My mind starts to wonder (or maybe wander) sometimes. I got to thinking about charging stations, electric motors, kw to hp conversion ratios and number of kilo watts to power an automobile as well as run AC, head lights and the all-important etc’s of automobile transportation. There is a lot to think about. How efficient is the chargers that must convert AC to DC for storage batteries? Ever notice how your cell phone warms up while you are using it? Thats called thermal loss.
Well, the result of having too much time on my hands and an internet search engine, is some interesting hard numbers. It looks like Americans have about 250 million cars on the road at any one time. I used some basic assumptions ( 200 minimum HP per car in operation) an 80% efficiency rate ( from charging to operation) . I wont bore you with ALL the numbers, but the bottom line is we will need a hell of a lot of electricity to only run HALT of our vehicles in ten years.
A modern nuclear power plant turns out about one Gaga watt of power. Bottom line is we will need to turn up 175 new nucs over the next ten years just for cars and trucks. That’s a new nuc every six weeks for ten years. Think we can do it?
Also, lots of energy wasted during the night/off peak energy production due to base load plants having to remain running as they aren’t able to just stop and then start… They have to be brought online gradually as they need to warm up and be tested before bringing the power onto the grid…
Having battery powered vehicles would allow power storage that is normally wasted at night to be captured… In addition, it would be possible for people to agree to allow the power companies to be able to source/utilize this storage during peak energy times and pay the car owner for it via the charging stations…
It’s mind boggling Tanksgt when you do the numbers to convert everything over and do away with an almost unlimited source of fossil fuel. Or at least 200-300 years left at current consumption. sure let’s go green, but lets be smart about it. Something this administration is not.
Coal can be burned clean and most every state in the America has it. Natural gas is plentiful. I’m wondering about all this new stuff on hydrogen is all about. I remember the old guy about 15 years ago that went cross country with a car/truck running on it and then sold the patten to a big corporation (maybe gm?) with a stipulation that he could never talk about it again.
Nuclear power plants can produce hydrogen in a variety of methods that would greatly reduce air emissions and take advantage of the constant thermal energy and electricity it reliably provides.
The left has yet to really think about the overall impact of an all electric vehicle society. The cost of the car itself is way to much for the average driver, the time it takes to recharge, the need for far more charging stations, the limited range of electric vehicles, the cost of and by products of producing the extra energy needed, the mining/shipping of the raw materials to make batteries, the pollution produced to manufacture the batteries, the recycling of said batteries when they die, etc… They seem to live in La La Land where details are a minor inconvenience.
I saw an article the other day about the new Ford Lightning truck. A new owner reported a 50% drop in range when towing. Can you imagine how long a trip to the Keys would take if towing a boat. But then again, at some point, the left will begin attacking boat owners so we probably won’t have them for long.
That’s why certain people don’t function well in a rational world… You can have both electric and fossil fuel vehicles for at least a while… Using an electric vehicle for everyday purposes would fit most people’s needs… Binary thinking at its best…
It is a fact that when you convert one form of energy into another form , energy is lost. The greenies do not want to admit this but CO2 is a small fractional portion of the atmosphere. The main greenhouse gas and the most powerful is water vapor especially when it forms blankets of clouds to trap heat. When crude oil is “cracked” into its various components , some energy is lost When gasoline is used in an engine , more energy is lost to heat and friction
In EV s if oil is used to make electricity even more energy is lost because the crude has to be “cracked” into a useful form then energy is lost to transport the energy thru wire then once in the EV battery energy is lost then in the electric motor energy is lost. (Friction & heat)It is more efficient to use natural gas but it has to be transported (energy loss). So with EV ‘s we add another energy loss step. Sometimes 2.
The greens are wrong . We are spending incredible time and money when not one prediction about CC has happened. There must be a good reason God put so much petrol and coal on this earth.
the troll jumps in here like we all don’t think electric cars have a place. Of course they do for a select few. What a troll. We all come here talking about alternatives rather than a complete stoppage of Fossil fuels and old Troll comes along and shows it’s true colors. Never wanting to have a discussion only attempt to incite anger and argue. I’ll wager the troll actually believes like we do.
Three of us posted before the Troll, Tanksgt, Dfreedom and myself. NONE of us are binary in this issue, just stating facts. Not to leave you out Bay and Natureboy. It’s just the troll posted before you two did. But I’m sure he falsely believes y’all are binary too. You do nothing for this sight but TRY to incite anger. Pizzz off Troll. You remind me of some of the binary Vegans in their attempt to stop meat eaters.
