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[nogasman]

One of my suggestions to Zero when many of us customers spoke to the CEO, was to offer inductive charging on future models. Has anyone done this with their Zero? I'm interested in what format/brand of charging unit might be out there to set on my garage floor and charge my bike when I return home at night. Suggestions?

[frodus]

It's horribly inefficient.... it would be best to just plug in. The larger the separation between the two coils, the worse the efficiency.

Older "paddles" went into slots in cars. They were inductive, but the gap was low, so it worked.... but a direct connection would be even better.

[kingcharles]

I once saw a design of a bike stand which could charge up a bike and lock it at the same time.
You would ride your front wheel into the stand and it would lock the bike and a connector would pop into the front fork.
standardization is a nightmare I guess so that is probably why it never happened

a quick google made me find the picture again!

 http://www.robrady.com/design-project/vectrix-vectrix-charging-dock

[frodus]

Wonder how hard it would be to build something into the swingarm spools.... mount it either on the swingarm, under the motor or on the front axle. Interesting idea!

[Richard230]

I heard something on the news last week about a charging manufacturer announcing that they were thinking of producing an inductive charging station that would be built into the ground under the parking space.  You would park in the space, feed the meter (I assume) and your car would be charged while you went shopping (or whatever), without having to hook up any cables to your car.  Of course this would require EV manufacturers to build in an inductive charging system into the bottom of their cars.  It sounds like a nice idea, but I don't see the EV industry adopting the gadget, unless they all get together and can agree on the technology.  And what are the odds of that happening?   

[NoiseBoy]

We already waste enough energy as it is.  What is wrong with plugging in a cable.  Its convenience gone mad.

[protomech]

1. While inductive charging does indeed waste energy, various proponents have pegged the efficiency at around 90%. I don't know what the real-world loss is like, but it's probably not HUGE.

If you wash dishes or clothes with a machine, then you've demonstrated that you're willing to trade convenience for a loss in efficiency. So we're really just quantifying the size of the efficiency loss and determining whether it is reasonable.

2. Inductive chargers are less prone to damage or vandalism. They may also end up being less expensive to install in larger scale - I figure a charging pad and associated electronics might be less expensive than separate fixed standing units.

3. Inductive chargers make short charges more convenient. It may not be worth spending a minute to charge at the grocery store. It also opens up charging scenarios like delivery services, buses, etc that spend a significant period of time stopped but not all at the same location.

4. Inductive charging removes the "I won't buy an EV [for myself or spouse] because [I or they] would forget to plug it in" excuse.

[trikester]

Someone would come up with a theory that the field from inductive chargers was harmful to humans.  Then there would be a big controversy. It would occupy the news endlessly (which would be harmful to human sanity).

Trikester

[WindRider]

Plugging in is already way quicker and more convenient than stopping at a gas station for fuel.

[NoiseBoy]

Aren't the larger-gap inductive charging solutions RF based?  In which case they probably would be mildly harmful if exposed for very long periods.

I can't imagine it being anywhere close to 90% efficient.  You will lose close to 10% just through resistive losses in the coiled wire.

[trikester]

The deficiency in Nicola Tesla's plan to distribute electrical power to cities by RF wireless transmission: The power would radiate out in all directions and only a small portion would be captured and used. Inductive charging would be somewhat more directional than that, but would still have a lot of "leakage" power loss.

I'll take the "inconvenient" plug myself.

Trikester

[manlytom]

Plugging in is already way quicker and more convenient than stopping at a gas station for fuel.

Cannot agree more. I occassionally stop at petrol stations - for air.

Have forgotten to plug in several times at home with battery at about 4 bars after typical commute. Found that a 1 hour top up gives me a full battery. With that a habit to cross check in the morning if plugged in.
Guess an even neater approach would be to have the bike tweet its status. Remember foxy cleopatra from electric cowboy?