We are at a very interesting time in the energy sector and EV take up underpins how rapidly the grid needs to move, along with how much extra solar needs to be installed. We know that the government had 5 goes at trying to predict Solar take up over the last 12 years and they underestimated it by 300%. The Australian Government predicted 1 million homes to have solar by 2022. The actual number was 3 million.
Since the above chart was created in 2021, there has been significant world events:
- Ukraine War – cost of petrol is at $2/L.
- Australia set a 43% Net Zero Reduction Target to 2030 which is now law.
- All Australian states now have EV rebates and incentives.
- Australians are buying electric vehicles in droves, and suppliers cannot keep up with demand.
- In August 2022 Tesla hit #1 spot as the most sold car in Australia. Only the Toyota HiLux and Ford Ranger sold more vehicles. (To put this into perspective Tesla ($60,000 car) outsold the Toyota Camry ($40,000).)
If 2022 proved anything, it was that Australians are finally ready more than ever to adopt electric vehicles.
“Now the EV appetite has been proven, 2023 will finally see car brands try and satiate that hunger with an avalanche of new models in almost every body style and across every price bracket. There is 20 plus new EV’s set to hit the Australian market in 2023.” CarsGuide (2022)
EV Charging
- 70% – 80% of EV’s are going to be charged up at home or at work.
- Best practice for battery life is to keep the battery at around 60-70% charged. So this is topping up your EV in your life routine at home, Gym, Shopping and at work.
- Most residential or small business Chargers will be 7KW single phase or 22KW three phase.
- Fast Chargers at petrol stations will only be used by people who are travelling or are in an apartment without a charger. They are not good for EV Battery life. However, as the range in EV’s increase out to 600KM it is more likely that they will book motels with EV Chargers and just use them when they get there.
Trends
- Most dealers are selling chargers that are actually not suitable as they only pull full load 32 amps at a time. They are a bad option for the customer.
- Customers are much better having solar-enabled smart EV Chargers like “ZAPPI”.
- Most EVs also have deals with places like Jet Charge or Charge Fox that will give them free charging for 3 – 5 years. However, most people don’t want to waste time in long lines at a petrol stations to only save $3 of free charging.
- Fast chargers are very limited at one location. 350KW, 100KW or even 50KW Chargers need an extreme amount of infrastructure to support this.
Electric Vehicle Savings
These numbers just speak for themselves especially when Petrol v Electric Vehicles are almost same price.
Cheaper to run, less noise on our roads and no exhaust fumes
Founder of Horan & Bird. Director of Master Electricians Australia and Board Member of Solar Accreditation Australia. John has played a key entrepreneurial role in the transformation of the Energy Landscape in Queensland.
