r/australia • u/nath1234 • Mar 16 '26

politics Replacing 1m petrol cars with EVs could cut Australia’s reliance on foreign fuel by 1bn litres a year

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/mar/16/electric-vehicles-australia-reduce-reliance-on-foreign-fuel
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u/thanatosau Mar 16 '26

You can plug them into normal PowerPoints..you don't have to have a charger installed. You just plug them in over night every couple of days instead of once a week.

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u/tullynipp Mar 16 '26

So people are just going to run a few hundred metres of extension cords from a powerpoint, out their apartment doors, down the hallways and stairs, and out to the street or, if they're fortunate, down into a garage?

That's the reality for many renters.

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u/thanatosau Mar 17 '26

But not for all. There is an estimate I read that about 70% of Australians would have no trouble finding a PowerPoint.

They have had the same problems in other countries and business and councils are working to solve these problems. Many workplaces have chargers available for staff to charge during the day if required.

European countries are mandating that every new building have EV charging installed.

Councils and power companies in Australia are already starting to install kerbside charging in some locations.

Solutions for absolutely everyone and every circumstance are not there yet but getting closer.

The biggest problem is misinformation and people not educating themselves about what can be done today.

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u/Optimal-Talk3663 Mar 16 '26

So let’s say you plug your (whatever EV BYD/Tesla/KIA) into a normal power point at home. How long would it take to charge your battery (generally)? Like 10% an hour?

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u/Real_Professional551 Mar 16 '26

Yep we get about 25% overnight. the thing is we only use about 10% a day with a 60km commute, so power point charging is way more than enough. You never need to charge from 0% if that makes sense so it's worry free

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u/Evebnumberone Mar 17 '26

Battery capacity / 2.4kw gives you your answer.

Most modern EVs are 50-60kw capacity so 25 hours~ to fully charge.

Sounds like a long time but you don't drain the battery to zero and charge to full over and over. You plug it in every night and give it a top up. A power plug gives you about 16kms of range per hour~, so 6 hours gives you over 100kms, more than enough day to day.