EV Zombies

We’ve all seen them. You pull into the rest area, not because you need gas, but you just have to pee. Ironically, they usually lurk in the gas station. As you pass by, they are intently reading the back of an aspirin bottle. Outside there is a Chevy Volt slowly sipping off of some good old-fashioned coal fired electricity. They think we don’t notice. They know there will be more of their kind. And soon they will take over the world.

I have to admit, I really want to try one. I was in San Francisco a few years back and my client had a high-end Tesla. He had a charging station at work and another at home. The car was impressive. Full torque throughout the range is a huge advantage over a gas engine. It rode smooth and silent. I don’t drag race anymore so that plus is out.

If you own an EV, one of the biggest problem is you are either heating or cooling. Take away the whole ‘car’ part of it. If you were camping and had a battery powered air conditioner in your tent, imagine how much power that would need. Subtract that from your range.

EV zombies have converted by choice. How can anyone justify spending an hour at a rest area charging their toaster? Did they not add that into the cost of ownership? Didn’t they know it loses half its range in sub zero temperatures?

I’m not a fan of EV’s but there is a solution to make this at least somewhat viable. Charging is a huge waste of time and money. Not to mention the cost of replacing the batteries after a few years when they die. What they need to do is have ‘Blue Rhino’ fueling stations. You would have a standard battery pack fitted under the car. You pull up to the ‘pump’. From under the surface the battery pack is removed and replaced with a fresh one. The pack starts charging for the next customer. You don’t own it. You would pay for the charge plus a little extra if it isn’t swapped out after a week. It would also drop about ten grand off the cost of the vehicle.

This is totally feasible. The mechanical part is relatively easy with parts that are readily available. There is no will to do it nor are there any standards. The filling stations would require a huge amount of power, charging thirty battery packs at the same time. However, having all the charging in fewer locations is very efficient.

Think of it this way: If you have a nice Milwaukee M18 drill and the battery dies, do you plug it in and go find something to do for twenty minutes? No, you swap batteries and continue working.

It’s time to start killing zombies.