In The Middle Of A Heat Wave, Tesla Owners Got An Extremely Distressing Message…

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Texas is currently experiencing a massive heat wave that is affecting the electric car charging station.

There have been reports from Tesla car owners in Texas that they are receiving warnings on their screens to avoid charging their electric cars during peak times in an attempt to prevent overtaxing the state’s power grid amidst an ongoing heatwave.

On Wednesday, The Verge reported that Tesla recently sent a notice to the screens inside Tesla vehicles in Texas saying, “A heat wave is expected to impact the grid in Texas over the next few days.”

Well, it’s just another example of how electric vehicles are not quite as convenient as those selling them want us to imagine.

The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) announced days ago that six of its power generation facilities went offline due to a spike in demand amid a heat wave. During the power outage, the six stations would have produced enough electricity to supply more than half a million homes.

Because of that, ERCOT asked Texans and Texas businesses to voluntarily conserve electricity on Monday and Wednesday from 2 to 8 p.m.

Here’s what ERCOT said in its news releases:

“The heat wave that has settled on Texas and much of the central United States is driving increased electric use. Other grid operators are operating under similar conservative operations programs as ERCOT due to the heatwave.”

According to The Washington Post, temperatures have exceeded 100 degrees in much of the state this week, with Somerville seeing a high of 113 on Sunday.

In addition to high demand, the Texas power grid has faced a lack of wind to power up its turbines. “Current projections show wind generation coming in less than 10 percent of its capacity,” ERCOT said.

In a now-viral post circulating on social media sites, Tesla owners have shared images of the alerts they were sent — with the title “Help Relieve Heat Wave Stress on the Grid.” 

Here’s what the message said:

“A heat wave is expected to impact the grid in Texas over the next few days. The grid operator recommends to avoid charging during peak hours between 3pm and 8pm, if possible, to help statewide efforts to manage demand.”

 

“Western Journal” noted that part of  Joe Biden’s “transition” away from fossil fuels means we’ll have to stay home during hours of peak electric usage because we won’t be able to charge our cars to go anywhere.

It also means doing without air conditioning when you do get a chance to drive your EV. A study by AAA found that cooling a battery-powered car results in a 17 percent drop in driving range, according to The Drive.

EV experts say owners may have to alter the way they drive in hot conditions, eliminating short trips, which require air conditioning to recool heated cabins over and over and thus necessitate earlier recharging.

Many are beginning to see the limitations of electric vehicles. You can’t just get up and go when you want or need to like you can with a gas-powered vehicle.

Recently, a writer who was a big fan of the idea of EVs took one on a road trip, and the experience made her realize that they are not all they are cracked up to be, especially for long trips.

Another writer noted that EVs burn through new tires at an alarming rate, mostly because they are so much heavier than traditional gas-powered cars.

Then there are the bottlenecks EV owners often find at charging stations. When it takes up to an hour to charge a car, the line waiting for the next available charger can often wind around the block, meaning users have to wait many hours just to get to the point where they have an hour of charging time.

It adds up to a series of inconveniences and issues that buyers probably won’t be told about when standing in the car lot.

Sources: WesternJournal, The Washington Post, The Drive, The Verge 

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