BS: Electric vehicle questions

Subject: RE: BS: Electric vehicle questions
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 16 May 09 - 07:35 AM

Horses don't use energy?

Subject: RE: BS: Electric vehicle questions
From: semi-submersible
Date: 16 May 09 - 08:07 AM

Dennis the Elder in the other recent Hybrid thread asked about electrical energy conversion efficiencies. I've seen them discussed in an Electric Vehicle group. If I recall correctly you may retain some 85% of your input energy after transferring it to the battery and taking it out again to drive the motor. Line loss (power plant to house electrical meter) averages about 10%, I've heard. Has anyone seen a comparable figure for plant-to-gas-tank fuel shrinkage, and waste or leakage for other forms of energy storage?

If photovoltaic solar panel supply is beginning to catch up to demand, prices should fall rapidly soon. But what I'm looking forward to is solar film rugged or renewable enough to drive on, so exposed road surfaces generate power. That would probably be a plastic solar film, with only 1-5% efficiency, but there are a lot of square meters of paved road in sun every day.

No matter how renewable the power supply, it cannot meet endlessly growing demand.

Subject: RE: BS: Electric vehicle questions
From: stevi
Date: 16 May 09 - 03:17 PM

Not read every post in detail but why not a car using modern li-on battery technology using two batterys. Solar collectors on board to recharge a second battery to switch over automatically when battery one reaches discharge then recharges the other battery and so on. Ok during the day i here you say! Or petrol stations stations can become battery change over stations pull in and change over your battery rather then fill the tank. Should be able to get the range that way!
At night when the sun is gone use the battery change over method if they at spaced within a certain distance of one another. How long does ot take to change a battery?
Only drawback could be with the change over method we may be generating a bigger carbon footprint in recharging the batterys at the stations. Could use solar energy to do that though!

Steve

Subject: RE: BS: Electric vehicle questions
From: pdq
Date: 17 May 09 - 01:13 PM

"Trees are carbon neutral - the c02 absorbed while growing is released when it burns..."

I have a bachlors degree in Biology with a minor in Conservation and that statement seems strange to me.

Perhaps you are assuming that the usual fate of a tree is to burn. It isn't that way.

Most trees die and are attacked by a huge number of organisms, usually starting with insects, and eventually are returned to the soil as compost, providing nutrients to the next generation of plants.

Subject: RE: BS: Electric vehicle questions
From: JohnInKansas
Date: 17 May 09 - 01:35 PM

pdq -

If you consider the entire cycle, when the tree dies, it's frequently consumed by insects and microbes, but the it's not over until the bug farts - and completes the cycle.

John

Subject: RE: BS: Electric vehicle questions
From: pdq
Date: 17 May 09 - 01:37 PM

Hmmm...so, are bug farts "carbon neutral" too?