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Comment by choko | Hacker News Reader

I don't think that's what is holding ev back. They need to put more into battery research. They are too heavy, charge too slow, and lose capacity in cold temps. In addition, I can't find a charger within 15 or 20 min of my house, but there's probably 20 gas stations in that radius. I'll buy electric once it's not a pain in the ass.

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I think most of what's holding EV back is people having bad or outdated information. You don't need to drive to a charger, you use the same one you use to charge your phone: your house. Plug it in to your normal wall outlet when you get home and you'll have 100% charge every day. You only need a fancy charger for road trips. That's why there aren't a bunch near your house: you mostly don't need one at all.

A lot of people in urban areas don't own their own home. My brother lives in Brighton, MA. He would need to drive 15 minutes to charge at quickly a poorly rated EVGo station at a nearby mall or another 10 minutes to charge at a Level 2 which would take hours. This is a densely populated neighborhood of Boston and the options are still terrible.

The person I was replying to said:

> my house

so that's what I was responding to. For people who have consistent access to an outlet in their dwelling, and don't drive their car for hundreds of miles every day (very few people do this), EV charging is a solved problem with zero changes to their home. Just plug it in.

I agree multi-family dwellings are an unsolved problem. I'm not sure what the current situation there is, I do see some newer local apartment buildings in my area with EV chargers in the lots, but I'm not sure if the etiquette around that has been well-established yet. That may well be a situation where hybrids are still the best option.

I expect this will be a solved problem within a decade, so for people who actively want an EV and are willing to put up with a little hassle, the situation will only improve. But I wouldn't blame someone for choosing otherwise in that situation right now today.

Batteries are important, yes, but the average American drives less than 30 miles per day. You can charge that at home without a special charger. At the very least, that’s a second car alternative with much lower maintenance and no need to drive to a gas station.

Batteries can be improved but are workable. The real hold back is the charging situation. It's why ICE cars are even possible - the petroleum infrastructure needed to fuel millions of cars every day.

Most EVs are charged at home (great!) but any extended trip does require charger access and the situation in the US is quite patchwork except for Superchargers. Also chargers are needed for taxi/rental services and for apartment/condo dwellers who likely won't be able to plug in at home.

China and Europe (to a lesser extent) have made much bigger inroads than the US. I wonder why.

You can’t charge at your house?

I feel like electric vehicles are great for homeowners to drive around town, but there are some hurdles to conveniently use them for cross-country trips.

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