EV cars, would you, wouldn't you?
Poll: EV cars, would you, wouldn't you?
Total Members Polled: 427
Discussion
AW111 said:
Electric power would be great for serious off-road use - max torque available from standstill, no clutch to overheat.
You could theoretically run 4 motors, each with a short driveshaft, to get maximum traction from each wheel.
I reckon another 5 years of battery developement should do it.
Actually the early Jimmy and similar had an effective cruising speed of 60 mph (less for the canvas topped ones) before wind, road and engine noise became a chore, and highway overtaking was rare and exiting.
If you were prepared to put up with those speed and power limits in a new car, it's possible now.
I've been thinking about this idea. If the cost was a bit lower you could get a pair of mk1 leafs (leaves?), rip out the batteries and motors, stick them in the back of a Defender 130 bingo. 200hp masses of controllable torque.You could theoretically run 4 motors, each with a short driveshaft, to get maximum traction from each wheel.
I reckon another 5 years of battery developement should do it.
Actually the early Jimmy and similar had an effective cruising speed of 60 mph (less for the canvas topped ones) before wind, road and engine noise became a chore, and highway overtaking was rare and exiting.
If you were prepared to put up with those speed and power limits in a new car, it's possible now.
To get around the range issue... rip out the TDi unit, stick in a bike motor attached to a generator. You don't need continuous 200hp. But the bike motor can be run at it's most efficient speed to keep the batteries topped up. No point buying 100kWh of batteries now as they are too expensive. A used bike motor is about £1000. And you'll only use it infrequently. 40kWh of batteries from a pair of leafs, should get you about 100-150 miles depending on their state and the speed you drive at.
ORD said:
Because the "green tariff" is completely notional. Electricity is fungible. You are not paying for green energy. Its a gimmick.
The costs of electricity are calculated in accordance with various complex calculations and regulatory schemes. The bottom line is that, if we had no green energy, electricity bills would be very much lower.
If you do a bit of googling for "grid parity uk" you'll find it's expected that by 2017-2019 the cost of solar is expected to be the same as buying from the grid. Depending on which study you use and what type of system you are looking at. The costs of electricity are calculated in accordance with various complex calculations and regulatory schemes. The bottom line is that, if we had no green energy, electricity bills would be very much lower.
At that point forwards - it's cheaper to install your own system than buy from the grid - without subsidy. And will carry on getting cheaper. Gas and coal wont. You'll still need the grid though... especially at 5pm till 8am December-February. ;-) Even if you have your own batteries.
However some 43% efficient solar cells are in the labs, which triple the output possible by absorbing more of the spectrum. Add a larger battery store and you may even be able to get through winter. Especially if you have your own electrolyser which generates hydrogen with the excess solar in summer, reacts it with carbon dioxide condensed from the air using the Sabatier reaction and sticks it in a methane gas tank (same as LPG tanks) ready for winter, to use in your combi boiler. (Not a fuel cell car - they'll never work at sensible prices!). That and burying the heat from the cooling system on the combined electric and heat PV-Ts in the ground under your house so you can pull it back with a heat pump means you could become self sufficient for energy. Say by 2040. Though it's more likely the gas conversion and storage will be done at scale with electricity exported over the grid from your PV.
Sabatier Reaction: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sabatier_reaction
Power to gas
http://www.electrochaea.com/
http://www.itm-power.com/sectors/power-to-gas-ener...
PV-T Cells:
http://www.viridiansolar.co.uk/Products_Solar_PV-T...
http://www.northburnsolar.co.uk/solarpanels/solarp...
As a sign of the times.. EON have just split out their fossil fuel business from the rest of the company in to a new business called Uniper as the share price has taken a battering.
http://www.eon.com/en/about-us/strategie/unipers-s...
If I were Shell/BP etc I'd be worrying about the future of sales, given the growth of battery only cars is 150% and plug in hybrids (that only need petrol on longer journeys) is 1,000%
There is a role for them... having onsite generation and rapid charging in their current refuelling sites. But they aren't interested... yet.
ORD said:
Devil2575 said:
I can't see anything in that to support your assertion.
I go back to the fact that you can get a green electricity tarrif for not that much more than a standard one. If it was a lot more expensive then why don't they charge you a lot more for it?
Because the "green tariff" is completely notional. Electricity is fungible. You are not paying for green energy. Its a gimmick. I go back to the fact that you can get a green electricity tarrif for not that much more than a standard one. If it was a lot more expensive then why don't they charge you a lot more for it?
The costs of electricity are calculated in accordance with various complex calculations and regulatory schemes. The bottom line is that, if we had no green energy, electricity bills would be very much lower.
DrTre said:
The green energy levy is applied to all bills though.
I know, it's part of the 9% extra on our bills discussed earlier. I'm just trying to get to the bottom of the claim that energy bills would be a lot cheaper if we only used fossil fuels to generate it.
http://about.bnef.com/press-releases/renewable-ene...
73% of you are sleepwalking towards what ever the Govt and / or Big Business want you to do. Cheap driving today as long as you live and work locally but taxed to the hilt once enough people are in them. No I've never been in one and have no plans to either 
Likewise bloody driver-less cars!
