for use in the outback the future is getting closer every day.
I have a couple of questions concerning EV cars.
As I understand the car batteries only last for a certain amount of time? So in the past a gasoline car could have a life expectancy of 20+ years… we just sold a truck we purchased in 2002… but with EV, once the battery is gone so is the car. Where will all of the unusable ev cars be stored/dumped? Also, since the EV car batteries require rare minerals will there be over-mining? Will that create another type of environmental problem?
Lastly the power grid itself is fueled by fossil fuels… currently, there is not any option for solar, wind, hydro to replace natural gas as an option for power the electric grid in a meaningful way…
Conceptually EV cars sound great but it seems like we are replacing one problem for many more…
The last time we had a power outage – local transformer blew at the top of a power pole on a holiday weekend – I hustled to a grocery store at the next town over (which had power) and picked up some ice bags and put them in a cooler.
In practice, most cars degrade due to poor maintenance and driving habits so that relatively few 20+ year old cars are being driven around, although someone with good maintenance and driving habits can keep a car running for a lot longer than that. Also, some cars are removed from service because they get crashed.
Assuming good maintenance habits and lack of crashing, the main potential issue with EVs is battery loss of capacity. However, a long range EV that only has 60-70% of its original capacity after many years would still be usable for many people, so it need not be scrapped. Now, if you are referring to a short range EV with a poor battery chemistry and lack of liquid cooling (i.e. early Nissan Leaf), then capacity loss becomes more of an issue.
Essentially all cars removed from service (whether due to being crashed or becoming unusable for other reasons or being so low valued that no one else wants them) get recycled at dedicated recycling businesses that have existed almost for as long as cars have existed (i.e. salvage yards / junk yards). Worn out EV batteries contain enough valuable materials that there will businesses looking to mine the materials from them instead of the ground.
Great idea. We bought a larger beverage cooler that can hold ice for 2-3 days. In addition, we have a gas generator and an inverter battery to deal with outages.
Preparedness of electrical outages, whether because of rolling outages, hurricanes, tornadoes, and super cold temperature is always a good idea. Hopefully, nothing will last for more than a few days. And it’s most definitely NOT just a California issue. There are many workarounds that can greatly assist in getting through outages, but preparedness is the key.
I think that’s what my friend did. Drove to a liquor store a couple of towns over (Dublin, CA I think). It was the middle of the night and many stores were not open even if they had power. They were supposed to get their power back but didn’t, thus the scrambling. Her son is a newly diagnosed diabetic and they’re learning. Thank you everyone for your tips.
Used EVs can be fairly inexpensive. If she doesn’t drive long distance you can get a used Nissan Leaf for about $15k. We bought used PHEVs for $6000. The brand new 2023 Chevy Bolt EV with 250 mile range starts at $26k.
And as for your apartment question, I guess that depends on where the apartment is in relation to where your car is. I’ve seen people put an extension cord out of a window before.
There are lots of things that are more difficult if you live in an apartment vs a house (renting or owning). My 21 yr old drives a PHEV and their apartment complex does not have chargers so that makes it a little more challenging to charge but luckily the grocery store has chargers. My 21 yr old also wants a dog which is a more difficult prospect in an apartment vs in a house with a yard. Grilling out is more difficult living in an apartment, etc, etc. There are certain trade offs you make for apartment living, but they might be in more walkable areas abd have other advantages too.
Toyota has completely dropped the ball on EVs and they are behind virtually every other auto maker. I wouldn’t put a lot of stock in what they say. They had to recall their new EV like 4 weeks after it launched because the wheels might fall off!! Very disappointing for the folks that were so cutting edge when the Prius first came out. Toyota Has Fix for bZ4X EV Wheel Problem, Will Replace Wheels
Another thing your friend can do if the heat rises in the apartment during a power outage is make a swamp cooler. They work great in more arid climates, not so good in the humid Southeast. Check out how tos online.
Even just freezing some bottles of water beforehand to have on hand can be helpful.
We have been w/o power in the summer due to hurricanes and in the winter due to ice. Personally I’ll take the summer cause I hate being cold but if it’s out for too long you lose the food in the fridge and freezer. Being prepared is key.
Poor journalism. It’s all NEW cars not all cars. Huge difference since new cars are only a fraction of the cars on the road. You can read straight from the horse’s mouth at https://ww2.arb.ca.gov/news/california-moves-accelerate-100-new-zero-emission-vehicle-sales-2035
The regulation applies to automakers (not dealers) and covers only new vehicle sales. Itdoes not impact existing vehicles on the road today, which will still be legal to own and drive.
ucb, Thanks for that. I have been looking for data on CA’s night time excess electric capacity, with no luck. Perhaps you can steer me to a source.
Worn out EV batteries contain enough valuable materials that there will businesses looking to mine the materials from them instead of the ground.
Do you think “recycled” EV batteries will have enough minerals to keep up with the world-wide demand? In the US currently about 1% maybe up to 4% are electric what happens when demand or legislation pushes the market?