What about all the people who can't charge an EV at home?

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For much of the automobile's existence, speed was the selling statistic. But the shift to electric vehicles emphasizes range over performance, which is ironic given the inherent performance advantage of the EV here. Although range remains a barrier to the adoption of electric vehicles, it is taking a back seat to charging logistics. For about two-thirds of American drivers, the answer is simply to charge at home, parked in a garage or carport. But for the remaining third, it's not possible, and that's a problem.

Since the post-war decades, a victory on the circuit or a new speed record has translated into success in the showrooms, both in the United States and in Europe. In turn, power wars between automakers erupted every few years, making our cars faster and faster. This trend is no doubt accelerating: the near-instantaneous torque of an electric motor means that even SUVs that aren't meant to be so sporty are capable of 0-60 times what would rival a supercar not so long ago. a long time.

But when every electric vehicle can start from a red light fast enough to give you a boost, soon everyone needs a new reason to outdo themselves. Fixing the scope makes a lot of sense, considering the long charge times and the difficulty that would result from a complete charge failure while you're out in the world. But in practice, most of us travel less than 30 miles a day, and many EVs spend their days running errands and commuting, before returning home to charge to 100% for the day. the next day.

That's about 1.6 million homes, according to the International Council on Clean Transportation, and those numbers will grow as building codes begin to require new construction, whether single or multi-family, to include arrangements for charging electric vehicles. This is great for people moving into new construction, but it still leaves people who park on the street feeling cold, as well as those of us who live in older multi-family developments with parking lots.

"The biggest headache is electrical upgrades because often times you have a customer who has waited a long time to make their decision, they have made the decision to invest in charging units and then it's a nine-month delay waiting for the utility to bring in a new transformer and new panels or new switch plates or whatever," said Mark LaNeve, president of Charge Enterprises, a infrastructure company.

"We deal with many owners, managers of multi-unit buildings, condos, apartments, and it's not just [electrical delays], but it's about 'what will be the model ?' If you have 100 residents, do you install 10 level 2 charging stations. And then who pays for it? Do all the residents pay for it, or just the residents who use it?" LaNeve asked. /p> Microgrids as a solution?

Indeed, this is a problem I have faced in the 60-year-old, 518-unit co-op where I live in Washington, DC. After presenting a compelling case for a pair of level two shared chargers, the co-op board approved it, but at least two years passed without chargers on site because our 1962 era electrical panels can't cope with the extra power. request. These panels are being upgraded, but even then will require approval from our power company before adding chargers.

LaNeve thinks microgrids could be the answer, not only for multi-family developments like mine, but also for businesses or fleets that are electrifying and also need flexible charging capacity. Indeed, Formula E has been doing just that for a few years now, traveling with its own microgrid that it sets up at every ePrix instead of relying on local power infrastructure. These can combine battery storage and wind or solar power as well as wiring and chargers.

"The problem is that they are very expensive up-front. And you can install two level 2 loaders, depending on whether it's a clean install, between $20,000 and $30 $000; something like that could...