Probably not ideal for BEV owners

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That there were (and are) trees vulnerable to being felled by high winds - and the consequence when they did being the disabling of infrastructure essential to the grid's functioning - is indicative of shoddy (or no) maintenance.
When S&SE do actually clear trees in advance, they do it in winter months meaning households are deprived of heating when it is most needed. Question them about it and nothing but excuses ensue all of which point to revenue being directed anywhere but in caring for their (often vulnerable) customers.
Here comes the brave new world of electrification. At least in Huxley's book things actually worked.
 
That there were (and are) trees vulnerable to being felled by high winds - and the consequence when they did being the disabling of infrastructure essential to the grid's functioning - is indicative of shoddy (or no) maintenance.
I'm in no way defending the power companies, but a similar issue pertains with leaves (and occasionally fallen trees) causing havoc with trains.

In the days of steam power, embankments and the area adjacent to railway tracks were routinely cleared of vegetation due to the very obvious fire risk it posed. Since the days of diesel and electric motive power the train operators took commercial advantage of not having to keep the vegetation clear, but in the last couple of decades whenever they do actually try to do anything to control the vegetation various eco-protestors crawl out of the woodwork to deride them for "destroying natural habitat" and "causing wilful/unnecessary damage to the environment".

My guess is that the apparent cost saving is welcomed by the operators - even if it proves to be false overall - but that the eco-noise reinforces the laissez-faire maintenance practices.
 
The phrase what goes around comes around never rang truer.

It was only a few weeks ago that EV owners laughed at motorists queuing for hours outside dry petrol stations.

So the shoe is on the other foot now.

Talking of shoes... personally, I have a foot in both camps. 40 years in IT does that to you - it's called diverse redundancy.

My petrol W204 is fully refuelled and sits in an underground car park, ready to spring into action if the need arises :thumb:
 
I wasn't laughing MJ. That was my teeth chattering with the cold...
Yes, I was one who lost power - but was lucky it was only for 18 hours but in the coldest night of the winter so far. Others have been without since Friday and won't be reconnected until this coming Friday.
The suggestion from the ENA to ''make alternative arrangements for accommodation, by staying with friends or family'' is risible given how widespread the outages are and how friends or family are just as likely to be without power.
I had a gas hob which helped create some heat but soon enough gas will be withdrawn from homes and the grid burdened like it never has been before and we are expected to believe that sole reliance on electricity for everything is viable.
 
I wasn't laughing MJ. That was my teeth chattering with the cold...
Yes, I was one who lost power - but was lucky it was only for 18 hours but in the coldest night of the winter so far. Others have been without since Friday and won't be reconnected until this coming Friday.
The suggestion from the ENA to ''make alternative arrangements for accommodation, by staying with friends or family'' is risible given how widespread the outages are and how friends or family are just as likely to be without power.
I had a gas hob which helped create some heat but soon enough gas will be withdrawn from homes and the grid burdened like it never has been before and we are expected to believe that sole reliance on electricity for everything is viable.

I am sorry to hear this. My daughter is currently in a flat in Edinburgh with no gas (I started a thread about this...), but luckily she does have electricity, so after a few very cold nights she now has an electric heater - but still no hot water. I do sympathise.
 
My petrol W204 is fully refuelled and sits in an underground car park, ready to spring into action if the need arises :thumb:
In a flood protected underground car park i hope! ;)
 
Incidentally, the Vehicle-to-Load (V2L) feature on my EV means I can power my home from the EV battery, though for me it's pretty theoretical because I live in a flat and the vehicle is parked in the street, so I will need a (very) long extension cord.....

But setting aside the fact that I can't use this myself, even if you do live in a house with a drive, how long can you power the house from a ~70kWh battery anyway?

Also, the manufacturer suggest that owners could charge the car's battery at night when the tariff is low, then use the battery to power the house during the day, when the tariff is high. Personally, I think this is bonkers. Apart for the fact that all this back-and-forth is far too fiddly (and also, when do you actually get to drive the car, if you use it as a large portable battery during the day...?), I don't see how this can be economical: firstly, there are a lot of losses and overhead when charging a battery from the grid then reversing the process and feeding the grid from the battery, to the extent that the discrepancy in cost between night and day tariff's will have to be - well, night and day - to make any actual savings, and then there's the issue of battery degrading due to the frequent charge/discharge cycles, keeping in mind that rechargeable batteries are consumables, and so if taking into the account the reduction in the remaining service life, I really don't see how this is a viable option.

It seems to me the V2L is a solution in search of a problem...
 
In a flood protected underground car park i hope! ;)

Hmmm... good point. Didn't think about that. I guess I'll need to get another ICE car and keep it parked on the top level of a multi-story car parked. Ther's no such thing as too many backups. Better get cranking then... :D
 
Incidentally, the Vehicle-to-Load (V2L) feature on my EV means I can power my home from the EV battery, though for me it's pretty theoretical because I live in a flat and the vehicle is parked in the street, so I will need a (very) long extension cord.....

