[ChiragM]

Originally Posted by blackwasp

To make electric car ownership easier, Hyundai has taken up a couple of initiatives. One of them includes providing a 7.2 kW AC adapter to all Kona customers and installing the same in 15 dealerships across 11 cities.

I do not see a lot of new things in this news piece. Just like your laptop and phones, all electric cars have to come with a charger as standard. A portable charger and a wall-mounted AC charger were offered with the car from the time it was launched. Details on the charger have been covered in the review.

From launch, many dealerships and service centres already had the 7.2kW Ac charger installed.

The only new thing I see is that portable chargers are available on RSA trucks.

Looks like Hyundai is looking for ways to keep the Kona in the news while everyone is talking about the upcoming MG eZS and the Tata Nexon EV.

[GutsyGibbon]

Originally Posted by 2000rpm

I hope cars come with solar panels instead of plain body panels. This will avoid all the power wall and solar installations at home and power the car directly, thus minimizing power losses also. Even if I get an extended range of 20 kms by simply driving the car in the sun during my daily commute, thats great.

That is the idea behind Sonus Sion. I think it is running out of cash.
https://sonomotors.com/

We have too many trees and shade from buildings, for solar to add any charge into the car these are big issues. It needs direct sunlight at the right angle. We need to consider weight of panels, inverters, and charging circuits we carry within the car at all times.

[GutsyGibbon]

Originally Posted by aim120

Once more electric vehicles hit world wide and everyone is plugging in their cars and two wheeler at night, On-grid solar systems will be useless. Imagine if everyone starts charging at 5 to 7kw with the addition of your existing house load, the grid will not be able to supply that much power without more coal, nuclear plants.

Not sure why you think so. In the Paris agreement India already has a strategic blueprint to go from the current renewable energy generation of 130GW to 270GW by 2027. A smart grid can be managed in many different ways. The power needs of industries during daytime is several fold higher compared to domestic use.

Regardless, when you look at power produced by a typical single panel 5"x3" it is just 300w. It may power a dozen light bulbs. These puny home solar installations make very little impact when you look at the consumption of an EV. Homes need to be on the grid for EVs. I see that BESCOM already has special tariffs for EVs. These are steps in the right direction, and the only way we can get out of the chokehold of burning gas.
https://bescom.org/smart-grid-and-electric-vehicle/

[aim120]

Originally Posted by GutsyGibbon

Not sure why you think so. In the Paris agreement India already has a strategic blueprint to go from the current renewable energy generation of 130GW to 270GW by 2027.

These puny home solar installations make very little impact when you look at the consumption of an EV. Homes need to be on the grid for EVs.

My point is whether its rooftop solar or commercial solar energy production, they will not produce power beyond 4pm and because in the future the peak time will shift to night with vehicle charging and more air conditioners running.

But if that tiny rooftop solar has energy storage, then you can store close to 20kw of energy with 5kw solar array and with a 22kw or more battery pack, you can either supply it to the grid, fast charge your EV or just power your home without getting into the initial red tape (India) of supplying the grid.

[GutsyGibbon]

Originally Posted by aim120

My point is whether its rooftop solar or commercial solar energy production, they will not produce power beyond 4pm and because in the future the peak time will shift to night with vehicle charging and more air conditioners running.

But if that tiny rooftop solar has energy storage, then you can store close to 20kw of energy with 5kw solar array and with a 22kw or more battery pack, you can either supply it to the grid, fast charge your EV or just power your home without getting into the initial red tape (India) of supplying the grid.

Point taken. I am looking at countries like Norway that are aiming to go 100% EVs by 2025, and do not foresee a pattern of peak energy usage shifting drastically. We are not going to have to crack this puzzle as the pioneers.
https://cleantechnica.com/2018/02/12...ursday-nights/

I think there are many optimizations in patterns and behavior that can be brought about by playing around with tariffs (by the utility company). A dam can pump its water to water tanks or cities at higher altitude any time the energy is cheap. Same deal with automated industries that can run power intensive jobs anytime/manage their energy use accordingly.

In our household, everything that draws a lot is on timers/connected( to be managed remotely). Dishwasher, clothes washer, AC & EV charging. They are setup to do the job at the time when energy costs the least. I have also signed up for "Reduce your use" alerts. The Utility sends an e-mail when they are seeing a surge. If you drop your usage by a lot during this time, you get energy credits. I would probably not do any of these if not for the monetary incentives.

[reihem]

Please forgive the OT question, is there an EV owners thread here, or group on some other platform ? I am expecting delivery of my Kona shortly and was wondering if there is a social support system I can tap into. With a sum total of 30 konas in Chennai on the road as per my dealer, I feel slightly alone !

