So that's why all this puff about the 'hydrogen economy'

Although a lot of my journeys are short, I do enough long journeys to a BEV unviable with the range currently available. Hopefully battery development will yield higher capacity batteries without increasing the size and weight. Even so, a full charge will then take longer.

Of course, a smart car could toddle off and recharge itself nearby while you sleep ...

Well its a moot point. A huge number of 'her' cars do in fact do just the supermarket run and the school pickup and could easily be BEV...whilst 'his' car does a bit of commuting and the weekend trips which would be longer.

Many families have two cars already. It's the elderly who get punished as low mileage means that taxation service and MOTs are disproportionately large elements of the annual cost, so they cant afford two cars.

fast charging is something batteries can already do - a one hour flat to full is well within lithium capabilities, but I haven't seen much in the way of better energy to weight in the last ten years. Cost is about half what it was ten years ago.

The limits on fast charging is really the local last mile grid. Few houses have 100A fuses and that is the limit for a normal domestic installation. 25kW will still take 4 hours to cram the electrons into a

A petrol engine can be modified to run on hydrogen. No need to scrap them.

No, but how much contingency to you really need?

For me the tipping point was waiting for an ?affordable? EV with a range greater than my Alfasud. (250 miles). I?m happy to live with taking a

You just need to to plan your recharge stops for long journeys or if you want to really crack on, theirs always car hire.

We?ve all got very used to the ability to re-fuel quickly thanks to the energy density on petrol/diesel but once you?ve got over the initial panic and learned to plan, it?s a lot less of an issue than you might imagine.

Additionally, I can refuel my car in my sleep! Can you? ;-). Imagine never having to visit a petrol station again.

Lastly, with fuel costing just 5p a mile based on home charging (or even free from many chargers in Scotland) the advantages vastly outweighed the disadvantages for me. It?s also a fuckload nicer to drive than any ICE vehicle.

Tim

We tend to holiday in the UK, so need a car with a decent range

True, but when you can do 95% of your journeys at 5p a mile or less for fuel (based on home charging), you find that you get happier about having a wait occasionally. ;-)

Tim

But you don?t need fast charging at home. A 7kW charger is quite adequate for overnight charging.

Tim

...is the worst idea ever. Hydrogen is a terrible fuel for an IC engine.

Tim

ROFL +1.

Have you ever met an Old Spot? I wouldn't give much for the chances of a windmill blade!

Indeed. Chunky rashers off Old Spots and as for Saddlebacks....

but if the added up 'waits' mean you need to spend a night en-route much of the economy has gone.

If you?re pig-heatedly determined not to do any planning, then yes, you could get caught out. Given that a cheap motel can cost less than a tankful of fuel though, I don?t have to travel that far to more than make up the difference in cost.

I get it though, you?re scared of change. The thing is, EVs are coming, ICEs are on their way out. Once you realise how nice it is not to be driving a bag of spanners though you?ll wonder why you waited so long to switch.

Tim

I wasn't "not doing any planning". Planning showed me that a 400 mile, 7 hour journey would involve 4 stops instead of my usual one. Then, if a charging point was free when I got there, I'd have 3 x 40 minutes added to my journey time So 9 hours minimum. If I had to wait for a charging point to become free, it would be longer. That's when an overnight stay might have to happen.

So, I've rejected the idea of buying an battery car,

I don't want to stay at a cheap motel, thank you.

No, I was planning on buying an EV. Officially 245 miles range, but the dealer said only 180 miles in real life. I used the recommended App to plan a likely journey - that's when I saw the snag. If I was only doing local journeys, then an EV would be ideal, but I'm not.

Well it would if you bought a car with a small battery.

Well, I?d be save about £35 for every 400 miles that you drive. Wouldn?t take long for me to still be quids in after a fairly decent hotel. ;-)

You made a bad choice of EV then. ?Real life? range for mine is 240 to

Tim

You remind me of the twerp who prompted me to start Gridwatch with his claim (in about 2009) that "by 2020 Britain will be entirely running on renewable energy"

That is a lie. All Evs have been tested by independent testers in real word conditions and I dont think any made it over 200 miles.

It?s not me pushing the change to EV, it?s the government. If you enjoy paying 4 times more for your fuel than you need to and burying your head in the sand, keep your ICE vehicles.

Tim