What is the optional 19.2kW charger Porsche talks about?

[alxman]

I think this is an excellent point, especially for the longer run as the batteries become more affordable or even as EV batteries are recycled into static applications. Reasonably affordable comprehensive storage systems, maybe associated with rooftop solar panel technology with the power consumption going both into the home and the vehicle sounds like a reasonable view of the near future.

Not sure whether it is cost effective yet. In my area and taking into account the federal incentives (soon to go away) it costs about $30k to install a solar system with a power-wall storage. You only save about $14 a month on your electricity bill and break even in about 20 years. Maybe worth it if you just moved into your house with young children so you are expected to stay there for a long time. Otherwise, you are just financing the next owner. I’m not planning to leave and hopefully will live that amount of time… but my wife is always talking about downsizing or following the kids when they settle, specially if grandkids decide to “show up” lol

Hopefully at some point the technology is more affordable (likely) and the politicians figure it out (impossible dream).​

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[SteveInKirkland]

Not sure whether it is cost effective yet. In my area and taking into account the federal incentives (soon to go away) it costs about $30k to install a solar system with a power-wall storage. You only save about $14 a month and break even in about 20 years. Maybe worth it if you just moved into your house with young children so you are expected to stay there for a long time. Otherwise, you are just financing the next owner. I’m not planning to leave and hopefully will live that amount of time… but my wife is always talking about downsizing or following the kids when they settle, specially if grandkids decide to “show up” lol
Hopefully at some point the technology is more affordable (likely) and the politicians figure it out (impossible dream).

The people who are really benefiting from solar in the USA live in the "country"/suburbs and build the ground arrays themselves from 100 USD "leftover" 500 watt panels and then use less expensive Chinese battery tech than Tesla sells. If you're a heavy energy consumer, payback can be pretty quick (like a few years). But my wealthy friends are just buying solar+batteries as a comfort hedge against utility outages.

 

[dgkhn]

The people who are really benefiting from solar in the USA live in the "country"/suburbs and build the ground arrays themselves from 100 USD "leftover" 500 watt panels and then use less expensive Chinese battery tech than Tesla sells. If you're a heavy energy consumer, payback can be pretty quick (like a few years). But my wealthy friends are just buying solar+batteries as a comfort hedge against utility outages.

But I suspect current-day (early 2025) battery cost limitations are the bigger concern. I assume both solar cell and battery technology will continuously improve and cost less per kW and kWH over the relatively near term (5 years?) I think @SteveInKirkland's point with 100kWH to 300kWH batteries would enable fast DC charging (say 10-80) of a 100kWH EV battery, while recharging the fixed battery from AC (or solar) at a lower rate (he mentions 100 amps, but I think depending on the use case, 48 amps AC would be sufficient). My thought is, if you have a battery that big, might as well use it as power backup or time-shifting for the domicile also.

Edit: (completing the thought) So, iow, rather than spend the money to upgrade the OBC, just bypass it and spend the money to charge using DC at an even faster rate (which would then work for any future EV as well).

 

[SteveInKirkland]

But I suspect current-day (early 2025) battery cost limitations are the bigger concern. I assume both solar cell and battery technology will continuously improve and cost less per kW and kWH over the relatively near term (5 years?) I think @SteveInKirkland's point with 100kWH to 300kWH batteries would enable fast DC charging (say 10-80) of a 100kWH EV battery, while recharging the fixed battery from AC (or solar) at a lower rate (he mentions 100 amps, but I think depending on the use case, 48 amps AC would be sufficient). My thought is, if you have a battery that big, might as well use it as power backup or time-shifting for the domicile also.

Edit: (completing the thought) So, iow, rather than spend the money to upgrade the OBC, just bypass it and spend the money to charge using DC at an even faster rate (which would then work for any future EV as well).

Oh, yes. You completely received my point. Not only would I be extremely hesitant to spend $20k to get 19.2kW AC charging on 1 car, but I the latest research that I've read suggests that slow charging at less than 9.3kW increases battery pack longitivtiy. So, most of the time, I likely should go slow charging.

There will always be use cases for faster AC charging. My brother would probably pay for it. He refuses to charge his Rivian R1S any where but his homes. He commutes between the beach and his city home about 3 hours. He just doesn't want to sit and wait at a charger outside of his home.

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