Car (or bike) Chat!

[struth]

Fred Flintstone recharge.?

[Ali Tait]

hey, its not my idea Ali i dunno... just answering the question mate. this is how they say it will work...

Lol might have come across wrong. What study was this?

[NRG]

Some good points, but assuming everyone switches to electric cars, where is the power going to come from?

There’s sufficient spare capacity in the grid Ali to cover peak demand charging today and with smart charging schemes that will be put in place it becomes a none issue by the time we get to 2040. The biggest issues will be getting the infrastructure in place as not everyone will be able to run an extension lead to their cars!

[struth]

Lol might have come across wrong. What study was this?

https://www.eon.com/en/new-energy/el...tric-cars.html

https://www.researchgate.net/publica...ess_case_study

Thats a couple of them I read and bookmarked..

[Ali Tait]

There’s sufficient spare capacity in the grid Ali to cover peak demand charging today and with smart charging schemes that will be put in place it becomes a none issue by the time we get to 2040. The biggest issues will be getting the infrastructure in place as not everyone will be able to run an extension lead to their cars!

I do work in the industry Neal, I’m aware of the issues and I’m not as sanguine frankly. It can be covered currently, but electric is a low percentage of the total traffic on the road currently. Also, what about commercial traffic and shipping etc?

I agree on the infrastructure issue- as I mentioned in my previous post.

[Ali Tait]

https://www.eon.com/en/new-energy/el...tric-cars.html

https://www.researchgate.net/publica...ess_case_study

Thats a couple of them I read and bookmarked..

Thanks. Yes, have read similar before. A point that concerns me is where are all the rare raw materials to manufacture the batteries coming from.

[Audio Al]

Ask the Aliens in area 51 / 52 they coverd millions of light years to get here then crashed
Maybe the flux capacitor run out of flux

[dave2010]

Just been working it out roughly.

To charge an electric car at a public chargepoint with sufficient energy for a 300 mile journey costs around £20, no doubt this will entail at least one top-up (or more) for the journey with the attendant waiting time (hours?).

My petrol car will do the same journey on less than a tank of fuel, consuming approximately £25 worth of fuel without fuel stops. Should I need to fill up, it takes maybe 4 minutes.

Hardly seems worth the bother to opt for an electric car at the moment.

Unfortunately, I see a situation where service stations that sell petrol and diesel will eventually become fewer and further between. This will certainly lead to the cost of electric 'refills' being hiked up and there'll be nothing that we can do about it.

Your car is presumably doing about 60 mpg, or you have a source of very cheap petrol.
I calculate petrol cars (and some hybrids) as typically between 10-15p per mile.

Re your last point, eventually there won’t be any petrol, though the peak oil limit seems to have been extended. The problem with petrol and diesel is that, like coal and gas, it pollutes and does contribute to global warming.

Re solar energy - in theory there’s more than enough to keep everything going for millions of years, but the problem is capturing it and turning it into useful forms.

Re the costs - I have had two PV installations fitted at my own cost. One provides a useful income offset with the FiT, the other gives hardly any return. What is surprising though is that electricity bills do go down. A 4kW PV installation should now cost less than £6k, and is worthwhile for anyone who wants to invest in that.
However, such a small installation will not generate enough electricity to drive an electric car very far, particularly in the winter.

Storage batteries don’t really do much, unless the grid becomes unreliable, and simply add to the capital cost of a PV installation. Possibly the best storage batteries are the Tesla ones, which will keep a house going for a few hours, but they’re around £6k fitted - not necessarily the best investment unless supply continuity is essential and the grid fails.

More later - breakfast calls.

[struth]

I take it they will invent new ones just like when they invented the spinning Jenny and the rolling Rosalind

How will it pan out... who knows, but for now we are moving to the electric car age. Volvo only make electric based ones now and Merc say that by 2022 their cars will all have an electric option.

Personally the hybrid to me seems the best current version for most folk. Electric only for folk who wont go out of city is fine but for rural and longer distances the current cars are more than adequete . especially as the usa china india etc dont give a monkeys

[walpurgis]

The problem with petrol and diesel is that, like coal and gas, it pollutes and does contribute to global warming.

Not sure I really care. The levels of pollution from domestic vehicles is tiny compared to other sources.

And anyway, isn't the term 'climate change' these days, Global Warming being somewhat in danger of being a descredited theory these days? It's all a bit vague, largely due to the huge amounts of 'data' they throw at anybody who challenges the idea, in an attempt to bury them.

Agenda driven bollox is what it looks like to me.