But setting aside the fact that I can't use this myself, even if you do live in a house with a drive, how long can you power the house from a ~70kWh battery anyway?

Also, the manufacturer suggest that owners could charge the car's battery at night when the tariff is low, then use the battery to power the house during the day, when the tariff is high. Personally, I think this is bonkers. Apart for the fact that all this back-and-forth is far too fiddly (and also, when do you actually get to drive the car, if you use it as a large portable battery during the day...?), I don't see how this can be economical: firstly, there are a lot of losses and overhead when charging a battery from the grid then reversing the process and feeding the grid from the battery, to the extent that the discrepancy in cost between night and day tariff's will have to be - well, night and day - to make any actual savings, and then there's the issue of battery degrading due to the frequent charge/discharge cycles, keeping in mind that rechargeable batteries are consumables, and so if taking into the account the reduction in the remaining service life, I really don't see how this is a viable option.

It seems to me the V2L is a solution in search of a problem...

You'd probably get a few days out of it if you were frugal. I see V2L being most useful for tradespeople, being able to power tools on off-grid locations
 
It seems to me the V2L is a solution in search of a problem...
I suspect it's more of a "feel good" marketing tool than anything with practical use (except, perhaps, in very specific circumstances).
 
I see V2L being most useful for tradespeople, being able to power tools on off-grid locations
That's one of my "very specific circumstances", and I know that Ford make a big play of it for their F-150 Lightning truck.
 
I light a fire, maybe 2, every night in Winter. As long as we have logs and/or coal I’ll not freeze or struggle to cook if my plans for a multi fuel stove come off.
 
That there were (and are) trees vulnerable to being felled by high winds - and the consequence when they did being the disabling of infrastructure essential to the grid's functioning - is indicative of shoddy (or no) maintenance.
When S&SE do actually clear trees in advance, they do it in winter months meaning households are deprived of heating when it is most needed. Question them about it and nothing but excuses ensue all of which point to revenue being directed anywhere but in caring for their (often vulnerable) customers.
Here comes the brave new world of electrification. At least in Huxley's book things actually worked.

Where we are now (rural Shropshire) all the power is delivered via what look like telegraph poles along the sides of the roads. No underground cables, and none of the big pylons I'm used to seeing. The roads are very narrow and the power cables run under (or even between the branches of) trees in many places. We've been here for 3 months and have had the power off for a morning with advance notification once (there was a helicopter hovering at maybe 50' along our lane checking the overhead lines beforehand). We did lose power in the storm on on Friday night, but luckily (and to my surprise) only for a few hours.
 
I light a fire, maybe 2, every night in Winter. As long as we have logs and/or coal I’ll not freeze or struggle to cook if my plans for a multi fuel stove come off.

We have a wood burner (which was already going on Friday night), and a gas hob that can be lit with matches if necessary. Various rechargeable lanterns/work lights, and a Camping Gaz lamp that I did light (after managing to find the spare mantles). I even have an old Tilley Storm Lamp in the garage, along with the paraffin and meths it needs.

However if things got too bad we'd just move into the caravan, which is totally self-sufficient on 12V (with solar panels) and bottled propane. That's pretty comfortable ... central heating with radiators, hob/grill/oven, decent sized fridge/freezer, shower, TV, stereo, etc.
 
I light a fire, maybe 2, every night in Winter. As long as we have logs and/or coal I’ll not freeze or struggle to cook if my plans for a multi fuel stove come off.

You are burning carbon??? 😱
 
Incidentally, the Vehicle-to-Load (V2L) feature on my EV means I can power my home from the EV battery, though for me it's pretty theoretical because I live in a flat and the vehicle is parked in the street, so I will need a (very) long extension cord.....

But setting aside the fact that I can't use this myself, even if you do live in a house with a drive, how long can you power the house from a ~70kWh battery anyway?

Also, the manufacturer suggest that owners could charge the car's battery at night when the tariff is low, then use the battery to power the house during the day, when the tariff is high. Personally, I think this is bonkers. Apart for the fact that all this back-and-forth is far too fiddly (and also, when do you actually get to drive the car, if you use it as a large portable battery during the day...?), I don't see how this can be economical: firstly, there are a lot of losses and overhead when charging a battery from the grid then reversing the process and feeding the grid from the battery, to the extent that the discrepancy in cost between night and day tariff's will have to be - well, night and day - to make any actual savings, and then there's the issue of battery degrading due to the frequent charge/discharge cycles, keeping in mind that rechargeable batteries are consumables, and so if taking into the account the reduction in the remaining service life, I really don't see how this is a viable option.

It seems to me the V2L is a solution in search of a problem...
I think V2L will become very useful in the future when there are a lot more EVs that can collectively contribute to the grid if need be when they are connected up.
 
Come on, it's 2021..... :D
It’s not 2030 yet though!

Brum,brum.
 

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