Why try and have a discussion when it just gets Trolled? You would think admin would see this or a moderator?
I don’t like the idea of electric vehicles simply due to CC… I look at them as a way to reduce our dependance on oil specifically… I would enjoy being able to cut our use down by 50-75% just to take that demand off the market and make the other countries that are essentially just oil producers squirm from the lack of oil revenue… Also leaves the oil in the ground to be used later… Oil is a very special and useful product that shouldn’t be wasted.
ICEV is only about 30-35% efficient, while an electric vehicle is about 85-90%… There simply is no comparison… What I also like about EV’s is they can use many different forms of fuel to generate the power needed to charge… Coal, NG, solar, wind, nuclear, geothermal, etc… Heck, with as much BS that is spoke here daily from the tribe, that could be burned too… Lots and lots of dung here provided by the tribal members… Alfredo can be in charge of the collection and distribution to the power plants processes since he’s so full of it…
Good thing my co-worker knows CPR, I just read some RBF stuff and died laughing.
You’ve fallen for the oldest trick in the book.
Reduce petro demand by going electric, lol! Give me a break.
It takes oil and mining to make practically everything needed to make a battery. Not to mention the vehicles themselves, tires, glass… but I’ll stop right there because if you haven’t gotten the clue by now then there may never be any hope. Anyway. Keep up the banter gentlemen. Helps pass the time when work is slow. I’ll be back, got a temperature transmitter to install and calibrate, see ya!
Prove where I am wrong… It takes no more energy to mine and process lithium than it does to drill and process oil… Thinks about all the oil infrastructure, offshore drilling platforms, etc.
You’re delusion Stump… Also, when lithium or whatever the new and improved battery materials are at the time typically can be recycled… Lithium can:
There may be a day when renewable energy might work, but it’s not today. the sun only shines a 1/2 day an often not that long. Sometimes the wind is still. Batteries are still relatively inefficient , but there is some good reason that God put oil and coal all over this world!
Batteries will only increase in efficiency and are already practical today through technology advancements… It is prudent to start the process early before there are severe oil production shortages…
There can be lots of oil and coal but if it isn’t economically feasible to capture it then it doesn’t matter… There can be lots of oil reserves, but production can remain flat or even decline… Reality is we don’t have an energy issue as it is really all about EXERGY, and therein lies the rub…
What about the cost to destroy or recycle said batteries when they go dead?
What happens if the municipalities have a black out? How you gonna charge? Gas powered generator?
I drove a Prius for a year. Not a bad car if you area small person. It charges the battery every time you brake and any time the gasoline engine is used. The bad part is the battery. You only get so many charge/ recharge cycles and the day the battery has issues the vehicle is totaled. The brake recharging system puts it in the shop often and from my experience one will never recover the increase of price over a conventional vehicle before the battery totals the car. Some day EV’s may be a good idea This ain’t the day. They must be similar in cost to a conventional car and all the problems must be corrected. There will still be the same amount of the worst greenhouse gas in the sky. Water vapor. The # 1 offender
All fair questions but the same questions can be asked about oil… What happens when there are supply disruptions? All forms have their pros and cons, and to me it’s about what is practical every day, not what the limitations are during a few instances…
Good thing about an EV is you can use the batteries for a time to power the home when the power goes out…
For the record I don’t own an EV, I just see how they could make a big difference in making America more independent and flexible… Many folks have one EV, and one ICEV…
I just told you where you were wrong and used specific items to “prove” to you the point. I inderstand litium is progressing in terms of usability. I also understand it is very dangerous while charging and has a many other kinks to get worekd out. Still takes petro to make a vehicle. Not just the fuel, but you already knew that. To allow whats happening with fuel just to hammer ev’s on people, just rubs me the wrong way. I know I know, there’s a place for both types… yada yada yada… I own an ev already, posted pics of it with my dog on it on this very forum. I digress.
Seriously, gas prices don’t affect my day-to-day that much… I simply pay and move on as it isn’t a huge expenditure for me overall…
Also, on the other part, it cost energy to make ICEVs too so to me it nets to zero IMO and is irrelevant… Like I said, I would rather use more energy to make something that will consume less over the lifecycle and that’s recyclable/reusable since that makes it an investment rather than just merely an expense…