Living with Electric Vehicles

[Ridge Runner]

Your going to see some big changes in harvesting power soon,

 

[Ridge Runner]

Imagine observing what it would be like setting fire to 100 liters of petrol and stuffing that much power into a battery.
The battery would have to be 4 or 5 times the size of the ones that are on offer.

Try and charge that one overnight.

Yep that would get the power cables glowing,

 

[EVIE/BEE]

Your going to see some big changes in harvesting power soon,

Yeah, a new coal fired power station.

There's still hope.

 

[goldierocks]

Yeah, a new coal fired power station.

There's still hope.

I find the press talks as if Australia is going to stop mining coal. About 70% of coal mined in Australia is exported, and demand overall for Australian coal is expected to grow at more than 1.4% per annum over the next 4 years or so.


If demand is therefore expected to grow not reduce, there will presumably be no major unemployment issue. Considering that coal-fired power stations are now twice as expensive as renewables like wind per KwH produced (and we are panicking about our soaring energy costs), I don't see that there is any great reason to push for new coal-fired power plants. More important to ensure that all closing power stations are replaced by SOMETHING (including things that can cope with peak demands).



Like so many things green so many issues are emotional with opinions formed without the facts being examined. We need more fact-based evaluation of our energy needs and projected coal demand.

 

[EVIE/BEE]

Totally agree goldierocks.
Like you when i can drive an electric vehicle 1000ks and recharge it in 10 minutes i'll be in the market for one.
I can't see it happening.

 

[goldierocks]

Totally agree goldierocks.
Like you when i can drive an electric vehicle 1000ks and recharge it in 10 minutes i'll be in the market for one.
I can't see it happening.

It might - but I suspect I will not see it while still driving....

 

[EVIE/BEE]

To me it just seems to be a step back in time with slower speeds if you want to extend ks travelled, fewer ks per charge compared to filling up with diesel and longer time to fill up.
Dare i say it, back to the horse & buggy days. That's just my view.

 

[grubstake]

World’s Longest Electric Vehicle Highway — Now Under Construction in WA:

World’s Longest Electric Vehicle Highway — Now Under Construction

Construction begins on the world's longest electric vehicle highway in Western Australia, augmenting a patchwork of various chargers.

cleantechnica.com

 

[goldierocks]

World’s Longest Electric Vehicle Highway — Now Under Construction in WA:

World’s Longest Electric Vehicle Highway — Now Under Construction

Construction begins on the world's longest electric vehicle highway in Western Australia, augmenting a patchwork of various chargers.

cleantechnica.com

But will it reduce emissions? This is the power distribution network, 71% of power is generated by fossil fuels still and that is the electricity going into your car. In fact I wonder the percentage will be in WA? Chargers every 200 km along a route that has thousands of km with no mains power, only on-site generated power. I can see that it will probably ultimately occur given the potential for solar development, but at the moment that would be an awful lot of expensive battery storage.

Cart (or EV) before the horse I feel....

 

[EVIE/BEE]

It's never been about the emissions. Follow the money.

 

[Diginit]

Very Interesting

https://www.msn.com/en-au/news/othe...taskbar&cvid=c247cb6feed04021978875dc1f9cea87

 

[Diginit]

More and not steak knives

https://www.msn.com/en-au/travel/ne...taskbar&cvid=2f6976011b074c468fd8ce5b66664593

https://www.msn.com/en-au/news/othe...taskbar&cvid=65cf67c759c645f5d35b26e23211d4b8

 

[goldierocks]

Battery leakage leaves no puddles


I don't think we should be banning anything - give people choice and it will reach equilibrium. For example I can imagine getting an EV runabout in town but keeping my petrol 4x4 for longer trips. With time the EV recharge coverage will increase, batteries will improve - but I stillk see recharge time being an obstacle for a long time on lengthy trips.

 

[Diginit]

Once recharge is easily obtained things will be better no doubt. But if intended use of vehicle is for length of trips greater than the capacity of battery can deliver then it becomes impractical unless change over points are along route. No waiting to re charge in other words. In rural areas this won't be in my lifetime

 

[goldierocks]

Once recharge is easily obtained things will be better no doubt. But if intended use of vehicle is for length of trips greater than the capacity of battery can deliver then it becomes impractical unless change over points are along route. No waiting to re charge in other words. In rural areas this won't be in my lifetime

I suspect smaller batteries will be a development but I can't see a small enough batteries for simple changeover (works fine now on scooters). But humans are clever.....I pre-date TV, lasers, moon exploration. mobile phones and electronic voice recognition, CT scans, electronic limbs wired to brains and the abolition of smallpox.....

 

[Pete E]

Yeah, a new coal fired power station.

There's still hope.

I suspect smaller batteries will be a development but I can't see a small enough batteries for simple changeover (works fine now on scooters). But humans are clever.....I pre-date TV, lasers, moon exploration. mobile phones and electronic voice recognition, CT scans, electronic limbs wired to brains and the abolition of smallpox.....

The complete engine on a Challenger tank comes out on rails complete with extended lines ect...it can be changed in a couple of hours...You could easily do similar with a vehicle battery pack, but it would require design standardisation across industry which is probably the biggest hurdle...

Apparently the next big thing for rechargeable batteries is Salt Ion...*if* it lives up to its promise it will be a major improvement over current Lithium Ion technology.

 

[Pete E]

I am really looking forward to EV vehicles of the future as they offer so much potential. One aspect that is not talked out much is the huge decrease in noise...Imagine currently living in a city, town or near a major road...the traffic noise must be terrible and a real blight on people's lives....The widespread introduction of EV vehicles will certainly improve those people's quality of life...

That said, I think EV vehicles are a long way from being practical at the moment for all the reasons already mentioned, and while I agree we have to start somewhere, I have no intention of being an early adopter....

 

[goldierocks]

The complete engine on a Challenger tank comes out on rails complete with extended lines ect...it can be changed in a couple of hours...You could easily do similar with a vehicle battery pack, but it would require design standardisation across industry which is probably the biggest hurdle...

Apparently the next big thing for rechargeable batteries is Salt Ion...*if* it lives up to its promise it will be a major improvement over current Lithium Ion technology.

It is already being experimented - up on a hoist and swap in less than 30 minutes (batteries tend to be large and underneath). But super-fast chargers can now charge in 15 without that hassle. I can't imagine it catching on unless they can miniaturize batteries. The big potential is if they can simply increase battery range while keeping in that 15 minute charge range.

One other problem is battery warranty - at around $35,000 and a 7-8 year warranty, would you be happy to simply swap your battery for one that had an unknown remaining life or reliability?

 

[GaryO]

$35000 ÷ 8 years is $87 a week, add charging costs it certainly isn't a cheaper option then fuel.

 

[grubstake]

$35000 ÷ 8 years is $87 a week, add charging costs it certainly isn't a cheaper option then fuel.

I think you'll find that warranty duration isn't the same as battery life.