[BZ25]

Originally Posted by coolkurt

The least Hyundai can do is install fast chargers at their dealerships. What's the point if you're not committed to setting up infrastructure?

Agreed, but it's still good to see that a fully established manufacturer has at least taken the initiative, especially considering the lack of enthusiasm by manufacturers to adopt new technologies in India. It is a step in the right direction.

[Lobogris]

Originally Posted by GutsyGibbon

The portable generators will probably not cut it. They just cannot drive the kind of amperage needed by EVs. In the case below, half hour of charging added 4 miles of range.
https://www.greencarreports.com/news...any-time-video

They were using a tiny generator. Since wayback in 2011, roadside assistance for discharged EVs has been available in the US. Here the assistant vehicle charges the EV for 15 minutes which provides between 5 to 20 kms driving distance depending on the type of vehicle. In the US that is sufficient as there are a lot of charging stations in urban areas. In India the rescue vehicle might have to charge you for an hour or two but normally one would have planned to recharge at some upcoming point and would only end up missing it by a few kms.

https://newsroom.aaa.com/2011/07/ev-charging-statio/

[GutsyGibbon]

Originally Posted by Lobogris

They were using a tiny generator. Since wayback in 2011, roadside assistance for discharged EVs has been available in the US. Here the assistant vehicle charges the EV for 15 minutes which provides between 5 to 20 kms driving distance depending on the type of vehicle. In the US that is sufficient as there are a lot of charging stations in urban areas. In India the rescue vehicle might have to charge you for an hour or two but normally one would have planned to recharge at some upcoming point and would only end up missing it by a few kms.

https://newsroom.aaa.com/2011/07/ev-charging-statio/

AAA has a level 2 mobile charger. I did not consider this a tiny generator. EV charging is what this truck does. I have seen Nissan leafs use this service in Los Angeles as they have lot of range deterioration , and small batteries.

I guess tiny is a relative term. People have tiny gas burning Honda generators for backup, I had been thinking people are taking about that.

[Sasanka_Sanga]

Hyundai definitely stepped forward in terms of customer convenience by setting up Vehicle-Vehicle charging via road side assistance. However, it would be better if battery kiosks can be setup in all major petrol bunks on highways so that the customers can swap the batteries and doesn't have to wait for the battery to get completely charged.

This helps in reliability of the electric vehicles on highways so people will be more inclined buying these.

[Lobogris]

Originally Posted by Sasanka_Sanga

Hyundai definitely stepped forward in terms of customer convenience by setting up Vehicle-Vehicle charging via road side assistance. However, it would be better if battery kiosks can be setup in all major petrol bunks on highways so that the customers can swap the batteries and doesn't have to wait for the battery to get completely charged.

This helps in reliability of the electric vehicles on highways so people will be more inclined buying these.

Electric vehicle batteries are not like 12V car batteries. They are much larger and are spread out across the bottom of the vehicle, often in several different sections and consist of multiple units. They can’t be removed or swapped as many people seem to assume. In addition no one would want to swap their well cared for battery with another one of unknown age and maintenance history.

[Sasanka_Sanga]

Originally Posted by Lobogris

Electric vehicle batteries are not like 12V car batteries. They are much larger and are spread out across the bottom of the vehicle, often in several different sections and consist of multiple units. They can’t be removed or swapped as many people seem to assume. In addition no one would want to swap their well cared for battery with another one of unknown age and maintenance history.

Agree to your statement to an extent, however if it’s Hyundai kiosk then one can be rest assured. And regarding swapping of batteries, it would be better if they were placed at a convenient point so that removing and replacing can be done there hassle free.

[Lobogris]

Originally Posted by Sasanka_Sanga

Agree to your statement to an extent, however if it’s Hyundai kiosk then one can be rest assured. And regarding swapping of batteries, it would be better if they were placed at a convenient point so that removing and replacing can be done there hassle free.

The batteries are in several modules. They are not small enough to be placed in a little box like the 12V car battery. They are also quite heavy at over 200 Kgs. Lack of space and the need to distribute weight requires them to be distributed all across the bottom of the vehicle. They can't be removed or swapped easily. Further to your point, the performance and the range of the car depends on the quality of the battery. Hyundai kiosk or not, you wouldn't be happy to change your battery with a 350 Km range with one giving 200 Kms.

Hence this swapping idea is not workable for vehicles larger than a small scooter. With fast charging, you can stop for say 30 to 60 minutes and get your battery back to around 80%. If you can do this while you have lunch or shop, it is not a problem at all. With 350 Kms range, you can charge at your home or destination for most trips. For longer trips, plan on resting for an hour after every 250 to 300 kms. That is perfectly fine with most people.