TX.
Likewise bloody driver-less cars!TX.
The technology fascinates me, the potential convenience (when charging is more widespread - i.e charge at home & work), the torque / quietness, and in cases like the Tesla Model S P90D the performance.
I even love cars like the Leaf and the Zoe but right now the range isn't really good enough for me but I will jump in eventually I'm sure.
I even love cars like the Leaf and the Zoe but right now the range isn't really good enough for me but I will jump in eventually I'm sure.
I have driven a Tesla P85 and was very impressed. So much so that when I was considering taking a job 60 miles away it would have been the car I would choose. Most people say that electric is only good for short journeys. You have it the wrong way round with the Tesla. It makes more sense the more miles you do in a day up to 250. I used to do over 30'000 miles a year but still can count on one hand the number of times I went over 250 in a day.
The next car I buy will be a Tesla. I just have to get a new job so that I do not have a company car first.
The next car I buy will be a Tesla. I just have to get a new job so that I do not have a company car first.
TransverseTight said:
I'm currently doing 86 miles a day round trip. So anyone can do it. Well anyone who's work place has electricity.
That's probably a tiny bit less than "anyone". What do you do if you want to take a longer trip? Keep a second car on the road, hire a car? Sounds expensive and/or inconvenient.Mr2Mike said:
That's probably a tiny bit less than "anyone". What do you do if you want to take a longer trip? Keep a second car on the road, hire a car? Sounds expensive and/or inconvenient.
That's the issue for me right now.I don't do it often and of course there are always people for whom any limit will be too little, but I needed to do midlands to Cambridgeshire last month which is around 90 miles.
That's not a particularly special trip but it's literally something you'd need to plan right now with a lot of EV's vs. simply "get in and drive".
Mr2Mike said:
TransverseTight said:
I'm currently doing 86 miles a day round trip. So anyone can do it. Well anyone who's work place has electricity.
That's probably a tiny bit less than "anyone". What do you do if you want to take a longer trip? Keep a second car on the road, hire a car? Sounds expensive and/or inconvenient.1) Need to be able to park close enough
2) Either need an outside electric point (highly unlikely) or the ability to run cables outside to the car. Again probably doubtful for many places of work
3) Running cables outside obviously has potential hazards, such as trip hazards, electrocution and so on. Of which the company would be potentially liable, so unlikely to want you to do it.
3a) If you run a cable from inside to outside, you'll need an open door or window, so potential security risks too.
4) Cost. It might not cost much to charge a car, but it will still cost. Will a company really be happy giving it away?
5) Most things that plug-in to the mains at a business will need to be PAT tested as a minimum, so again may create barriers to simply plugging in your car when you get to work.
There are websites showing charging points. Many are free, which is great, but there's almost always only ever 1 or 2 in a location so right now they're free because they don't cost much to the people supplying them - once take up increases the number of charging points required increases, costs increase because those points cost money and all of a sudden you're not supplying free charging to one or two people a day, it's a dozen.
Love the principle, just seems very chicken and egg with all the "free charging" stuff.
Love the principle, just seems very chicken and egg with all the "free charging" stuff.
300bhp/ton said:
Not too mention just having electricity at your workplace, doesn't grantee you can charge it. As you'd
1) Need to be able to park close enough
2) Either need an outside electric point (highly unlikely) or the ability to run cables outside to the car. Again probably doubtful for many places of work
3) Running cables outside obviously has potential hazards, such as trip hazards, electrocution and so on. Of which the company would be potentially liable, so unlikely to want you to do it.
3a) If you run a cable from inside to outside, you'll need an open door or window, so potential security risks too.
4) Cost. It might not cost much to charge a car, but it will still cost. Will a company really be happy giving it away?
5) Most things that plug-in to the mains at a business will need to be PAT tested as a minimum, so again may create barriers to simply plugging in your car when you get to work.
My wife's workplace already has electric car charging stations. 1) Need to be able to park close enough
2) Either need an outside electric point (highly unlikely) or the ability to run cables outside to the car. Again probably doubtful for many places of work
3) Running cables outside obviously has potential hazards, such as trip hazards, electrocution and so on. Of which the company would be potentially liable, so unlikely to want you to do it.
3a) If you run a cable from inside to outside, you'll need an open door or window, so potential security risks too.
4) Cost. It might not cost much to charge a car, but it will still cost. Will a company really be happy giving it away?
5) Most things that plug-in to the mains at a business will need to be PAT tested as a minimum, so again may create barriers to simply plugging in your car when you get to work.
I wonder how electric cars handle towing. Considering all the aerodynamic trickery they employ for efficiency, would dragging a caravan behind you absolutely destroy the range?
I think towing a caravan knocks around 30% off the fuel economy of a decent diesel but would an electric equivalent suffer more?
A neighbour has just bought the hybrid SUV so perhaps it's becoming more viable.
Yes, I know. Caravans.
I think towing a caravan knocks around 30% off the fuel economy of a decent diesel but would an electric equivalent suffer more?
A neighbour has just bought the hybrid SUV so perhaps it's becoming more viable.
Yes, I know. Caravans.
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