Early Electric Car Charging

[begreen]

Cool article on how they did it 110 yrs ago.
https://evadc.org/2013/05/17/early-electric-car-charging/

 

[ryanwc]

Cool article on how they did it 110 yrs ago.
https://evadc.org/2013/05/17/early-electric-car-charging/

That article shows a garage with multiple charging ports and mentions the idea that the car maker might keep your car charged and bring it to you.

A while ago, a friend showed me a picture of part of his neighborhood in an early, fairly wealthy inner suburb of Chicago, taken from a church steeple tower around the turn of the 20th century. What surprised me was that the backyards were completely open, with no garages. He explained that you didn't have your own stable or barn in those days, at least in a place like this. You kept a horse in a stable at the end of the block where someone tended to a bunch of horses, and you retrieved it when needed. This runs counter to the evidence of my daughter's Betsy-Tacy books, where each family does keep a horse in their own barn. But they're set in Mankato, MN around the same time, and my guess is that there's a difference in terms of population density and in the lifestyle of the people, given that Mankato was only a long generation or so from its first settlement.

Anyway, I thought that was interesting in relation to the idea of having someone keep your car charged for you somewhere nearby, rather than keep it in your garage. It was probably a familiar situation at the time.

 

[woodgeek]

I am sure there would be a market for retro (styled) EVSEs for home use, complete with a (LED illuminated) Mercury Rectifier.

Maybe I should 'gofundme' one....

 

[semipro]

I think that Nikola would be very disappointed that we're still using wire conductors for this 100 years later.

Seeing photos of those old electronics brought back a smell memory to me. I used to mess around with old radio receivers and such when younger and they always had a distinguishing smell. Maybe uncured or burning Bakelite or enamel or some other (probably toxic) material. Still, good memories.

 

[semipro]

That article shows a garage with multiple charging ports and mentions the idea that the car maker might keep your car charged and bring it to you.

A while ago, a friend showed me a picture of part of his neighborhood in an early, fairly wealthy inner suburb of Chicago, taken from a church steeple tower around the turn of the 20th century. What surprised me was that the backyards were completely open, with no garages. He explained that you didn't have your own stable or barn in those days, at least in a place like this. You kept a horse in a stable at the end of the block where someone tended to a bunch of horses, and you retrieved it when needed. This runs counter to the evidence of my daughter's Betsy-Tacy books, where each family does keep a horse in their own barn. But they're set in Mankato, MN around the same time, and my guess is that there's a difference in terms of population density and in the lifestyle of the people, given that Mankato was only a long generation or so from its first settlement.

Anyway, I thought that was interesting in relation to the idea of having someone keep your car charged for you somewhere nearby, rather than keep it in your garage. It was probably a familiar situation at the time.

WRT the shared stable, I wonder if everyone used their own horses or whether this was actually just early "shared mobility".

There is a contemporary analogue of this where shared EVs are fast charged in a central location for use through a reservation scheduling system. The advantage being that they can be charged and reused more quickly on a larger charging system than would be available in most residences. The challenge is that most users have similar scheduling needs.

 

[CaptSpiff]

......What surprised me was that the backyards were completely open, with no garages. He explained that you didn't have your own stable or barn in those days, at least in a place like this. You kept a horse in a stable at the end of the block where someone tended to a bunch of horses, and you retrieved it when needed.

Anyway, I thought that was interesting in relation to the idea of having someone keep your car charged for you somewhere nearby, rather than keep it in your garage. It was probably a familiar situation at the time.

That's not that different to when I lived in NYC (70 & 80s). Kept the family station wagon in a private parking garage; parked by a local attendant. It was almost a block away (more than 2 football fields distance), so we seldom used the car. I imagine it's the same way today in NYC (or Chicago), cause parking on the street is a nightmare of parking restrictions.

 

[Seasoned Oak]

I see Norways car market went over 50% electric for the first time. Interesting.

 

[begreen]

Yes. Their incentives program has been quite effective. Program ends in a couple years I think. Wish we had the same here in our state. Instead there's a $150 tax on electric cars.

 

[Sawset]

I see Norways car market went over 50% electric for the first time. Interesting.

From a picture on wikipedia -
Alta dam, one of Norway's 937[1]hydropower stations that provide 98% of the nation's power.
I also saw a reference to some governing body recomending households have a backup heat source (like wood heat) in case the power goes out. At -40f, a power outage could equate to a national emergency.

 

[Seasoned Oak]

From a picture on wikipedia -
Alta dam, one of Norway's 937[1]hydropower stations that provide 98% of the nation's power.
I also saw a reference to some governing body recomending households have a backup heat source (like wood heat) in case the power goes out. At -40f, a power outage could equate to a national emergency.

You bet i would have a wood stove as a backup heat if it were getting below Zero on regular basis. One that didnt rely of fans too. I have one here and it rarely goes below Zero.

 

[begreen]

The Norwegians love their fire and even honor it with a tv channel that just shows wood burning in a fireplace.