Living with EVs

Living with an Atto 3 EV in 2023: An Australian Experience and FAQ.

September 25, 2023 June 18, 2024

This page began as a ‘Should you buy an EV or not?’ written from experience, but as it is impossible to cover every possible perspective, the example is an Atto 3 in Australia, so the more similar the vehicle being considered is to the Atto 3, and the more similar the country to Australia the more of this content that will be of interest.

For comparison with other vehicles, I have a separate page soon to be published comparing the Atto 3 to both other EVs as well as traditional internal combustion or hybrid vehicles.

Why EV Battery size is not just about range, and the implications for hybrids.

April 13, 2023 November 1, 2023

When you look deeper, battery capacity of an EV matters far more than you might think, as it effects not just range, but also battery life and vehicle power.

If a battery is quite small, as is usually the case with a hybrid (HEV), and even most plug-in hybrids (PHEVs), there will be limited total distance that can be driven “emissions free” before battery degradation, which is why use of fossil fuels is a necessity for most hybrids.

Surviving with an EV and no driveway: on street charging.

November 20, 2022 November 20, 2022

People have for decades owned cars without needing to refuel at home, so it may not seem obvious just how important home charging is for owners of EVs. Various surveys confirm that 80% to 95% of EV charging happens at home and given that less than 80% of people have access to a space to be able to charge at home, those who can’t charge at home are less likely to buy an EV.

To understand the problem, try living with a mobile phone without charging at home, or at work.

EV Charging for Apartment complexes: A problem that can require a battle.

November 14, 2022 November 15, 2022

There are 3 approaches to residents of apartments being able to charge EVs:

They can go elsewhere to charge.

A small number of charging spaces will be provided.

Provision for individuals to have charging at the designated car space is facilitated.

This is a look at why charging and getting it right is a challenge for apartment complexes, those who want the problem to remain unsolved, and the merits of the possible solutions.

EV range: Anxieties vs realities & needs and the “real-world range” myth.

November 10, 2021 June 1, 2022

This is a look at range, covering from how no one number accurately describes an EV’s range and driving the full range of EV outside of emergencies just wastes time, through why range is so unlike that of fossil fuelled vehicles and optimising range is all about efficiency, through to what range a person needs around the town or for highway driving.

Range with EVs is such a different experience that novices can feel anxiety, despite that in practice running out of charge in EVs happens no more than ICE vehicles run out of gas. While EV range is getting closer to ICEV range, most EVs, unlike the Lightyear One pictured here, aren’t solar and most EVs still don’t match the range of internal combustion engine cars for highway driving, but the convenience of background charging means range with EVs is usually only a limitation on relatively rare road trips.

EV Charging Reference: Not just the new Refuelling.

October 26, 2021 November 8, 2022

This page covers a lot. Charging equipment and what to install and how to charge at home, and charging on road trips, through to the technical side, and a look at wireless and the future of charging. Plus, how recharging requires a complete rethink from refuelling, and how charging can be more convenient and match the speed of refueling.

Public recharging infrastructure for EVs is growing but recharging at home will be most important for most people. Fully benefiting from having an EV, requires understanding, being prepared for recharging.

EV, Hybrid or ICE: Pros & Cons of HEV, PHEV, EREV, Gas/Petrol/Diesel (ICEV), BEV (Electric)?

July 10, 2019 March 8, 2023

Eventually, EVs will take over, but for most people even price parity EVs are still not ‘there yet’, and that take over could take 30 years.

This webpaper compares vehicle types from “standard” gasoline/petrol and diesel vehicles, with hybrids, plug in hybrids and battery electric vehicles (EVs). There is a separate exploration of hydrogen vs battery electric cars, so this page is pros and cons of hybrids vs “standard” vehicles, or pure battery electric vehicles (EVs).

Why Hydrogen Cars are not the future, and EVs are here to stay.

January 3, 2018 August 1, 2022

After friend told me “I am not interested in electric cars, because I will wait for hydrogen cars”, I did the research, and found that such a future no longer makes any sense and will never happen. It turns out that hydrogen cars were never desirable and only viable if EVs remained impractical. Hydrogen vehicles have now been surpassed for charge times and range and they were only ever anexpensive to build and operate, higher emissions, limited interim stop gaps, for the time until we reduced the limitations of battery EVs.