Electric Cars Disrupting Power Distribution in Canada
Can charging an electric car cause a disruption in your neighborhood’s power distribution? For a few Canadians, the answer is yes.
Depending on where you live, the electrical infrastructure might not be able to handle more than a handful of electric cars charging at once. Older power grids aren’t designed to distribute that much electricity, as certain residents in Toronto, Canada are learning.
According to the CBC, charging an electric car can use three to five times the power that a typical home will, which is enough to have an impact on power distribution in certain older Toronto neighborhoods. Admittedly, that figure is based on typical home power consumption at night when consumption is at its lowest.
The higher power demand will require the city to replace transformers earlier than expected or even upgrade them to accommodate the greater demand.
It doesn’t matter. This isn’t the first time people have wondered whether or not electric cars will be too taxing on electrical infrastructure and it probably won’t be the last. Only a fool would believe that electricity companies will have a problem with their customers needing too much power.
If a concentrated number of electric car owners plug in at the same time, there might be an issue with power distribution. But chances of any real problems being caused are negligible.
[Source: CBC]
Luke is an energetic automotive journalist who spends his time covering industry news and crawling the internet for the latest breaking story. When he isn't in the office, Luke can be found obsessively browsing used car listings, drinking scotch at his favorite bar and dreaming of what to drive next, though the list grows a lot faster than his bank account. He's always on <A title="@lukevandezande on Twitter" href="http://twitter.com/lukevandezande">Twitter</A> looking for a good car conversation. Find Luke on <A title="@lukevandezande on Twitter" href="http://twitter.com/lukevandezande">Twitter</A> and <A title="Luke on Google+" href="http://plus.google.com/112531385961538774338?rel=author">Google+</A>.
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